More Than Martial Arts. A Lineage. A Family.
Hanshi Ronnie Cimorosi| Ku-Dan (9th Degree Black Belt)
Sensei Ronnie Cimorosi Ku-dan, 9th degree black belt. Sensei Ronnie Cimorosi started karate in the Order of Isshin-Ryu in 1984, following the suggestion of his father to study under Master Walter “Toby” Cooling. Sensei Cimorosi received his Sho-dan (1st degree black belt) ranking in 1989. He trained six out of seven nights every week, training with instructors such as Grand Master Toby Cooling, Master Bud Ewing, Sensei Juan Lopez, Sensei Larry Jackson, Sensei Danny Cross, and would travel two hours, one way, to train under Master Barry Smith in Cambridge, Maryland.
Master Cooling granted Sensei Cimorosi permission to open his first dojo in 1990 in Elkton, Maryland, and since then he has taught hundreds of students but has promoted only 32 to black belt due to the high standards he enforces. Sensei Cimorosi spent most of the 1990s running his dojo and competing in tournaments throughout the Northeastern United States. He was a member of the Order of Isshin-Ryu demonstration team performing and promoting Isshin-Ryu throughout Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. In 1994, Sensei Cimorosi received the Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame’s Instructor of the Year award in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, presented to him by Grand Master Harold Long. For over 10 years, Sensei Cimorosi taught self-defense classes at the Cecil County Battered Women’s Shelter and the Cecil County Rape Prevention Center. Upon request, Sensei Cimorosi has taught women’s self-protection classes at major corporations throughout Maryland and Delaware, as well as children’s classes for the Cecil County School District. He has provided a self-defense program lasting 2-6 weeks at his workplace. Sensei Cimorosi promotes the Elkton Dojo Isshinryu Kazoku by teaching seminars and traveling to as many dojos as possible. In the late1990s, Sensei Cimorosi became a member of the Board of Directors of the Order of Isshin-Ryu. Grand Master Toby Cooling promoted Sensei Cimorosi to Nana-dan (7th degree black belt) in 2011. In 2014, Sensei Cimorosi was inducted into the Isshin-Ryu Hall of Fame in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
In October 2017, Sensei Cimorosi was awarded Sensei of the Year at Don Nagle’s AOKA 60th Anniversary Hall of Fame event.
Sensei Cimorosi was an active member of the Board of Directors for the OI, while teaching both a children’s class and an adult class back-to-back two nights a week, along with private and additional classes on the weekends at his dojo in Elkton, Maryland.
On June 20th, 2023, Hanshi Ronnie Cimorosi and Hanshi Jesus Jimenez stepped away from the Order of Isshinryu after the passing of Grandmaster Walter “Toby” Cooling and created the Isshinryu Kazoku (family).
They did this to honor GM Cooling and Master Barry Smith by staying true to their teachings and passing on Isshinryu to the next generation as it was passed down to them.
Sensei Cimorosi is often quoted saying “Everything we do in Isshinryu is to Honor GM Cooling and Master Barry Smith”
“You can’t get where your going if you don’t honor where you’ve been”
