With decades of taekwondo teaching under his belt, Brian Lanci is bringing both the physical and mental benefits of the practice to Mineola in his new, family-run school, The Arena.
“The Arena is a premier taekwondo and wrestling school,” Lanci said. “It’s designed with both of these disciplines in mind, so it caters to both…It’s a brand new, large facility with state-of-the-art equipment.”
Lanci said he was motivated to bring a taekwondo studio to Mineola to share the practice’s benefits with more people and help them grow in the ways they want to.
“My favorite part of teaching is taking a student from where they are to the place that they’re looking to go,” Lanci said. “People come into the school for a lot of reasons. One could be for discipline. One could be physical fitness. Some come for focus. Some come for self-defense.”
“I help the students acquire the necessary skill set for what they want,” he continued. “Seeing that happen, just having that success with them, is so rewarding.”
Lanci said The Arena offers wrestling and taekwondo classes broken down by age and experience level for all ages 5 and up. Currently, the school offers roughly six classes a day from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, a number he said will increase as the school grows.
Currently, Lanci is running a grand opening promotion: two weeks of unlimited classes for $29. He hopes it will inspire a lifelong love of the practice in people.
“Taekwondo and wrestling are skills that you can utilize your whole life,” Lanci said. “Some sports, you age out of in a sense. This isn’t something that has a limitation.”
He’s running the business with his family and friends. His sons, who are collegiate wrestlers, are helping to teach the wrestling courses while he serves as the head taekwondo teacher.
“I started in taekwondo at a young age and I’ve been doing it for over 30 years,” Lanci said. “My family and I have a long history of taekwondo and wrestling. We’ve been working with both of those disciplines for a long time, and that’s what inspired this project. We know what people need.”
Previously, he was the head instructor for around 25 years at a taekwondo studio on Covert Avenue, STKD, which burned down in a 2020 fire. He said opening his new studio allowed him to channel the skills he works to pass down to his students.
“I’ve been applying what I teach about in my classes and what I’ve learned about reaching for goals in my own classes, and doing the same with myself,” Lanci said. ‘“Basically, having a stick to it, no quit attitude.”
Those looking to take up taekwondo can give it a try at Lanci’s arena located at 172 Herricks Road.
