Mushin Mixed Martial Arts

Profile

Kentucky-native and Brazilian jujitsu black belt Erik Owings opened this West Village training center in 2010. The loft-like facility overlooking lower Fifth Avenue trains both amateur and competitive martial arts fighters in private and group settings, as well as offers a handful of fitness classes for conditioning a competitor in between fights, or getting the average Joe into shape. The conditioning class is akin to a traditional boot camp (think push-ups, planks, and pull-ups), while be prepared to put on real boxing gloves for the intense, one-hour kickboxing class taught by Owings or one of the other two instructors on staff who are fellow jujitsu and muay thai fighters. Trainer Justin Gelband also works out of the studio, privately getting models like Miranda Kerr and Candice Swanepoel into shape and teaching his ModelFit method (a hybrid of Zumba, martial arts, yoga, and more) to the masses with a handful of group classes weekly. — Randi Eichenbaum