Dragon Door

Mike Spiegel, Regional Director of Fitness – Crunch

Athletic Achievements MS, CSCS, 2010 NYC Light Heavyweight Golden Gloves Champion

The PCC is an incredible experience that takes the complex world of Progressive Calisthenics and makes it simple and attainable. Danny and Al are welcoming, nurturing, and supportive, whereas many “experts” tend to be intimidating. You will leave PCC a better person.

Amazing instruction. Can’t say enough about the genuine passion, compassion, knowledge, and expertise of the brothers. The instructors had an amazing energy and everyone was supportive and encouraging.

Top notch. Amongst the best I’ve taken.

Kirsty Grosart, GMB Trainer

Despite there being 30 attendees, every instructor made you feel like they were there just for you. The knowledge of the instructors was immense and the energy they created is something that I will aspire to create in all my teaching. Each of the trainers gave me valuable information that I will be using in my own training and teaching.

Grace and Adrienne have been, and continue to be, a huge inspiration for me in the fitness industry. I am so glad I got this opportunity to spend more time in their presence. I hope that I have the opportunity to learn from them in the future. They are the best.

William Shaw, Personal Trainer, Kids Fitness Coach

Athletic Achievements NASM PT, Onnit Foundations, Onnit Steel Club

It’s the single best certification I have ever attended (I’ve attended about half a dozen) and in many ways it’s restored my faith in the fitness education industry. This has been a truly unforgettable experience with some of the friendliest, most well-informed, and intelligent instructors and attendees that I have ever had the privilege to meet. In an industry rife with mediocrity the PCC and Dragon Door hold a standard that should be the gold standard for fitness professionals.

The instructors were incomparable. So many breakthroughs. The way they could pinpoint exactly what was holding me back in any specific exercise was impressive and inspiring. If commercial gyms made this cert the standard, the world would be a healthier, cooler, and sexier place.

Shari Wagner, Kettlebell coach and gym owner

Athletic Achievements RKC Team Leader, RKC II, CK-FMS, training with kettlebells for 9 years

This was the most fun I’ve had at a certification workshop! The energy of all the instructors and assistants added to that experience and it encouraged the participants to cheer each other on and celebrate all of our PRs. Dragon Door delivered yet another life-changing workshop.

I have come to expect a certain level of quality and quality of instruction from Dragon Door workshops. Danny, Al, Adrienne, Grace, Annie, Beth, and Eric did not disappoint!

I enjoyed Grace and Adrienne’s portions that they each presented and it was nice to have a little bit of that variety with the instruction.

At some point in the weekend I worked with each instructor and assistant and each and every one of them had something valuable to offer to help me feel the movement or improve the exercise.

This is a Dragon Door workshop so of course the quality, scope of material, and practical use was second to none! But the PCC had a different energy to it. It felt lighter and more accessible and the nature of the course allowed for the participants to not necessarily succeed at everything they tried but left you with an inspiration of what is possible in the future. When you did succeed at doing something you never had before the room erupted as we cheered each other on

Joseph Boffi

The experience of the PCC was amazing. The instructors were of the highest standards. This level of instruction is what I love and expect of Dragon Door events. The feeling of friendship and family that is extended by “the leadership” permeates all through all the students, making this experience what it is.

The instructors had no ego and allowed students and fellow instructors to shine. The showcasing of abilities didn’t come across as one-upping but as a celebration of abilities and achievements. I also enjoyed seeing instructors try things they were working on even if they didn’t succeed. To me this is huge because it kept them human, humble, approachable, and someone I could respect and learn from.

Alfred Digrazia, Martial Arts Instructor

Athletic Achievements Full Contact Karate instructor 6th Degree More than 30 years teaching Kick Boxing and group conditioning 40 Years

Most obvious is the passion the instructors show. The energy they all show. Their insight into the movements is incredible. Their breakdown and progressions are mindful. They all made me feel that they appreciated our progress. In short, they were all great.

Dafna Hayman, Coach

Athletic Achievements Israeli Air Force, LLB, MBA, Ace CPT, Ace Group Fitness, FMS-II, RKC, SCC.

The PCC weekend was an amazing experience. The teaching team was incredible and the participants were fantastic. The energy was so positive and supportive and it pushed me to try things I never thought I would try. It definitely increased my interest in and commitment to bodyweight training.

The training team was amazing. The positive energy and support as well as their encouragement made me feel comfortable and confident to try new things.

Eric, Grace, Adrienne, Annie, and Beth contributed so much with their feedback, tips, can cues and helped me achieve some breakthrough moments. I really enjoyed having Grace and Adrienne teach a portion of the PCC. It’s great to see strong women that we can relate to and compare ourselves to, in a healthy, positive way.

