About CKO Jersey City

John moved to Jersey City from Brighton, UK, and joined CKO JC as a member when we first opened our doors in February 2013. Before long, he was bitten by the CKO bug, and he undertook the CKO trainer program – fast-forward to the present, and he is one of our most experienced trainers with a host of tasty drills and trademark British humor! Every class contains a great balance of high-intensity cardio mixed with strength training with a strong focus on exercise form. He loves a full-body workout experience and will leave you with a full sense of accomplishment. John’s areas of expertise include strength and conditioning, muscle-toning, general cardio fitness, and he is ACE-certified in Personal Training, Fitness Nutrition, and Weight Management.

Charles “Charlie” Taylor has been a competitive athlete for over 20 years, earning numerous titles on both the national and international stage in Olympic Style Taekwondo. Since training under Olympian, Master Kevin Padilla, since 1992 – Charlie has been surrounded by top-level athletes his entire career. In 2004 Charlie fought his way into a spot on the New York State Taekwondo Commission (NYSTC), an organization designed to mentor and sponsor top athletes for international competition. Here Charlie competed in numerous countries representing NY-USA during his bouts. Since his arrival to NYSTC, he defended his spot on the team throughout the remainder of his career as a fighter.
Simultaneously, Charlie served as an instructor at Padilla’s Sport Taekwondo School, where he taught Traditional & Olympic Taekwondo, Cardio Kickboxing, Boxing and mentored a number of elite junior athletes. While there, he developed a love for coaching and formed a unique style, drawing from years of training and applying his fighter’s mentality.
After a 10-year career in the corporate security world, he returned to his passion. Currently based in NY Metro Area – Charlie is the owner/operator of two CKO Kickboxing Clubs located in Bayonne and Downtown Jersey City. Charlie wears several hats, but his favorite is that of a fitness coach and motivator. Charlie has a fun but no-nonsense approach to supporting his member’s goals. Whether you’re aiming to improve your striking technique, build lean muscle or improve your overall wellness – Charlie can certainly get you there.
Charlie tries to instill a fighter’s mentality within all of his clients, because whether you’re in the ring or not – if you refuse to quit on yourself and continue to fight, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.

With 15 years of collective experience, Jose has trained with numerous instructors at various gyms throughout New Jersey & New York in 7 different martial arts styles: Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts, Judo, and Boxing.

Growing up in Clifton, Jose began his martial arts journey in middle school with Tae Kwon Do. He went on to find his true passion for martial arts & combat sports through joining the wrestling team in high school at St. Peter’s Prep in downtown Jersey City, and immediately transitioned to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu shortly after.

At the age 20, Jose began training under Muay Thai Kickboxing legend, Kaensak Sor Ploenjit at AMA Fight Club, where he also was coached in Mixed Martial Arts by Mike Constantino and frequently trained with UFC fighters, which led to his amateur Mixed Martial Arts debut in 2014 on the night of his 21st birthday. After his fight, he moved his focus back to competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu across the country in a wide range of weight classes and would teach early morning & late evening classes. Jose currently holds a purple belt in jiu jitsu.

Jose obtained his B.S. in Business Management from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2015 and has over 10 years of experience in real estate industry working in sales, marketing, recruitment, coaching, & education positions across Northern New Jersey.

Jose moved to NYC in 2020 and has been a Harlem resident for 4 years where he lives with his partner & their 2 dogs. He frequently participates in races of varying distances, having completed 2 half marathons, and regularly weight trains as well to supplement his fitness regimen after his weight loss transformation many years ago. His professional fitness experience includes working in sales for gyms in Manhattan, teaching for fitness studios, Muay Thai & Jiu Jitsu for non-profits, LGBTQ+ self-defense organizations, and various martial arts academies, including having ran numerous community classes

Yasemin has been a part of CKO Jersey City for years, ever since her mother became obsessed with it back in 2018. Once she took a few classes herself, she understood why her mother had been raving about it for so long. In addition to kickboxing, Yasemin is an avid practitioner of yoga and pranayama (breathing techniques). Last year, she received her Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Certification after completing 200 hours of training at La Casa Shambala in Cádiz, Spain.

After working at the front desk at CKO Jersey City for a while, she decided to combine her love for the CKO community with her passion for yoga and began teaching yoga classes at the gym, focusing on mobility and recovery after a week of intense kickboxing. She particularly enjoys teaching beginner-focused classes, as she loves watching students discover the benefits of yoga and pranayama in real time. Yasemin is also available for one-on-one sessions to help individuals create a stretching and mobility routine specially tailored to their bodies’ needs.