Welcome to the UBBT --HISTORY in the Making!

Hello to all new UBBT members, Team 5 and beyond.

I started the UBBT four years ago –and I can’t hardly tell you how many wonderful people we’ve met, trained with, built for and with, walked with, cleaned with, and, well, just plain been exposed to during this program.

One or all of the members of this team have had something to do and/or spent time with Frank Shamrock, Ernie Reyes, Sr. and Tony Thompson, Cecil Peoples, Jhoon Rhee, David Meyer and John Will, BJ Penn, Fariborz Azhakh, Mike Swain, Troy Dorsey, Dave Kovar, Dave McNeill, Tommy Lee, Lance Farrell, Chris Natzke, The West Coast Demo Team, Matt Thomas, Bill Kipp, Jason Scott Lee, John Bielenberg, Samuel Mockbee, Skip Ewing, Nancy Walzog, Angelou, Pam Dorr, Dan Millman, Thich Nhat Hahn, and a ton of other amazing folks who have, in one way or another, touched us and left us all with something memorable.

We have done a whole lot apart –and a whole lot together. We’ve rock-climbed at ZUMA Beach in Malibu while whales and dolphins played nearby; we’ve performed with the West Coast Demo Team, trained with Ernie Reyes, Sr. and Frank Shamrock, David Meyer, Troy Dorsey, BJ Penn. We’ve fire-walked, backpacked, built houses, fallen off roofs, walked in Martin Luther King’s footsteps, sat together in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama (four young girls died there September 15, 1963, victims of a bomb), toured and even worked on homes inspired by the late, great architect and teacher, Samuel Mockbee.

We’ve raised $100,000 to build or fix homes and help comrades. We’ve done at least two million push-ups as a team, paddled canoes on the ocean, hiked the Sierra’s, played in the waves at Waipio Beach on the Big Island, talked-story with Jason Scott Lee, visited people with almost nothing, who needed help –and others with almost nothing who wanted less. We’ve sat with monks, explored ideas, implemented new programs, hiked the Golden Gate Bridge, slept together, shared food, toothbrushes (forget it), shoes, and far too few late nights.

The names of the people, their determination, their dream and ambitions, their smiles…they all flash thru my head like a slide show: Mike Valentine, Karen, Pat Hoffman, Lance, Rob, Michael,

James, Stephen, Fari, Bryan, Alicia, Nancy, Claire, Jason, Rita, Ray, Garrett, and 100 others.

Their amazing forms, traditional and eclectic, their spirit, their words, their happy faces ready to help here, Do there, lift that, run there, carry, cook, hammer, listen (and listen and listen).

These people, each and every one of them, committed at every level, with years of martial arts experience or with just a couple of years under their belts, from near and far away (even Australia and New Zealand) –these people have helped to craft martial arts history.

It’s a fact that the UBBT has had (and is having) an effect on hundreds –and maybe thousands of schools around the world. Because of this work and all of these people, new ideas are being installed next to the old ones. People are, in the martial arts community, exploring kindness, empathy, activism, environmentalism, peace education, meditation, walking, simplicity, hero programs, anger management, personal victories, eco-adventures, mending wrongs and relationships, and at least 50 other ideas that have originated and/or been implemented by my UBBT classmates.

Because of the UBBT, at least in part, a new (old) kind of spirituality training is reemerging in martial arts schools around the world that didn’t, prior to this program, know exactly how to implement these concepts into their curriculum.

Now, with the UBBT 5, we are exploring the mobilization of our students. The new UBBT STUDENT PRORAM invites the students of UBBT members to join in and start taking unprecedented action in their lives, in their communities –and as a team. Business-wise, it’s probably not a winning formula, this inexpensive aspect of the UBBT (and I’ve even lowered the primary course tuition) –but it’s not a money issue, it’s the right thing to do.

The UBBT’s ideas, which are actually made up of other people’s ideas, from King to Rhee to Reyes to Lee to Uyeshiba to Kano to Homma to Hahn to (Name your favorite hero/thinker here), are meant to transcend the martial arts, the dojo, the style, the system, the country of origin, and anything that limits, constrains, or separa

tes.

I ask YOU, now, yes…you…to contribute your time and energy in this endeavor, this personal journey of yours. I ask you to invest in your training with rugged determination and unbelievable consistency.

I ask you to reach out to people you don’t know –so that you can teach your students how to reach out to people they DO know. I ask you, challenge you, to make your Ultimate Black Belt Test the most empowering experience of your adult life –by deciding you can do better, be more, do more –and by damn, making it happen.

