How brutal martial arts injury opened the way to JSA CrossFit in Manasquan
MANASQUAN - Skip Chapman's crossfit gym business started with a severe martial arts injury.
“I had my own place in Point Pleasant,” Chapman said. “I took a bad fall and I blew out my shoulder on the mat practicing. It was a level five fracture. The doctors told me that they seriously doubted I would ever practice martial arts again.
“That was the last thing I wanted to hear,” Chapman said. “I did a lot of research on how to fix this injury and recover, and I found this new form of fitness called crossfit training. I started doing that and eventually, my shoulder healed and regained its strength. I thought to myself, 'If I can get these kinds of results, than why can’t other people in the same predicament do the same?' That’s how JSA CrossFit was born.”
Chapman got his work ethic from his father, who would put in a lot of hours at his job to provide for his family.
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“My dad worked long hours,” Chapman said. “He would leave at 4:30 in the morning and wouldn’t be home until 7 at night. I would watch him work so hard and be so exhausted, and I remember being so proud of him, but also so careful not to repeat his mistakes. He would travel to the city via train and worked as a plant manager for a company that made coloring for different ceramics and things.
“He did that pretty much my entire life,” Chapman said. “He worked five days a week and really made an effort to take care of all of us. He set a great example of what it was to work hard. Growing up in that environment, I knew I wanted to emulate him, but I also wanted to make sure that I had time for my own family.”
From the log flume to aikido
Chapman worked several jobs at a young age to put some money in his pocket. He bused tables, did retail work, and even helped run a boardwalk log flume, spacing out the boats so they wouldn't hit each other as they went down the slide. He took the work seriously.
“For a teenager, they were fun jobs and good starting points to get more serious about working as I progressed through that time in my life,” Chapman said. “People could depend on me and I learned to be a hard worker and not goof off. I enjoyed it and I made some good money.”
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“For a teenager, they were fun jobs and good starting points to get more serious about working as I progressed through that time in my life,” Chapman said. “People could depend on me and I learned to be a hard worker and not goof off. I enjoyed it and I made some good money.”
As Chapman got older, he worked a couple more odd jobs, including working winters at a car wash, which was not one of his favorites.
“That was pretty brutal,” Chapman said. “I was constantly covered in water and the water would always freeze due to the temperature outside. I also had tons of layers on me, which really weighed me down. It was intense, hard labor and not very fun at all.
“As a teenager, I developed an interest in a form of martial arts called aikido,” Chapman said. “It’s basically focused on self-defense, whereas most other martial arts are offensive. It involves a lot of wrist locks and throws. I liked how traditional it was and I started doing it when I was 19. I threw myself into it headfirst and I was really enjoying it right off the bat.”
Chapman had access to a lot of the original teachers of the martial art. “I had the opportunity to seek them out and further learn directly from the source,” Chapman said. “A lot of these teachers were in the surrounding East Coast, in places like Philadelphia and New York. I wanted to continue my training in that way and it worked out in my favor. I wanted it to be authentic and not feel diluted in any way.
“I made it a point to always keep in touch with those trainers and I continued to show up time after time,” Chapman said. “This would eventually benefit me because I was able to travel around the country and the world, training with these dedicated individuals. I literally got to go to Japan, France, Spain and even Thailand. I did that for 18 years of my life. It was my mission.”
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Putting his passions together
Then Chapman hurt his shoulder during a martial arts exercise. But he refused to go quietly, and researched how to fix the injury. He stumbled upon crossfit training online and, not only did he heal his injury, but he enjoyed it enough that he wanted to do it full time, creating JSA CrossFit, which stands for Jersey Strength and Athletics.
“In 2006, I opened up JSA CrossFit in Point Pleasant, and after being in that location for a while, I moved to Manasquan in 2012,” Chapman said. “Upon opening, I decided to combine the martial arts training with the crossfit fitness training. I found that they went hand in hand and people love to come in and try both. I took both passions and put them together and made a great living out of it.
“After we opened, we started out slow, but started pick up the pace as we went along,” Chapman said. “We would have a pretty big kids' program and, when the parents would come to drop off and pick up their kids, they would see the fitness part of the room. They were intrigued by it, so they tried it and loved it. After they got results from it, they would spread the word to their friends. Some time passed and we began to grow.”
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Crossfit is the majority of what Chapman offers, designed to be functional fitness for everyone.
“We have all different blends of people and everyone enjoys what we have to offer,” Chapman said. “We pride ourselves on aiming to teach all demographics, whether it’s for the crossfit or the martial arts. We definitely have something for everyone and we try to get all customers to get the most out of the services we provide. We want to educate everyone in the martial arts space and crossfit space. It’s all about having fun and staying fit.
“We are really looking to try to be a place where everyone can come and feel comfortable with their workouts,” Chapman said. “We are really proud of our community for their continued support of our business. We want to give back and continue to be available for all ages and all fitness levels. It’s all about preserving our mental and physical health.”
JSA CrossFit
Owner: Skip Chapman
Location: 187 Parker Ave., Manasquan
Phone: 732-965-2006
Website: www.jsacrossfit.com
Hours: 5:15 a.m. to noon, 33:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays; 5:15 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays; 5:15 to 11 a.m., 3:30 to 8 p.m. Thursdays; 6:30 to 10:30 a.m., 4 to 7 p.m. Fridays; 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays; 9 to 11 a.m. Sundays
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: JSA CrossFit Manasquan started with owner's shoulder injury
