Training

The Serbatik model

One curriculum per student

Core training is one-on-one with Grandmaster McCleary. There is no generic curriculum applied to a room full of students. Your program is designed for your goals, your body, and your pace.

One-hour sessions move the way the system moves: technique understood before it is drilled, structure before speed, precision over brute force — with the conditioning and mobility work that supports the practice, calibrated to where you are in your training.

What each session includes

Warm-up drawn from the arts — footwork, structure, breath
Technique taught through base, angle, and lever — not by rote
Conditioning and mobility in service of the practice
The doctrine behind the movement — why an action works, not just how
Review: what you understood, and what comes next

From the curriculum

Buang — the throwing series, in flow

The Gulat Buang series in motion — Maha Guru McCleary flowing through throws, off-balancing, and controls with a student on the mats.

Beyond Knoxville

Distance Training

The full curriculum lives on the Serbatik student portal, and the system travels. Distance students study, demonstrate, and test through a structured arc — built for serious practitioners anywhere.

01

Study

Accepted students receive structured video instruction through the student portal — the material released in sequence, module by module.

02

Demonstrate

Students submit response videos showing the material in their own practice. Grandmaster McCleary reviews and critiques each one directly — the same correction loop as in-person training, carried across distance.

03

Test

Rank testing happens in person: travel to Knoxville to test on the material, or arrange for Grandmaster McCleary to come to you.

04

Host

Students with a school of their own can host a seminar as part of a testing visit — bringing the system to their students and making the trip count for everyone.

Access begins the way everything at Serbatik begins — by application.

Is this right for you?

Who Trains at Serbatik

Students come from every background. What they share is a desire for training with depth, purpose, and personal attention.

Seeking Meaningful Fitness

You want fitness that comes from studying something real. Strength, mobility, and endurance arrive as the byproduct of skill — and the skill keeps you training long after novelty wears off.

Exploring Martial Arts

You want to deepen your practice inside a complete system — direct instruction in a methodology that gives every technique a framework, whatever arts you carry with you.

Working Around Constraints

You have injuries, physical limitations, or a demanding schedule. You need training that adapts to your reality — not the other way around.

Your journey

Your Training Pathway

A progression measured by understanding, not by the calendar.

Application & Conversation

Before you train

You apply through the Apply page. Grandmaster McCleary reviews each application and responds to set up a brief conversation to talk through goals, schedule, and fit. If we move forward, you're invited for an initial in-person session.

Foundation Phase

The first phase

Grandmaster McCleary builds your base — stances, footwork, fundamental techniques, breathing, conditioning. Everything that comes later stands on it. Sessions are paced to your body and learning style.

Development Phase

As the base holds

The vocabulary expands — combinations, takedowns, traditional forms, controlled sparring — and the doctrine starts doing its work: angle and lever applied against a resisting partner. Your program deepens with your goals.

Advanced & Ongoing

For as long as you train

Refine advanced technique, explore the weapons ranges, deepen specific arts within the synthesis, or work toward testing, teaching, and carrying the system yourself. At this stage, training becomes an ongoing partnership.

Beyond one-on-one

Group Sessions

Group sessions are available by arrangement. They are not on a public schedule and are not the primary offering — most students train one-on-one. If you're interested in training alongside others, mention it in your application; small groups form when there's a clear shared training goal.

Two students drilling ground containment on the mats at the Edge academy

For outside groups

Seminars & Clinics

Grandmaster McCleary is available to teach seminars and clinics by arrangement. Outside groups, schools, or organizations interested in hosting are welcome to begin a conversation through the Apply page. Topic, format, and duration are determined per engagement based on what the host group is looking for. Grandmaster McCleary travels to host sites.