CKO Kickboxing Jersey City — Local services in Jersey City

Having been to gyms around the country I feel as if I occasionally take a snooty approach to different places. In no way do I think I'm better than anyone or anything, I just know what works and what doesn't and see places that are a cash grab and not a member focused place.

Here is me in a nutshell, I learned Muay Thai from a guy that was certified in Thailand. After a few years of that and MMA as well as Boxing classes I started teaching a bag class (now called StrikeFit) at a very famous Krav Maga gym in Culver City that was run by one of the best instructors at Krav Maga in the world. It was there I started taking Krav Maga, Crossfit and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After I left there I moved to Chicago where I went on to learn some more BJJ under Carlson Gracie Jr and some Judo and some other fun stuff with Mack The Knife and his team of Copa Bjj in Wrigleyville. Am I good at any of it?

Uhh... Sure. Better than a four year old I suppose that's about it though. They can be handfuls you know. So then I move to Jersey City and had to leave behind my BJJ school and my Muay Thai partners and... crime. But, here I am. 2 years removed from hitting a bag and sitting on my evaporating skill sets. Occasionally I'll run into a fighter that needs someone to hold pads and I gladly help but outside of that I took to running more often. When I'd seen the Triple play (or groupon but you don't get the gloves, so just sign up on their website for he triple play) I thought, fantastic, 20 bucks, I get to go hit the bag, it's only a 2 mile run from my house. I'll show up, barely strain myself and then when they ask me why this isn't difficult, I'll shrug and say, "I've seen things."

Or so I thought. Anytime you take a bag class you get out what you put in. Joe DiMare makes sure that every instructor is putting in almost as much as the people working out. These instructors are hustling to keep people motivated. They do everything they can to address each and every student, to help everyone and to keep the pace moving. If you are a fighter, and want to fight. I'd say go to a fighting gym. If you want to essentially have a party workout, where it's fun and intense and you can go ape poop crazy and burn a lot of energy in an hour. This is perfect. After one trial class I emailed them and said I wanted to work with them. I'm not lying either. You can find me there on occasion running around. I'm always happy to help people with stuff, but mainly me and all the other instructors are flailing away at the bag like all the other students. (which is nice, having the people teaching also taking classes is a constant reminder that maybe they know what their doing.)

I think not doing the trial class is a an absolute shame. Maybe you feel like your flailing wildly and look silly. So did I 9 years ago. And then I got better. But I had to show up for that first day...

I grew playing high-level soccer my entire life (I played traveling year-round, had a personal trainer, lifted weights every other day at Parisi's in NJ, ran track and was recruited to play soccer in college). Like most career athletes I struggled for years after college trying to figure out what to do with my sad post-athlete self: I joined multiple gyms, tried running in the mornings, yoga, youtube videos, etc. and I couldn't get anything to stick.

UNTIL (about 8 depressing years later) I moved to Jersey City and found CKO! Joe and the rest of the trainers are incredibly supportive and motivating. Every workout is insanely hard yet incredibly fun, and I've finally started to feel like a real athlete again.

Even if you weren't a weirdo who lifted 4 times a week in high school, it's really the perfect workout for anyone. Even though the trainers are there to motivate you, it's really up to you how hard you push yourself, so if you haven't been working out and are nervous but ready for a change- JUST DO IT (as my mom always says, but Nike clearly said it first). Every class has people in different stages of fitness, and you don't have to worry about the kind of shape you're in- trust me, the trainers will get you there!

It's also just great to know I can be in and out after an hour feeling awesome, as opposed to me sadly walking on an incline at the gym then doing some squats in the corner and pretending I did something worthwhile. For me, having a class to go to makes it easier. If left up to my own devices, it's very possible I'll be "going to the gym" all day then somehow run out of time before it's biergarten o'clock.

If you're on the fence, you should join!! But don't take any 6pm classes please, because I need room to punch that baaaag :) Also, take Joe or Charlie's class to start. Some of the other trainers are great too, but those two...

I've worked out for most of my adult life. Beginning in high school, I would either run or lift weights. Occasionally I would play basketball but that would require finding a gym and also having enough friends to get a good game going. But now that I'm in my 30's with a young child, my time is limited. So when I work out, I want the most bang for my buck (aka time). CKO was the solution to my problems. There are few things that I look forward to more than my one hour workouts at CKO. At my ripe old age of 34, I can't be doing the same thing over and over again because all that does is make the same muscles stronger until the point where I plateau and my body stops changing. The workouts at CKO are a game (and body) changer. All the instructors are terrific - Charlie, Kristian, Brian, Derek, John, to name a few - and they each have differing styles and will focus on different parts of your body. Even the same instructor will have a drastically different routine on Friday from the one he had on Monday. That in my opinion is how your body changes - by never doing the same thing two days in a row and allowing muscle memory to set in. There is also a friendliness to the place that I've never really experienced in a gym. Everyone is energetic and welcoming, especially the owner Joe, who you get the sense wants nothing more for you than to change your body. If you're unmotivated, then you'll get motivated. And if you can't get motivated by this place then you need to do some soul-searching. I would highly recommend CKO Jersey City, my home...