Elite Martial Arts: 'Leave Your Shoes, And Your Ego at the Door'

Chris Brough has over 26 years of experience in martial arts. From karate, to boxing, kickboxing and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. And Brough's lessons can be summed up by the sign in his gym: "Leave your shoes, and your ego at the door."

At Brough's gym, in Morganville offers classes for children up to adults, from 3-year olds to the career men and women. The school offers karate, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai for teens and adults, Krav Maga and kickboxing.

"We're a family owned business, it's definitely a family environment," Brough said, adding that sometimes kids will be on one mat in the school for a class, and their parents on another.

"We offer a family-oriented, professional environment that is geared toward the average person. We aren't pushing to create fighters."

Brough grew up in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood, where he found a focus for himself in martial arts, boxing and kickboxing. He trained at the world famous Gleason's Gym, was sponsored by Arizona Iced Tea for national kickboxing competitions, and trained under Royler Gracie in Jiu-Jitsu. Brough is a sixth degree Karate black belt, and a black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

"Martial Arts was good guidance for me growing up," Brough said.

Brough said martial arts classes offer something for everyone, discipline and self confidence which leverage better behaviors through positive reinforcement for kids, and fitness, skill advancement and understandable classes for adults.

"I've learned to break down material so it is easily digestible for everyone," Brough, who used to visit other martial arts schools to teach instructors, said.

Through the rise in popularity of the UFC, the Ultimate Fighter and even MTV shows circling the martial arts community, Brough has seen a more students walk through his doors.

"The UFC brought accountability, you have to 'back up the talk' now," Brough said.

Brough said martial arts is not just based in theory anymore, the UFC has made instructors re-evaluate teaching methods and teach practical use in each class.

As for Brough's favorite fighters, he said he likes professionals that maintain the integrity of martial arts practices, like George St. Pierre, Kenny Florian, BJ Penn and Anderson Silva.

With the rise of the UFC, came the rise of new students who think they can fight after a few weeks of training. Brough said he has a lot of people call or stop by, asking how many classes it will be before booking a fight in the octagon.

"It's like saying you've never played the piano and then asking when you can play at Lincoln Center," Brough said. "You can't just come in and be the hammer, you have to be the nail for a little while."

Elite Martial Arts is a 4,000 square foot facility, recently renovated, with more than 300 students on a daily basis. Even with large numbers, Brough and his home-grown instructors try to keep class sizes small with a good student to teacher ratio. Brough takes pride in that fact that his instructors were and still are his students.

For more information about , visit their Patch business listing or their website for schedules and pricing information.