Author: Brad Scornavacco

How do you know how well you are doing?  You look around. We are social animals who take many of our cues from the people around us. We all look to our teachers aspirationally while we look to our classmates competitively. Consider this: 10,000. This is a number. This is a big number, you may say. Why Read More …

Theme for this cycle: Takedowns on the Move Area of Focus: Form/Posture Class Objective(s): Successful takedowns require you to break your opponent’s form.  Tonight we’re going to work on strategies for detecting when we’re reinforcing our opponent’s form disrupting form even when they’re fighting it maintaining our form to maximize their pain and suffering (this Read More …

Theme for this cycle: Takedowns on the Move Area of Focus: Movement Class Objective(s): We’re going to work on the floating center of gravity Tension and Relaxation Rather than roll, pitch and yaw (which describe the axes) and use spin, stretch and squat (which describe how to move people around the axes – Brad suggestion) Read More …

Theme for this cycle: Takedowns on the Move Area of Focus: Relaxation Class Objective(s): We’re working on takedowns – a lot of tonight’s work will involve one hand Heavy hands don’t mean you’re grabbing Using your fingers doesn’t mean you’re pinching If you want some one to go down – you need to move them Read More …

Theme for this cycle: Takedowns on the Move Area of Focus: Breathing Class Objective(s): At the end of class you should understand what’s required to take a single attacker to the ground and control them In response to a grab, a punch, and a knife attack You should understand the value of breathing out when Read More …

Theme for this cycle: Moving and Striking with a Weapon Area of Focus: Review/Validation Class Objective(s): We will test our training from this cycle Breathing Exercises: Nothing specific tonight Joint Mobility Exercises: Nothing specific tonight Work Specific Strengthening Exercises: Nothing specific tonight Drills: one on one – just a little warm-up attacker comes in with Read More …

Theme for this cycle: Moving and Striking with a Weapon Area of Focus: Review/Validation Class Objective(s): We’re going to run through what we’ve covered and review anything anyone would like Breathing Exercises: 20 push-ups 20 squats 20 leg-lifts Joint Mobility Exercises: Figure-8 push-ups and elliptical pushups (5 ea). Side lunges – back and forth Work Read More …

When you begin training it’s natural to wonder how you are doing.  The simplest way to find out is to look at others, to compare yourself to someone.  Following are 4 types of comparisons you can make.  I will show you how to effectively use each comparison in your training. 1) Self to Ideal/Paragon Whatever Read More …

Before I begin, I have a follow-up to the centipede poem from last time: A one- legged dragon meets the centipede (after his run-in with the toad). He asks the centipede, “How do you manage all those legs, I can’t even manage one.” Centipede wisely answers, “I don’t manage them.” When I studied technique-based martial arts, it Read More …

Example of how a lesson plan is subject to modification for the benefit of the students. Read More …