Logan Square Fitness, Chicago

For owner Joe Zuniga, mixed martial arts is a family legacy passed down from his father and cultivated over 26 years into black belts in kodokan judo, goju-ryu karate, and five-animal-style wing chun kung fu. Thick mats inside the handsome brick gym stretch across the wide wooden floors, which also bear the weight of heavy bags, speed bags, and play-doh used to build bodies at the bench press. The modern studio?sans boxing ring?enjoys ample light from picture windows to highlight maneuvers, grow ferns, and display fear-inspiring pikes in carved wood frames.