The 1000 Community Projects PROJECT It is one thing to do a black belt test and excel at it.

That in itself is an ac complishment. However, it is something else all together to combine forces with everyone on your team and do something that has never been attempted in the hist ory of the martial arts; and that s what this new requirement is about. Our goal is to achieve, by test end, 1,000 recorded community-based projects (re corded using the UBBT-inspired school management tool, THE DIGITAL DOJO, include d with UBBT Six Membership) -achieved only through our students and members of o ur individual communities / network. That s 1000 projects total, recorded in the team s PROJECT PORTFOLIO, for the entire team. For the teacher of the martial arts, this challenge requires management skills, communication skills, and it asks the teacher, quite literally, to take his or h er martial arts out of the dojo and into the world. For project specifics, check with Coach Tom Callos. The NO Quitting Requirement Whether you succeed or fail at the UBBT and/or any martial arts testing process, there is one thing a master teacher and/or a genuine practitioner of the martia l arts never does: Quit. When people joins the UBBT, I (Tom Callos) give them the most serious talk about their commitment. I explain to them how difficult this project is, and I make t hem offer their word that they will not quit, that they will not disconnect or d isappear, under ANY circumstances. Once you commit yourself, you COMMIT yourself and a UBBT member becomes a very public example of what a black belt is supposed to be made of. You may encounter obstacles, you may have to re-design how you p roceed, you may fall down 7, but you must always get back up, dust yourself off, a nd proceed. You will, inevitably, face an injury. You will find that your time i s stretched. You will get tired. You will suffer financial setbacks. You will fe el a sense of disconnection and isolation. However, this test and the entire UBBT Project is about the qualities that study ing and practicing the martial arts supposedly develop in its practitioners. You may not be Bruce Lee when it comes to raw physical talent, you may be past you r prime, or WAY past your prime, or you may be a novice but if you join the UBBT there is one area where you must -and can -shine like a star and that is in your a bility to persevere. In the Ultimate Black Belt Test I should be to able to TELL the entire world, Loo k to these people as examples of what the martial arts are about. They will not all succeed, many of them will fail to achieve what they set out to do, but watc h them do their work with extraordinary self-discipline, with consistent effort, with uncommon courage and focus, and look at how they DO what they said they wo uld do despite the obstacles. THAT, my friends, is at its core what we have to offe r the world through martial arts training. That IS the ultimate form of self-def ense. There is no quitting in the UBBT. You don t quit for yourself, for your students, f or your classmates, for the 1000's of people who look at this program for inspir ation, for all the men and women who came before us, people who literally wore t hemselves out teaching their beloved arts, and for the martial arts world.

1000 Push Ups and Crunches In honor of martial arts Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, who for 25 years (and still, in his 70's) does 1000 push-ups a day to demonstrate self-discipline to his studen ts, the UBBT does 50,000 push-ups and 50,000 crunches in 13 months. That s just 125 push-ups and 125 abdominal exercises a day (or if injured, an equi valent exercise). If Grandmaster Rhee can do 1000, we can do 125. This activity is, most of all, to demonstrate -physically -how little things add up to be big accomplishments. 1000 Repetitions of a Single Form Each UBBT participant picks a single kata (form) and performs 1000 repetitions (mi nimum) over the course of 13 months. That s 2.5 reps a day for 395 days. 1000 Rounds of Sparring Lay it on the line -get on the mat and put your skills to the test. 1000 rounds of sparring equals 2.5 rounds of any form of sparring a day for 395 days. Boxing , kickboxing, BJJ, judo, whatever it is, put in the rounds. 1000 Mile Walk/Run/Swim and/or Bike UBBT Team5 Member, Andy Mandell, is (at the time I m writing this) on the last 600 miles of a 10,000 mile walk around the perimeter of the United States for Diabe tes Education (see our Diabetes Education program MADDCAP at http://www.defeatdiab etes.org/). In honor of Andy s work -and in tribute to fitness and slowing life down, the UBBT team walks, runs, bikes, or swims 1000 miles over the 13 month test -or 2.5 mil es a day for a year. This idea also pays homage to The Slow Food Movement. Diabetes Education Course UBBT members must go thruogh the course on Diabetes Education for Martial Arts I nstructors produced by DEFEAT DIABETES (www.defeatdiabetes.org). Attending the 3 UBBT Events The UBBT members meet 3 times during the test. Each event is a seminar/conventio n but in a style congruent with the UBBT program. The 1st UBBT Event will be in March of 2009 in Greensboro, Alabama. The UBBT mee ts with housing activist Pam Dorr, members of the Rural Studio, and members of P roject M, to engage in a building/design project. This year we will be re-buildi ng a one-room schoolhouse, a Rosenwald School. See a short slide-show film about the UBBT s Alabama Project 2008, here Meet Pam Dorr in this film, made for the Hallmark Channel, by UBBT Alumni Nancy Walzog The 2ndUBBT project is a 4 day eco-adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail outside of Lake Tahoe, California. That even takes place in the last week of July. Here s a promotional video for the eco-adventure from 2008