Do it by making tomorrow count. Listen, read, learn, eat like a champion, engage each person as if he or she were THE MASTER (of all masters) –and shed some of the weight, the baggage, the anger, frustration, etc…you might be carrying around. Use the UBBT as a tool for personal transformation –and when you work on your self, it is reflected in everything around you –and it often becomes a tool for family, relationship, business, and community transformation.

Welcome to the Ultimate Black Belt Test, something on the Internet, something that only really exists in the minds of its participants. Something that isn’t meant to be just a brand name –but a revolution in thinking and action for a bunch of people who, in the past, have focused primarily on their own physical skills, competition, and business. All those things have their value, but the new mission is to take the martial arts “out of the dojo and into the world.” And, as Aikido Master Goku Homma pointed out, “My life is my dojo.”

In the coming UBBT we will show the marital arts world what a bunch of determined, focused, driven martial artists can do. It will be something that is pure, simple, natural, uncomplicated –but profound. Teamwork; small efforts leading to big accomplishments; environmental self defense; global self-defense; peace education; environmental self-defense; dietary self-defense; martial arts activists; anger management; and a sweeping away

of the invisible lines between martial arts, art, science, architecture, and all the other activities born of peace and kindness and wonder.

The UBBT is a rejection of the trivial, the dishonest or questionable, the insincere, anger, hatred, resentment, and all the other things that we REALLY need self-defense from. The UBBT project is mixed martial arts for living, fully.

Take it, run with it, make it your own.

Saving Trees, Saving Animals. Black Belt Stuff?

UBBT and 100 Teams,

(Response to UBBT'r who asked why we might add the following to the test)

The reason we would address an idea like "Save 1000 Trees" ---or "Save 1000 Animals" as a curriculum requirement of the UBBT isn't just about trees and animals, it's about consciousness.

It's about conscious consumption.




And consumption, what you and I consume, despite the fact that you and I might be totally and completely unaware and/or disconnected from it, has an effect on the world --and in a way that relates to personal self-defense.

The way I look at consumption is by bringing the world down to the size of my house. Imagine living in my house, with it's limited resources, with 10 other people. What if I consumed 80% of the food in it? How would that fare with the others when they were left with just 20% to pass among themselves?

How would I feel looking at them, face-to-face, after I'd used the majority of the hot water, the electricity, the food, the everything --leaving them, despite the fact that they have the same needs as I do, with so much less than I've had?

If we had to face the people in the world, face to face, people who do with so very much less than we have and use, we'd feel pretty weird. Maybe even ashamed. Would you throw away all the food you do in front of 20 starving children? Would you use things once and then just toss them in a trash can -in front of people whose every owned object is precious and useful --who would be shocked at the waste we generate?

So you think, as Americans, we were born with the right to use anything and everything we want, without any regards for others -or for where the stuff ends up, or what others have to do to give us what we want, feel we need, and want to use? When did that happen? When did it become OK to be so ambivalent about our abundance, our waste, our use of resources?

Well, it's a habit and a lifestyle and a privilege, isn't it? All the stuff we use, all the stuff that ends up in our mailbox, our trash can, our dumps and landfills.

It's our birthright as Americans to just use, use, use ---'cause it's never ending is it! It's NEVER going to end.

We can use a plastic bottle or cup 3 to 10 times a day, we can use it once and TOSS IT...because this is our right and it's the way of our people.

We can keep using trees, because they're a sustainable resource.

We can grow and harvest them in a way that we never, never, never have to even consider our usage. This is America anyway --and we're not altering our lifestyle for anything or anybody. It's our birthright! We consume without hardly a thought about it or a care for where it comes from or where it goes.

Conscious consumption is the master's way...this I have come to know. And it's easy, easy to talk about --but hard to do.

This is why we, as martial arts masters in the making -----in a program genuinely designed to investigate martial arts mastery -at the highest level, would entertain the idea of making the "saving of trees and animals" a part of it's curriculum. Our consumption in the world is an embarrassment. Our lack of awareness to it --is something we should look deeply at.

This is, in a deep and meaningful way, a form of self-defense...in my opinion.
Tom

THe UBBT and Whatever...

I am, along with many of you, participating in (living) a deep exploration of the martial arts and of life; seeking a place of perfect preparedness, a place where all of the training we have engaged in (or will engage in) is applied to something more than the block, the knife-hand, the choke.

On more than one occasion I have received letters from people who believe that the martial arts have nothing to do with enlightenment.

