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Mark Barlow
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Mark Barlow

Life Member - United States Ju-Jitsu Federation (USJJF) ®
Life Member - USA Traditional Kodokan Judo (USA-TKJ) ®

Member - USJJF National Technical / Promotion Committee
Member - USA-TKJ National Technical / Promotion Committee
Member - Senior Masters Caucus

Sadly, Sensei Mark Barlow passed away on May 16, 2024

Mark Barlow began training in Judo in the mid 70s under Alex Marshall Hanshi at a small college in Birmingham, AL. Within a few months, he added Jujutsu, also under Mr. Marshall, to his studies. By 1977, an average week found Barlow on the tatami 6 days a week, a schedule he kept for almost a decade. Along with Judo and Jujutsu, he also studied Shodokan/Tomkiki Aikido under Karl Geis Shihan and trained with Tetsuro Nariyama Shihan during several of Shihan's weeklong visits to the U.S. In the early 80s, Barlow opened a small dojo in Birmingham and offered Aikido and Jujutsu instruction. By this time, he, Richard Worthington and Mr. Marshall had been awarded yudansha rank in Jikishinkage Ryu Aikijujutsu under Toshiaki Takikawa Shihan. They were the first non-Japanese to be so recognized by the Takikawa family.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Barlow began offering instruction to small groups of police officers and military officers.  He has worked with SWAT and SRT units in Alabama and was a guest instructor at the Alabama Tactical Officer Association state-wide conference teaching defense against bladed weapons.  Several Akayama Ryu black belts are former or current Defensive Tactics instructors on local, state and federal levels.

In 1988, Alex Marshall combined his over six decades of training and founded Akayama Ryu Jujutsu and named Barlow and Worthington as his senior students and representatives. Upon Mr. Marshall’s passing, Mark Barlow assumed the leadership of Akayama Ryu Jujutsu and he now has students teaching across the United States, Trinidad/Tobago and Toronto, Canada. Along with numerous awards and recognition, Barlow Hanshi has earned Black Belts in Judo, Tomiki Aikido, Shodokan Aikido, Seki Ryu Jujutsu, Jikihinkage Ryu Aikijujutsu and is Hachidan in Akayama Ryu Jujutsu. He is also the author of numerous articles on Jujutsu, Judo and self defense along with the book, JUJUTSU: LEGACY OF THE SAMURAI.

Sensei Mark Barlow can be contacted at the following address:
E-Mail:  [email protected]

Sensei O'Brien's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mark.barlow.581​
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George E. Anderson - USJJF Founder, 1931-2009

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