Beginning in 2025 I will be turning over the regular Antifragile Self Defense and Combatives program at Stout PGH / Team Renzo Gracie to Logan, Derrick, and Misti and stepping away from regularly scheduled weekly instruction. I will still do seminars, my one day Vehicle Combatives, and cover classes as needed.
I had to go into the way back machine to find when this all started but I found an old course review posted on an old gun forum from 2009. A couple of buddies and I that had been doing firearms training courses together decided we needed to do something more hands on. We chipped in together and brought out a guy named “mercop” online to do a course for us in my in laws back yard. When that was over we decided to get together again and practice. And thus began the Fight Club, which eventually brought in Craig Douglas / Shivworks for our group and then began what has been the longest running Shivworks Training Group. I did a little more searching and found an old Grey Group AAR from 2011 that was my first ECQC in Carthage NC.
I’ll spare you the whole story but of all the folks who where there in the beginning the only one who’s still around is my wife. Lots of folks were super into it but life gets in the way, priorities change, babies happen, people move, and honestly there’s just an expiration date for most people on how long they are willing to get beat up for and its not years let alone decades.
We went from muddy yards, to gravel pits at the range, to an abandoned trailer, and then Finally Warren Stout said why don’t you guys come do that on the mats, and then eventually why don’t you open this up to everyone make it a regular class. Hes let me do my thing, hes deferred to me on these topics which is WILD considering his martial arts pedigree, and hes supported this thing of ours every step of the way.
My desires and goals have evolved over the years. At one time I wanted to be THE GUY, I wanted to teach, I wanted to stroke my ego. That got beat out of me. Then I just wanted training partners so I could get better because I had something to prove. Time takes care of most things and it took care of that desire as well. I got it out of my system. Then I wanted to get good at teaching, I did and still do find it very rewarding and its a skill on its own. This and seeing the good we have done to countless lives both mentally and from people who have used what we have taught has kept me going.
But my priorities have changed over time and its taken years of development to get to the place where I can feel good stepping back and letting an experienced cadre take it over. I’ve had the idea for a long time now that its not me that’s important, its the work. The work will go on, and I am proud to have had a part in building something that can go on without me.
You may see schedule changes, times and locations, modifications to curriculum born from experience. I am excited to see where it goes, and very excited to be able to step back into a class as a student again and do some training.
See you on the mats,
Shawn
Antifragile Training 