Sensei Marco Ovalle
Co-Owner
Sensei Marco’s love for the martial arts started when he was a young boy growing up in Forest Hills NY. He took his first karate class at the Forest Hills Rec Center back in 1983; however it wasn’t until he graduated York College after playing 4 years of NCAA tennis and basketball that he started his official training in full contact bare knuckle karate and kickboxing in 1997. Sensei Marco has trained under Kancho Henri Oh where he studied the art of Kyokushin kaikan and with Sensei Denis Murphy at the NY Karate Kickboxing and Athletic Club for kickboxing.
In 2011 Sensei Marco was promoted to 5th degree black belt in Chinese Goju by Martial Legend Shidoshi Ron Van Clief , the Black Dragon. Sensei Marco has competed and championed many Bare Knuckle Full Contact Knock Down Karate Tournaments such and the Ultimate Test, Kyokushin US Open, and Mas Oyma Gold Cup in Canada. Sensei Marco has also trained in Boxing and Judo.
Costa Gemelas:
Started his martial arts career as a child in Tae Kwon Do. Later on in life he discovered the sport of Wrestling while attending Port Jefferson Schools. Here after years of hard-work, dedication, and sacrifice Costa found himself placing in the Suffolk County Wrestling Tournament 3 times. To finish off his senior year he made the journey to the New York State Wrestling Tournament with a record of 30-2 after winning the 171 lb. Suffolk County Weight Class.
Following his High School Wrestling career Costa started to dabble in Submission Wrestling. Costa has now found his home at East/West MMA of Selden, NY. While consistently being tested by a great team of coaches and training partners Costa took the Gold at the N.A.G.A No-Gi Intermediate division, and a 2nd round TKO at the Battle of the Capitale. With Costa’s work ethic, ability to learn quickly and determination for success, Costa Gemelas is a force to be reckoned with.
Ian McEwen:
Lead Grappling Instructor-
Coach McEwen started as a High School Wrestler for Port Jefferson. In order to further improve his grappling ability Ian began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts at Oneonta MMA while pursuing his degree at SUNY Oneonta. Upon graduating with a B.A. in Computer Art Ian immediately returned to his alma mater Port Jefferson’s Wrestling program, this time as a coach, and now coaches one of the most successful teams in Suffolk County. But the wrestling success is only part of the story. During his time home Ian was relentlessly looking for a new MMA school to call home. After many different schools Ian found his home at East/West MMA of Selden, NY. At East/West he can fully utilize his unique blend of Wrestling and BJJ to help instruct those willing to learn and continue to build a successful and impressive grappling program.
