Staff
All of our trainers possess an academic background in some related health discipline, or a black belt in one or more martial arts; some have expertise in both arenas.
For more information on our services, see our services pages.
While all of our instructors share a common base of skills, each member of the staff has a specific field of interest, and this is reflected in their classes as well as the methods they use to coach and train clients.
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Sebastiano Battaglia Sebastiano is the Muay Thai instructor at KC's Fitness. He began his study of Muay Thai while in Italy and later recieved his his 10th kan with the Phraya Pichai Muay Thai Training School while living in the UK. He has also recieved a brownbelt in Jujitsu (Vega System) and has trained in many other arts including Kali, Jeet Kune Do, and Boxing.
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Max Connors Max has been studying boxing and martial arts for over ten years. His training sessions are often said to be deceptively challenging and offer a good blend of orthodox and unorthodox movements. Max won the 2010 Golden Gloves Regional Championship at 132 lbs.
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Kevin Cunningham. Kevin has been involved in the fitness industry since 1986 and began his martial arts training in 1982. He received his BA in History and East Asian studies from SUNY Buffalo in 1986, and did his graduate work there before starting KC’s Fitness in 1992. He holds a black belt in Aikido-No-Kokryu and has done extensive training in several martial arts over the last twenty-four years, including western boxing. In addition to his work in the fitness industry, Kevin has cross-trained a number of local professional, college, and high school athletes. Most of his work with athletes has centered on the use of martial arts as a cross-training modality.
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Marisa Licata. Marisa has been at KC's Fitness since 1999 and has her MSW from SUNY Buffalo. Marisa is a social worker by day and teaches boxing classes at night.
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Joe Moran Joe is studying biomedical sciences in the UB Honors College with plans on attending medical school. Joe has been a part of the KC's community since before he entered highschool and enjoys using his experiences in the gym to compliment his other hobbies of rock climbing, soccer, and ultimate frisbee.
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Pietro Muscato. He has completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY Buffalo, and has trained in boxing and various forms of martial arts since the age of eleven when he first came to KC’s. In many ways it is fair to say that Pietro was raised at our facility, and while he is the youngest instructor on staff, many consider his training sessions and boxing classes among the most rewarding and challenging. His classes are well thought-out and he sees his work as a craft that needs to always grow and evolve. Pietro won the 2010 Golden Gloves Regional Championship at 165 lbs.
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Corey Norman. Corey has trained in the martial arts for over seventeen years. He began his training under the watchful eyes of his father who competed in the Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. Since that time, Corey has spent much of his time studying several arts including catch wrestling, judo, and brazilian jiu jitsu.
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Shawn Pollock. Shawn received his BS from Canisius in 2001 and has been a strength trainer at KC’s since 1998; in 2005, he became manager of the facility. Shawn is an accomplished power lifter and awesome coach in many areas. He is presently ranked in the top one hundred power lifters in the nation.
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Jacky Zientowski. Jacky has been at KC's since 2008. She holds a Bachelor's of Science and Wellness from Buffalo State College, and is certified as a personal trainer through the NCFS. She has completed numerous academic courses in nutrition and Dietetics and is planning to pursue graduate studies in this area. She has trained extensively in boxing and submission grappling and assists in the athlete training seminars conducted at KC's. In addition, Jacky has a strong interest in Theatre and has completed a number of courses at Buffalo State and studied Improvisational Theatre at Second City in Toronto.
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The benefits I received from this program were greater than anything that I could have imagined... any athlete would greatly benefit from this training program.”
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Jeff State,
Professional Hockey Player,
Charlotte Checkers
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As a exercise physiologist and former college football player, I can definitely say that this is a conditioning program that will yield powerful results for competitive athletes, and anyone else for that matter, who wishes to improve their fitness level.”
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Jake Barkley, PhD,
Exercise Science,
SUNY Buffalo
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