Mark J. Ferrioli | Karate instructor, 55 Posted on December 2nd
Mark J. Ferrioli, of Northeast Philadelphia, who taught martial arts for almost 40 years, died of heart disease at home on Nov. 21, four days before his 56th birthday.
A native of Stoneham, Mass., Mr. Ferrioli began studying martial arts and Zen philosophy after moving to Philadelphia when he was 11.
At 15, he was giving karate-do instructions in a church hall in his neighborhood and he gave lessons at Northeast High School while still a student there. He earned a shodan, or first-degree, black belt at 18 as a correspondence student of Matsutatsu Oyama, a Japanese karate expert and founder of an international school.
In 1970, he opened Ten To Maru-Kan Karate-Do studio on Rising Sun Avenue. He taught more than 2,000 students there before retiring earlier this year. Mr. Ferrioli also founded T.T.M.K. Educational Services, offering stress management through applied Zen philosophy.
He taught his style of Zen karate-do at several colleges and produced documentaries on the history of martial arts and instructional videos. He had been featured on KYW-TV’s Evening Magazine, and on the Larry King radio show, his nephew, Matthew McKenna, said. He was a master of the Japanese bamboo flute, ink painting and more than 30 Japanese weapons, his nephew said.
Mr. Ferrioli enjoyed astronomy and listening to short-wave radio.
In addition to his nephew, he is survived by a sister, Elizabeth Ferrioli-McKenna; a niece, Shannon McKenna; a nephew Sean McKenna; and his companion, Linda Wellington.
Services were private.