They tell me I am fooling myself, and others, to believe that the martial arts are good for anything other than a life and death struggle –and that spending time on anything else is a waste.

I understand this point of view, as there was a time when I felt exactly the same way.


But, then I got older; my father passed away in my arms; a long relationship ended for me/us, and I felt the sorrow of not having been at my best or cared for it (or for my father) as much during as I did after-the-fact. My son grew up, my daughter was born. My hips disintegrated and were replaced. Entire years slipped by that I could hardly remember. Friends and students died, some of natural causes, some thru self-destruction. I fell in love. I became engaged in the

struggle to make ends meet and to, at the same time, live an illuminated, meaningful life.

All these things and a thousand others have resulted in a belief that each and everything we do, whether it’s martial arts, art, or urinating, each and everything is best done with an appreciation for it, in the here and now –with a certain mindfulness.

For me, now, coming upon 48 years of age, with almost 37 years of practicing the martial arts, and, somehow, in a position of leadership in my community (the martial arts community), a person looked upon, by some, with some measure of respect –I have to tell you that I have lost the ability to distinguish between what is the practice of martial arts and what is the practice of being a human being (fully engaged, compassionate, at peace). It’s come to my attention that most, if not all, of the things that have attacked me, hurt me, wounded me, disabled me, crippled me, and caused me any sort of pain or sorrow, have had nothing, nothing at all to do with any stance, kick, hand position, duck, slip, throw, arm bar, choke, kata, or sparring session.

Not once, not ever.

Holding onto anger; that has hurt me often. Being resentful and jealous; that’s been a killer. Being selfish and self-centered; that’s been kicking my behind for years. Not feeling compassion for others; that’s just about too painful to discuss. Oh, and the worst of the worse: Letting minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years slip by, unaware of the gifts around me; living too often in the future or reliving the past and not having hardly any awareness of now --which is a most ignorant and painful way to live.

This thing, the UBBT, is a tool I have created to teach and to practice. It’s one way we can be involved, together, and practice those things, those actions, that are manifestations of our beliefs and our ambitions. There are many other ways to do what we’re doing without a brand name attached to them, but the UBBT is the one I’ve made (with all of your help) , and it’s the one some of us are using at the moment.

However, the deepest work we’re doing has nothing to do with the name UBBT.

How to Begin the Ultimate Black Belt Test

OK, you've already signed on, so here’s how to get started.

First, start training.
Your transformation begins physically. Your goal is to be lean, muscular, healthy, and incredibly skilled at the end of this test. Walk, ride, do your form (3 times a day), spar and grapple (or hit the bag), sit-ups and push-ups, etc.

Second, eat like a champion.
There is no excuse for you to consume more than you need –or to eat in a way that does not bring you health and fitness. Radically alter your diet, eliminating all junk-food, excessive sugar, and processed foods. Need help? Ask.

Third, become a part of the team.
The test isn't just about you. If you can train and eat like a black belt, can you be a black belt team member? Can you give in a way that shows who you are on the inside?

Fourth, get the people around you involved.
It takes a village to make you a master teacher, so get your village involved. Every student, friend, and family member plays a role in your training. They hold you accountable to your promise, they train with you, they grow with you, they support you when you need it. If you don’t tell people what you’re doing, you won’t lose face when you feel like quitting (and you will feel like quitting at some point).
People who don’t have their students holding them accountable to the UBBT, cut their success rate by 80%.

Fifth, tune in with Tom –and other Team Members to help you.
Coach Tom can and will help you with your training, your business, or whatever else you might need (within reason!). There is someone on the UBBT team, past or present, who can help you –if you need it, and if you’ll ask for it. Don’t try to be the Lone Ranger –and reach out for assistance BEFORE you’re desperate.

Sixth, plan to attend the events (long before they happen).
You have months to plan, raise money for, and prepare for our events. PPPPP = Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance (and it prevents you from missing out on some of the best times of your test).

Seventh, journal, every week, like you were writing a book (your book), and like you are a teacher to 1000’s.
Journaling is the key to connecting with your community, with our community, with your coaches, and with the program. Call Tom for journaling instructions (how to do it).

Eighth, develop and maintain an attitude of mastery, peace, compassion, and a resolve to persevere and solve ANY problem that arises.
There is no problem so great, no obstacle so huge, nothing, nothing, nothing that can make you quit or develop a bad attitude about your test or anyone involved with it. Develop a bad attitude and not only do you reveal the limit of your intelligence, but you embarrass yourself, the team, and your teacher (is that clear enough?). Of course, you won't --as you understood the commitment before you enrolled.

Thank you!