DNA Fight Science

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Close-quarters combat is our specialty.

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The DNA Fight Science System covers all ranges of combat, but our true strength lies in the close-quarter domain. At the heart of the system is our aggressive Smash & Enter approach — a method designed to help students close distance, take control, and function effectively when confronted with pressure, resistance, and chaos.

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Our objective has always been simple: to develop practical fighting skills and training methods that continue to work when things become fast, physical, and unpredictable.

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At Defence Lab Saskatoon, we believe real progress comes from consistent training, quality instruction, and progressive exposure to pressure. Students are supported throughout their development and encouraged to progress at their own pace while continually building skill, confidence, fitness, and fighting ability.

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Classes are led by experienced instructors and senior students under the direction of Dustin Silzer. Multiple classes are offered throughout the week, giving students the flexibility to train around work, family, and other commitments.

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With one fixed monthly membership, students may attend as many available DNA Fight Science classes as they wish, appropriate to their experience and training level.

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The DNA Learning Process

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We use a simple three-stage process to develop skills that can be applied under pressure:

 

1. LEARN IT
First, you learn the technique, movement, and underlying principles. Understanding why something works is just as important as knowing how to perform it.

 

2. FATIGUE IT
Next, you build the skill through repetition, movement, drilling, and physical fatigue. The goal is to make effective responses increasingly natural and instinctive.

 

3. STRESS IT OUT
This is where the training comes alive.

Students progressively test their skills through resistance, sparring, pressure drills, and scenario-based training. Scenarios may recreate confined spaces, social environments, unexpected attacks, multiple variables, or other situations where students must think and function while under stress.

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The goal is not simply to perform techniques in a controlled environment — it is to develop the ability to adapt, problem-solve, and perform when conditions are unpredictable.

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FROM HOLLYWOOD TO THE LAB

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The roots of Defence Lab have reached far beyond the traditional martial arts world.

Defence Lab founder Andy Norman has worked within the Hollywood film industry as a fight consultant, martial arts specialist and stunt performer. His earlier work helped bring his distinctive approach to close-quarter combat to the big screen, most famously through the fighting style seen in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. His work and methodology have also been associated with Jack Reacher and other major film productions.

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Those Hollywood experiences became another part of Andy Norman’s continuing study of movement, body mechanics, close-quarter fighting and human performance under pressure. Today, that evolution continues through Defence Lab and DNA Fight Science.

 

The difference is simple: on screen, it has to look effective. In the LAB, it has to work.

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Membership

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Adult Membership: $75/month

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