A Veteran’s Perspective: What’s Really Happening on the Mat at SMAA

Last week I had a conversation with one of my adult students, Steve Burczyk, that I thought was worth sharing with you directly. Steve is a former Army Drill Sergeant and school teacher who now works with veterans struggling with the emotional aftermath of combat — helping them learn, as adults, the coping and life skills that we work to instill in kids before they ever face that kind of hardship.

Steve has trained at SMAA, on and off, since 2006. He gets to class a little early most Mondays and Wednesdays — not to warm up, but to watch. Here’s what he told me he sees.

Most Schools Optimize for What’s Visible

Rote forms, memorized movements, belts that mark progress parents can see and feel good about. There’s real value in that — the forms are the foundation, and earning a belt is a genuine accomplishment. But at most schools, that’s all there is. Kids are trained to stop a strike inches from contact and stand still in front of an opponent. Effective self-defense requires more than that.

What Steve Noticed at SMAA Is Different

Kids are learning to move their bodies the way bodies are built to move — crawling, rolling, falling, swinging, jumping. They put on pads and headgear and actually strike and kick each other. When they play dodgeball or swing foam bats, they’re training something most schools skip entirely: the ability to avoid getting hit. Because it’s framed as play instead of a “deadly technique,” kids learn it relaxed and having fun, not tense and aggressive. Steve rarely sees a kid get mad, cry, or leave the mat — even after getting knocked down. Nobody gets mocked. Bullying isn’t tolerated, ever.

Watch a student who’s stuck around for a few years, and you’ll see that play mature into real self-defense capability — without rage, without fear.

The Mindset Behind the Movement

Steve also spends time on the mat with our teenagers doing groundwork. What stands out to him is their mindset: when a technique doesn’t work, they don’t get frustrated — they work to figure out why. That’s not an accident. It’s something we build deliberately.

His closing observation is the one that stuck with me most: kids almost always come off our mat happy and energized. You won’t see that after an hour of screen time.

If you’re looking for a place where your child learns to avoid getting hurt, stand up to bullying, and defend themselves — without being taught they’re invincible, but taught to move and think — that’s what we’re building here every day.

— Mr. Scornavacco
Head of School, Scornavacco Martial Arts Academy