Five Stones is fighting the good fight

Five Stones Fight Club is so much more than a self-defense training facility.

It’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood. It’s a metaphysical melding of body, mind, and spirit. It’s a ministry.

It’s a way of life.

A resident of Hummelstown and a former marine and police officer, Shane Manney founded Five Stones Fight Club in 2008 and is currently the organization’s executive director.

“If you’re leading a boring Christian life, you’re doing it wrong,” said Manney. “You’ve got to let go and let God. God has given you a body and a mind. Every man, woman and child has a purpose and a calling. You have to seek that plan but hang on because it’s going to be more fulfilling than anything you ever expected.”

Five Stones Fight Club at 25 E. Main St. in Annville is made up of a 10,000-square-foot gymnasium, a weight room, a wrestling room, a jiu-jitsu room and a boxing area. Depending on the time and the day of the week, the fitness space is filled with fighters, working, training and learning the disciplines of boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling and jiu-jitsu, some on their own, some under the eyes of trainers.

Some of the more serious fighters compete in jiu-jitsu tournaments, Golden Glove championships, and other professional boxing events.

But on Sundays, the gym is transformed into a worship area for church services.

“Five Stones Fight Club is built on the five pillars of identity, purpose, calling, training and being on-mission,” said Manney. “We believe every young man will thrive if he’s on a mission. We get them training and that teaches them humility, how to win and how to lose, and all those things roll over into life. There’s going to come a time when you’re not going to fight anymore and that’s the time when you can serve others. There are small things that can make a difference.”

Even bolder than Five Stones’ vision is its actions.

As an organization, Five Stones Fight Club performs mission work stateside and in local areas like Harrisburg, but also provides disaster relief abroad. In emergency situations, Five Stones has built tiny homes, repaired bridges, fed hungry masses, sponsored children in need and provided first aid medical services.

“We get calls for service,” said Manney. “The whole point is plugging people in. We try to plug people into something, instead of trying to change them. We have personal trainers interacting with people who come in and out. We’re trying to build relationships.”

Currently, Five Stones Fight Club’s gym boasts 600 members, mostly males between the ages of 18 and 35 from Lebanon County, Harrisburg and Lancaster County.

“They come from all walks of life,” said Manney. “We have professionals, we have guys out of rehab, we have guys out of jail. We’ve got police officers. It’s a crossroads and it’s neat to see the interaction. It’s really an awesome thing when it all comes together.”

“They’re people who are looking for a place to belong,” continued Manney. “Some are seeking validation. There’s a void in their lives that this could be filling. This gives them an opportunity to be part of a team, to excel and to grow. The humility factor is huge. You can’t hide. People’s problems come out and it’s a great way to connect.”

The fight club is staffed by five paid coaches and 10 volunteer coaches and instructors. Gym memberships fund the club’s mission and help pay for the ministries.

“People see what’s happening and ask, ‘What’s the secret?’” said Manney. “There are no secrets. It’s not about business; it’s about relationships. We’ll err on the side of people 100% of the time. I’ve been burned, but that’s a ‘them’ issue not a ‘me’ issue. They’re missing something in life.”

“You can go to a gym, and you hear it a million times, ‘It feels like a family,’” Manney added. “But do you eat together? Do you hunt deer together? It’s a pretty awesome experience the way God set this up. We’ve provided food for people when times are tough.”

After establishing the club in the basement of his home in Myerstown in 2008, Five Stones Fight Club sort of took on a life of its own. In 2011, the club moved to a space in Lebanon, then four years ago relocated to its current digs in Annville.

Now, plans are in the works to open a sister facility in Shamokin.

“I’ve been involved with fitness my entire life,” said Manney. “My wife says I get rammy if I don’t have something to do. I was looking for place to train and it was expensive. I met a guy who was also a marine and a police officer and we started training together. We started in my basement and moved to the garage, and all of sudden 15 guys are now 40 guys. It just kind of blew up from there.

“I don’t think the methodology has changed at all,” added Manney. “It’s just the size and the location. God provides.”

For additional information, go to 5stonesfightclub.org.