Grandmaster Kempo Teacher Brings Joy and Discipline to Students

“What do you call a pig who does karate?” Grandmaster Sheeley asks his young student. “A pork chop!”

Mark Sheeley, co-owner of martial arts studio on Olney Street, is a big fan of working with children and the feeling is mutual.

“He puts his heart and soul into teaching the kids, and I think it’s wonderful,” says Tami Killam, whose takes class with Sheeley, as do three of her four children.

Sheeley received his black belt at the age of 17 and opened his first dojo when he was in his late 20’s. He credits his mother for starting him on the path.

“My mother got me involved because she was afraid my father was going to spank me for not defending myself against the neighborhood bullies,” he says. “I’m a pacifist by nature. I don’t believe in violence. But, don’t make me have to choose.”

According to Kensho-Ryu’s website, Grandmaster Sheeley was a Master Instructor to several Kenpo Jiujitsu Karate schools in New England, won “numerous competitions,” gained his first national title in 1991, became nationally rated for three years in a row, has been inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame fourteen times, and trained ten National Champions.

Throughout his career, Sheeley has helped to open 13 other locations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Florida using a franchise model. He travels to those locations regularly, and gets together once a month with the dojo owners to discuss marketing, curriculum improvements and more.

His current location in Seekonk was born of a serendipitous occurrence. He had opened his first location in Cumberland and ran it successfully for 21 years. He finally sold the location and went into semi-retirement, working only to teach private clients. Two years later, one of his former students contacted him about the Seekonk dojo. The student was getting ready to leave for college and could no longer run it. Sheeley decided to get back in the game. That decision made a lot of people pretty happy, especially his students’ parents. 

“I had a lot of questions and concerns because I didn’t know anything about karate. I called a lot of places and he was the friendliest and most forthcoming,” said Killam. “I  like how he interacts with the kids. He’s very positive. He knows his karate. You can tell he’s a Grandmaster. And you can tell he loves what he does." 

Tiffany, another mother, chimes in, “I love to sit here and watch because Grandmaster Sheeley is so entertaining. And, my son is doing really well.”

Both parents say they’ve seen a change in their children’s behavior since starting classes. Killam says her daughters' listening skills have improved and she sees them taking more initiative to be of service to others. She says she feels the dojo and her home are "working hand in hand together."

"It's about developing one's character, making them become a better person," Sheeley says. "I have philosophy that I live by - Everything you do or say says something about who you are. That's one of the philosophies I pass on to the children."