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Martial Artist Moves Into TriBeCa Yoga Studio

By Julie Shapiro | August 1, 2011 11:52am | Updated on August 1, 2011 1:58pm
Modern Martial Arts NYC emphasizes fun over competition and is opening its fourth Manhattan location in TriBeCa in August 2011.
Modern Martial Arts NYC emphasizes fun over competition and is opening its fourth Manhattan location in TriBeCa in August 2011.
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Modern Martial Arts NYC

TRIBECA — A martial arts school is opening its fourth Manhattan location in TriBeCa this month — inside a yoga studio that floundered with its donation-based model in the tony neighborhood.

Modern Martial Arts NYC will take over Do Yoga Do Pilates, the studio on Reade Street that recently had to start charging for classes after too many students skipped out on the voluntary fees.

Mario Guerrero, owner of Modern Martial Arts, plans to continue offering the same schedule of classes as Do Yoga Do Pilates, but the studio will charge a mandatory fee of $12 per class starting Aug. 1.

Guerrero will also begin offering martial arts classes for children and adults starting later this month, for between $15 and $28 per class.

"We want this to be all-inclusive, but at the end of the day we do have to pay the rent," Guerrero said in a phone interview Monday. "I understand that may be difficult for some people to adjust to."

Guerrero said he is excited about expanding into TriBeCa, where a baby boom is underway but there are few martial arts studios focusing on children.

Modern Martial Arts will offer a range of kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu and tae kwon do classes, in an environment that is more relaxed than the traditional military-style instruction.

"We are the opposite of that," Guerrero said. "We're a lot more nurturing."

Guerrero said he enrolls children who are rejected from other studios, including kids with special needs. He focuses on individual improvement rather than competition, he said.

He is taking over the 6,000-square-foot studio at 78 Reade St. from Elisa Chen, a Financial District resident who started the business two years ago but is now moving to Hong Kong.

“I’m confident that Modern Martial Arts will carry forth the mission of my studio,” Chen said in a press release Monday.

Guerrero, 43, an Upper West Side resident, started Modern Martial Arts NYC in October 2001 after quitting his high-powered finance job at Time Warner following 9/11. The attacks hit Guerrero hard, because he had previously worked for Deloitte & Touche on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center.

"Life's too short," Guerrero said, recalling his thoughts from the fall of 2001. "I could have been sitting on that 100th floor. I'm just going to do something I like."

He added, "Everyone thought I was crazy."

Guerrero opened the first Modern Martial Arts location on the Upper West Side, and after a slow first year, the business took off. He has since opened outposts on the Upper East Side and in Midtown, with more than 1,100 students in all.

Guerrero and Chen will hold a meet-and-greet event at Do Yoga Do Pilates Aug. 5 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. They will serve wine and snacks and will answer questions about the transition to new ownership.