PCC was as high quality as I expect from Dragon Door. The main difference between RKC and PCC in my opinion was that after the RKC I felt like I’ve earned the right to call myself a kettlebell instructor, at PCC I feel like it gave me a great starting point and baseline to begin my bodyweight workouts but not as a “pro”.

Seana Hart, Business Owner / Exercise Coach

Athletic Achievements CHEK Exercise Coach, Holistic Lifestyle Coach, RKC II

The hands-on practice, cues, and thorough explanation helped me nail a couple moves I didn’t know I could do!

I can’t say enough about the quality and professionalism of the instructors at the PCC workshop. The structure of the workshop, educational seminars and explanation, and the energy of the group allowed for a great weekend for learning and friendship! Dragon Door has done it again!

PCC is definitely the caliber I expected because of my experience with RKC and Dragon Door. However, I was still impressed with everything. The breadth of knowledge given with all moves was impressive.

Awesome! Loved it! Can’t wait for more!

Megan Hamilton, Personal Trainer

Amazing experience, valuable. Knowledgeable and passionate instructors. The supportive and encouraging student community that worked a lot in partnership alongside you was by far the most surprising and helped drive you to try even harder!

Quality was superb! Knowledge was extensive – practice what you preach is an understatement for these instructors! Loved the diversity displayed in the assistants, the differences in how they instruct, give feedback, and help.

This has been my first hands-on certification and training, other than my at home ACE studies. It truly has been everything I expected and didn’t expect at the same time. It has been practical, easy to understand and clearly demonstrates the scope of extensive knowledge! PCC will be hard to beat in my future training experiences, it has been unlike any other. PCC is the reason the I began training and why I got certified as personal to begin with.

Loved it! No complaints. Thank you for providing such a system that invites ALL to join and participate at whatever level they can. That speaks volumes!

Baron Carr, Director, Strategy

Athletic Achievements Yoga, NASM, ACE Group, Martial Arts

Overall, the PCC is a superb way of increasing strength and flexibility. It was taught in a way that was fun, engaging, and very informational. I particularly like the demonstrations from Al and Danny. It gave me a different perspective on how to achieve success. I also really liked that we have several coaches to assist.

I thought the training and knowledge was good. Very thorough. I really enjoyed using basic language to describe the technique vs. too technical. I also thought they were all very transparent with what they thought as an opinion vs. as a fact.

Cory Malone, Personal Trainer and Studio Owner

Athletic Achievements AFAA CPT, NASC TSAC-F, Masters in Economics

Pleasantly surprised; I’m normally cynical/skeptical/a New Yorker and although I was excited about the training, I was skeptical of how much Al and Danny would actually teach/lecture. I was afraid we’d only see them for an hour each day. It’s quite refreshing to know that notoriety has not jaded them.

I think the family dynamic between Al and Danny is relaxing and enjoyable. They play off one another well and it adds to the fun of the weekend. Instructors were also great and open minded in their instructions. It’s a great group I hope to one day join at future PCC certs.

Hands down best training/cert I’ve ever done. I’m AFAA, NSCA, and USAG (gymnastics instructor) certified and these certs combined did less hands-on work than we did in the first hour of the PCC cert.

The references and recaps with new work arounds and troubleshooting common errors as a group was also a major positive.

I couldn’t imagine any better experience that I’ve had in my young career.

Vibishaan Selvarajah, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements 4 years karate, few months of systema, few months of boxing, 6 years soccer

Very excellent team. They are very encouraging and positive. They make sure to answer everything the best they can and also have the ability to admit what they might not know instead of misleading the students.

Everything is great in its own way, however, I found the PCC to be very comprehensive and I also liked the manual which is very rich in information.

Sandra Bester, Personal Trainer / Psychic Astrologer

Athletic Achievements Gym training. Opening a private gym.

A must do. DO. THIS. COURSE.

Absolutely fantastic! Everyone was so knowledgeable; very well presented. Learned one hell of a lot.

Bret Hamilton, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements 1st Degree Black Belt in Chun Kuk Do; 2005 4A District Champion, 200m dash (22.67a); 400m dash personal best (50.78a); BS Exercise Science, 2010 (George Fox University); MA Teaching, 2011 (George Fox University); Precision Nutrition level 1 certified; CSCS certified; Formerly HKC certified;

The information was great, the camaraderie greater. It was inspiring to work with many strong individuals first hand, and to get help learning new skills in a safe, judgement-free environment. I was also “taught to fish.” I’ve got lots of work to do but I’m also confident in coming back to a later PCC to pick up new skills and better hone existing ones.

The quality of training overall was very good. There is something about working first hand with a coach that accelerates learning, and the instant feedback allows for quicker reinforcement and correction.

Having so many instructors on hand was nice. The diversity was good too. My wife came and she shared with me that had it not been for certain female coaches in attendance, she would have felt intimidated. The fact that she felt so confident asking for help spoke volumes of the environment the team was able to construct.

