Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

“Indeed we belong to God, and indeed to Him we will return”.

We find it with great sadness to announce the passing of Grand Master Abdul Musawwir, also known as Sensei Monroe Marrow on August 18, 2021, at the age of 72. He passed away after a valiant battle with cancer. He loved his family, relatives, lifelong friends and all of the many students he taught over the years. As a father, he was most proud of his daughter…Fatimah…and loved her very much. Just the mere mention of her name would bring a smile to his face and joy to his heart. He loved to travel and learn from others. He was a lifelong prolific reader. He loved imparting knowledge and giving much advice. He was a teacher till the end.

Grand Master Abdul Musawwir dedicated his life to the martial arts and has been a pioneering martial artist in the New York City area for over fifty five years. His journey of learning and teaching martial arts started in 1962 at the Boys Club in the El Barrio of East Harlem and the PAL (Police Athletic League) Lynch Center located in the Southeast Bronx where he would meet his earliest teacher in Karate-Do…Remi Hannibal. He went on to become the first to open a Dojo in the Bronx. His legacy of mastering a wide variety of martial art systems is well noted amongst his early students, peers, colleagues and opponents. His fighting skills left an extraordinary legacy that was par none from the early 60’s till the present. Nisei Goju Ryu, Shodokan Goju Ryu, Okinawa Goju Ryu, Judo, Aiki Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Hung Gar Kung Fu and Traditional Boxing are some of the fighting styles he knew…just to name a few. But over the decades, through the evolution of his practice, came a deeper knowledge and a deeper understanding, of how these martial traditions of combat, can be harnessed and applied as healing modalities. In the 1970’s, Musawwir was introduced to Tai Chi Chuan and thus began his journey…as he would say…”to evolve his martial arts”. In 1992, along with his Tai Chi Master, Jou Tsung Hwa, he traveled to China to further study Internal Martial Arts including Healing Arts of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong. For over 30 years he has been teaching Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong at his studio in Harlem developing his own Internal Martial Arts system called ‘Plum Blossom Eight Gates’. His goal was to communicate transformational knowledge…especially with Taoist Philosophy. The name of his school ultimately became the ‘Tai Chi Internal Healing Arts’.

Grand Master Abdul Musawwir transcended the martial arts by helping people of all ages to focus on their wellbeing through the development of Tai Chi’s Healing Arts. He taught Tai Chi and Qigong at the City College of New York, the Browning School for boys, the Harlem Children Zone, the Mckinley Center and the Yaslan Yallow Charter School. He also taught privately to a large number of clientele that included Police Officers, Security Guards, Body Guards and Celebrities. Over the past few years, after becoming a certified instructor for the NYC Department for the Aging, Musawwir started teaching ‘Tai Chi for Arthritis’ and other longevity exercises at the Davidson Senior Center in the Southeast Bronx.

In 1998, Grand Master Abdul Musawwir was honored in Wesley Snipes ‘Tribute to the Masters’. This event became one of the largest collections of Black and Latino Martial Artists ever. The event featured one of Musawwir’s earliest mentors and colleagues…Moses Powell. The event became a historical landmark and turning point for Musawwir by allowing him to reconnect with his past.

On April 30, 2016, Grand Master Abdul Musawwir and members of his school ‘Tai Chi Internal Healing Arts’, brought forth the first installment of ‘World Tai Chi and Qigong Day’, a global tradition ever since 1999, to the people of the Bronx and all of New York City. The school’s participation in this global tradition takes place in over 80 nations and over 100’s of cities. This is just one of Musawwir’s crowning achievements.

Grand Master Abdul Musawwir’s mentorship of martial art enthusiasts, instructors and leaders extends beyond the teaching of martial techniques itself and encompasses a foundational wisdom around the body-mind-spirit connection. He was driven by a vision he would call...“keeping the communal soul alive”. He worked intuitively to guide his students on a path towards knowledge, truth and wisdom. His unrelenting and resourceful nature touched and inspired everyone who truly came to know him. He was a very humble, modest and peaceful man. He will be truly missed. But he will always be here in the spirit.

Abdul Musawwir is predeceased by his parents Woodrow & Mary Marrow, his brothers Curtis and Woodrow Jr. Marrow and his sister Joan Marrow. He is survived by his daughter Fatimah Croston and his youngest brother Greg Rashad Marrow (Anna), He is survived by his nieces: Karisa Kirsey, Shannel, Amanda, Aleah and Alexander Marrow and his nephews: Akwasi and Gregory Marrow. He also leaves behind a host of grand nieces, grand nephews and relatives.

He also leaves behind a large number of dedicated students, friends and colleagues to numerous to list. You know who you are.

May Allah (God) (SWT -Subhanahu wa ta’ala) the most glorified…the most high, have mercy on his soul and grant him the highest level of Jannah (Paradise).

Insha’ Allah (God Willing)

Allahu Akbar!!

Allahu Akbar!!

Allahu Akbar!!

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