Our History
The Midwest School of Isshinryu was founded in 1974 as part of a youth summer program sponsored by the Aurora YWCA at the Aurora Housing Authority’s Eastwood Center. Initially known as the Eastwood Karate Club, it quickly became the most successful of the YWCA’s summer offerings. When grant funding ended at the close of the summer, the YWCA expressed a strong desire to continue the program. In response, Grand Master Smith volunteered to lead the program independently, ensuring its continued presence in the community.
As the program expanded, it outgrew the Eastwood Center and moved to the YWCA’s Downer Place facility, and later to their newly built River Street location in Aurora, Illinois. When the River Street facility ultimately closed, the Fox Valley Montessori School generously offered the school a new home, where it proudly continues to operate today.
Over the years, the program has produced generations of successful students—many of whom have gone on to become high school athletes, law enforcement officers, military service members, educators, business owners, medical professionals, and even an actress: Stana Katic, best known for her role in the television series Castle.
The continued growth and legacy of the Midwest School of Isshinryu would not have been possible without the foundational support of the Aurora YWCA and the ongoing partnership with the Fox Valley Montessori School, both of which have given the program a lasting home and the opportunity to serve the community for over five decades.
