Sheldon Marr: Pancrase-Winning Sensei and UFC Grappling Coach

Submitted by Ann Dain, ColoradoFightEvents.com

I've heard it said that if you enjoy your job that you will never work a day in your life. Sheldon Marr, owner of Grapplers Edge in Aurora, Co., exemplifies this philosophy.

In nearly every interview with fighters and promoters on the Colorado Mixed Martial Arts scene, the predominance of successful athletes have pass some time on the mats at Grapplers Edge. Located in a high-ceilinged basement of a Radio Shack store, the Dojo is hard to find but once stepping inside the door, it is clear that this is a haven for the serious athlete. There is a long broad staircase going downstairs just inside the entrance. The walls along the stairway are filled with neatly framed and cleanly arranged photographs of named athletes that have passed through the doors. At the bottom of the stairs, glimmering in multiple colors are dozens of trophies which, by their heights indicate the number of high-ranking grapplers that have represented this facility. The discipline that is important in both Jiu Jitsu and Pankration techniques is also exhibited in the extreme cleanliness of Grapplers Edge. It was immaculate -- no dust and no locker-room smell!

Sheldon Marr is the son of Wally Marr, a former Air Force Sergeant and Judo Sensei that introduced his son to his first taste of martial arts at the age of 5. He was not some wonder-child who exhibited his talent from the start but persistence and determination won over the young Sheldon who took some beatings both on the mat and from his older sister. Confidence came when Sheldon started wrestling in high school where he developed his own style of competition that combined his Wrestling and Judo techniques. He became nearly unbeatable until he broke his neck two days before his 18 th birthday.

Sheldon underwent major leading-edge surgery to fuse his 6 th and 7 th vertebrae through an incision entry at the front of his neck. For nearly the entire next year, Sheldon was held in traction by either a halo (holding his head steady with multiple pins through his scalp) or other various braces and/or collars. His doctors warned him against ever participating again in Wrestling or Judo. The broken neck occurred in 1976 when he was a Senior in high school. In 1977 Sheldon starting coaching high school Wrestling and against the warning of his physician team, began training and competing in Judo again in 1980. After a series of competitive wins, Sheldon accepted an invitation to join the U.S. Olympic Judo Training Squad at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in preparation for the 1984 Games. Although he never did participate in the Olympics, Sheldon remains closely associated with the Colorado Springs training facility and with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Although both Wrestling and Judo are Olympic medal competitions, Grappling or Pankration has not been part of the Olympic Games since 393 A.D. Pankration first became part of the Greek Olympia in 200 B.C. The word means: "All Powers" which in terms of the sport incorporates striking, throwing, holding, breaking and choking. It was eventually outlawed when it had transformed into more of a blood sport as matches were often continued until death.

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