The PCC was the most practical cert I’ve taken. While the HKC gave me tools to teach people better movement and strength with kettlebells, the PCC gave me tools to reach all people and meet them at their level. This is invaluable. In our gym we have created our own system based largely off personal experience and guidance from Convict Conditioning 1, 2, and Explosive Calisthenics played a part too. The tools I learned here will allow us to seamlessly integrate and refine our existing system (which is working well), into something even greater.

Adam Marrocco

That it was hands down the best training experience I’ve ever had. The Kavadlo brothers keep you interested the entire length of the program and are always positive and motivational. Also, just being in a room full of calisthenics heads like myself was an experience all on it’s own! GREAT CLASS GUYS!!

I haven’t met ANYONE with as vast of knowledge in Calisthenics as the brothers! They break it down in a way you can understand as opposed to using big fancy medical terms to try and impress you! The instructors were all super knowledgeable as well! They were always there if you needed help!

I’ve never taken a class that provided such an extensive text book for me to learn from. Also learning all the different progressions provides me a door to welcome more people into our calisthenics world!

Shane O'Dwyer, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements Canfit Pro Cert

I felt encouraged, and welcomed to a community that I was unaware of how truly large and passionate it really was.

The training was amazing. The team and Al were attentive and descriptive. I felt confident with their teachings and more importantly I felt safe. The passion this team has is outstanding, their positive energy was refreshing and completely welcomed.

The PCC manual alone is invaluable as the content will keep you busy and progressing for the next couple years.

Leon Li

Great, supportive environment from PCC and it’s because the Kavadlos encourage people to reach further out of their comfort zone.

Instructors Al & Danny Kavadlo are very knowledgeable with their information and are passionate to share it. Their team is very attentive and supportive, showing that they too understand the exercise.

Ela Dugan, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements RKC, TRX, CCPT, ACE, PRE/POST NATAL

I was part of a small group of elite athletic humans who all wanted to advance the efficiency of their bodies. Everyone’s journey was unique, but everyone realized their uniqueness helped in their journey. During the certifications we all found hidden strengths and of course the weaknesses that needed to be addressed in order to reach our full callisthenic potential.

I thought it all must have gone so smoothly because everyone clearly took their job so seriously and because they were all so knowledgeable and passionate. It was great to see others (besides Danny and Al) demonstrating their skills and highlighting their strengths.

It far surpasses other certifications in terms of hands on work and detail. That’s why I came back and I am willing to pay more for this one because it’s worth it. I’ve sent co-workers and will keep pushing more of my co-workers to do it!

Akash Tawani, Student

Athletic Achievements Been doing calisthenics and a little bit of parkour for 4years. Achieved Brown belt in Jeet Kune Do in 2006. Currently doing the K11 Personal Training Certification in Mumbai.

It was an amazing experience. Al, Danny, and all the other trainers and assistant trainers have so much knowledge and they really know how to express it to other people. One could not ask for a better team of coaches.

It was a wonderful opportunity to learn from these guys. Al and Danny are such genuinely amazing people. All of the other instructors too. The best thing about all of them is that they really care about us and put all their heart into teaching us the best that they can. Their care for us also shows when we accomplish something for the first time. Sometimes, it’s almost like they get more excited than us which is really cool because their excitement always puts a big smile on my face. I feel incredibly honored to have gotten the opportunity to try and soak in the amount of knowledge that they have bestowed upon all of us.

Juan Rolan, Fitness Trainer

Athletic Achievements Owner of Long Beach Fitness, New York RKC certified 2005-2006

My experience in PCC was awesome! Everyone was great – Al and Danny really have got a really great way of teaching a lot great exercises and variations. Thank you.

Andrew Eelkema, Movement Coach

Athletic Achievements RKC since 2010. 5 years Army Infantry prior to that. Currently working through the Z-Health certifications.

It was a wonderful experience to share time and space with so many like-minded bodyweight fitness enthusiasts. The energy and passion of all pushed each of us to greater heights. The instructors especially were excellent, and a true source of inspiration and positivity.

Truly outstanding – thoroughly knowledgeable, relentlessly positive, accepting and encouraging to everyone. The instructors brought the content to life, and, to my mind, are the core of what made this a great experience.

Though I came in well versed in the techniques covered, I still picked up more than a few excellent cues and expanded my understanding.

It bears repeating: meeting Al and Danny in person was a tremendous experience. They’ve been a source of inspiration since I became aware of their work (through Convict Conditioning 2 and their articles), and they 100% live up to their image.

Dante DiGrazia, Martial Arts Instructor

Overall a great experience. I would gladly do something like this again. I got to meet and interact with interesting people from different walks of life, all with one common interest. Everyone was friendly and seemed genuinely happy to be there.

Top notch. Everything was easy to understand and the order of the progressions couldn’t have been better.

Praise for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC) — New York City, NY, June 2016