NASHVILLE, TN
THE CONFRONTATION
GYM
ROLEPLAY-BASED ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING
Practice speaking clearly, holding boundaries, and staying composed through live roleplay.
SKILLS TRAINING, NOT THERAPY
A CLEAR SCOPE. A PRACTICAL PURPOSE
The Confrontation Gym is skills training, not therapy. Founder and instructor Henry Paniccia is not a licensed therapist or clinician. TCG does not provide therapy, trauma processing or clinical treatment. Where appropriate, TCG complements professional care; it does not replace it.
STRUCTURED AND COACHED
​Clear drills, guidance, and feedback throughout.
YOU CAN DECLINE OR STOP
Decline any drill or stop at any point.
CONTROLLED PRACTICE
The goal is skill-building, not humiliation or abuse.
IN MY
CONFRONTATION
GYM...
We do not burn your fat.
We do not burn your calories.
We burn your fears.
We burn your weaknesses. ​
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We do not coddle.
We are not here to flatter you.
This is a training space, not your typical safe space.
But if you stand in the flames with us,
you will come out the other side cleansed.
For years, I asked myself the question:
HOW DO YOU TRAIN CONFRONTATION?
For YEARS I looked for a program like this.
No such thing existed.
So I built it.
WHAT IS THE
CONFRONTATION
GYM?
The Confrontation Gym (TCG) is live, roleplay-based assertiveness training under controlled pressure.
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It's built for people who freeze, fawn, or explode.
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For those who fold under pressure and regret how they reacted hours later. For those who fly off the handle at any inconvenience.​​
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We recreate the moments where you once collapsed and give you the reps to respond with clarity, calm and strength.
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Sometimes I’ll become the boss who talks over you.
The family member who pushes your buttons.
The stranger who disrespects you.
The pressure you usually collapse under.
This time, you train the response.​
WHAT HAPPENS IN CLASS?
Every class is different.
The method is the same: pressure, resistance, rewiring.
Expect drills like:
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Eye contact under tension
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Getting talked over and standing still
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Saying "no" and holding the line
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Holding frame when insulted or ignored
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Controlling volume, posture, and presence​
THE ORIGIN STORY
HOW DO YOU TRAIN CONFRONTATION?
“EVERYONE HAS A PLAN UNTIL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH."
– Mike Tyson, 1987
The Confrontation Gym (TCG) started with a question – how do you train confrontation?
I spent years training my body. I wrestled in high school, just two years after both legs were amputated above the knee. I spent my 20’s doing high level self-defense training. I powerlifted, once to a 345-pound bench press. But when it came to standing up for myself, I still fawned. I people-pleased. I avoided the conflict.
I rarely stood my ground. Seven years of trauma therapy helped me understand what to do. In the moment, the fawn habit took over anyway. I needed practice. I needed to train the response under pressure.
The Confrontation Gym is the program I wished had existed. The assertiveness training I found was lecture-based. No one was running structured stress tests, and that was exactly what I needed.
TCG is roleplay-based assertiveness training. You practice the assertive response under pressure, in a controlled setting, while your nervous system is activated. The aim is to rewire the habit, not just understand it.
Our staff follows a clear code of conduct and safety protocol. We put you under pressure and coach you through the response.
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Henry Paniccia
Founder, The Confrontation Gym
REAL PEOPLE. REAL PROGRESS.
Henry’s class was challenging but fun. He was patient and pushed me to do many reps simulating a challenging work situation.
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He texted me diction exercises which helped my speech. Since starting the class my moderate social anxiety at work has almost went away. I have also found myself able and willing to assert myself there more.
And I have had people ask me less to repeat myself. I look forward to the class even came after a long day at work and enjoyed it.
GEORGE.
participant, moderate social anxiety
TRAINING FORMATS
$20 | 2 HOURS
INTRO CLASS
Guided roleplay and practical assertiveness drills. Practice clear communication and firm boundaries under controlled pressure.
AGE REQUIREMENT
18+
VENUE / LOCATION
Diamond Sound Studios
241 Venture Circle, Nashville, TN 37228
4-WEEK COURSE
Build core communication skills through structured practice.
8-WEEK COURSE
Deepen your practice with more repetition and feedback.
SKILLS TRAINING, NOT THERAPY.
TCG complements professional care where appropriate; it does not replace it.
ABOUT THE CREATOR
Henry Paniccia is the founder of The Confrontation Gym, a live, roleplay-based assertiveness training program built around controlled pressure, repetition, and real-world resistance.
After years of physical training, trauma work, and personal reinvention, Henry realized assertiveness could not be learned through theory alone.
It had to be practiced. Repeatedly. Under pressure.
TCG was built as the program he wished existed: not hype, healing crystals, or performative positivity, but direct training for the moments when people shut down, lash out, freeze, fawn, or lose their voice.
Henry is also the author of With Lucifer On My Side and creator of Rods and the Axe. Across all of his work, the same theme remains: transformation is not something you talk yourself into. It's something you train.