Here is another. The 3rdUBBT event is the graduation ceremony, where the UBBT always includes a c ommunity service event. For the UBBT 6 we will be meeting in San Rafael, Califor nia at the first martial arts school in the nation to earn a GREEN certification . This event will take place in the 3rd week of February, 2010. See a video here, created by Karen Valentine, of part of her husband, Mike Valen tine s UBBT 3 Final Test Performance (at Dave Kovar s School, Sac., CA, 2007). Mike is a two-time UBBT Alumni, Karen is a graduate of Team 2. They will be the hosts in San Rafeal, CA. at www.practicalmartialarts.net 100 Hours of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Mat Time or Equivalent

Each participant in the UBBT must complete 100 hours of Jiu-Jitsu mat time (appr oximately 2 hours per week). Ideally, each candidate would earn a blue belt or e quivalent in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or equivalent. The UBBT Grappling Coaches are D avid Meyer of Sausilito, CA, BJ Penn of Hilo, Hawaii, and Cassio Werneck of Sacr amento, CA -but candidates may use anyone (and there are a 1000 great instructor s around the world) for instruction and ranking. 20 Hours with a Pro Boxing or Kick-Boxing Coach Each UBBT participant who hasn t boxed as amateur or pro, must complete 20 hours o f instruction with a pro-boxing or Muay Thai-boxing coach. 1 Reality-Based Self-Defense Course Each candidate must have training (no minimum time requirements) in a reality-ba sed self-defense training program. Self-defense advisor to the UBBT is Bill Kipp. Tom Patire, Bill Kipp, Peyton Quinn, Geoff Thompson, and Tony Blauer all run pro grams acceptable for this requirement. 5 Public Testing Performances Participants perform their final physical test performance (demo) in front of 5 separate audiences, prior to the final UBBT event. Complete the Full Body-For-Life Program (or equivalent) Members of the UBBT must go through the Body for Life Program or an equivalent. If we re going to teach fitness, we must live and look fit. Team members must also shoot before and after pictures. 15 Minutes of Daily Meditation Members must seek out a master of meditation, either in person or thru video or audio, and learn how to meditate properly -then, each participant must meditate 15 minutes a day for one year. Many martial artists include some form of meditat ion at the beginning or end of their classes, but very few have ever been taught how to meditate. For help with meditation, visit the Nashville Mindfulness Center run by UBBT Gra duate Skip Ewing.

Custom Written Test Requirements Each member of the UBBT must customize his or her own requirements and submit th em in writing to the team coach (and post them in their journal). All black belt tests should be customized to challenge the participant in a way that reflects his ro her strengths, weaknesses, and ambitions. Weekly On-Line UBBT Journal Entries Every UBBT participant is required to make a weekly journal entry on the UBBT we b site. A journal entry should be approximately 100 words long and chronicle the persona l journey of each participant as he or she lives with the UBBT experience. Journal entries will be open to the public and may be used in articles or book p rojects relating to the UBBT. The Making and Posting of One Film UBBT members must make and post a film about their experience -or something that relates to their experience as martial artists. Topics are negotiable. We have an Academy Award winning filmmaker as an advisor to the film -as well as a numbe r of competent amateurs to help the novice. Here are three examples: Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Achieving and Documenting 10 Personal Victories The idea that a black belt (or any student) would attach personal issues to his or her test is, well perfect. Achieving 10 personal victories as a test requiremen t means that the STUDENT gets to choose what is important to him. She integrates her own goals, outside of the realm of kicking and punching, into her test -and not only personalizes the test, but makes the process all the more meaningful a nd fulfilling. Team Info List and 25 Contacts I think that one of the most important parts of a black belt test is how the stu dent interacts with his or her team (Ernie Reyes, Sr. has always made team an inte gral part of his tests -and what I remember most about my tests, now that I look back, were the friendships and experiences I had with my classmates). As a member of the UBBT, each participant is required to have a phone/e-mail lis t of all other team members and make a minimum of 25 (team total) contacts with fellow teammates over the course of the test. Two Anonymous Acts of Kindness to Minimum of Two Teammates Each teammate is required to do something kind -and anonymous -for two fellow te ammates over the duration of the test. Each anonymous event is reported to the t eam coach.

1000 Acts of Kindness 2.5 acts of kindness a day equals 1000 acts in 12 months. All participants are r equired to perform and log 1000 acts of kindness. Note: How many times have I he ard someone say, What do acts of kindness have to do with the martial arts? My friends, acts of kindness might be the ultimate form of self-defense. If you don t see the connection between kindness and the martial arts, then you re probably very young, you haven t read the masters, and it s very likely that you don t have ch ildren. Perhaps the point is that the two ARE NOT related? My suggestion, document 1000 acts of kindness and let me know what you experience. For the martial arts teacher, well -there are always things you will do for your students that you wouldn t do for yourself. Actually documenting 1000 acts of kindn ess offers young students a 1000 ways they can improve the quality of their own thinking. 50,000 Acts of Kindness through Students and Community A UBBT participant must practice leadership tudents and members of his or her community ogram. This is the ultimate form of martial e to accomplish for anyone not committed to y way. Right 3 Wrongs Each member of the program must make right three wrongs they have done in their li fe. The event to right is completely up to the tester. Testing for a black belt should be an experience that requires more than simply a test of physical endurance. This requirement asks the participant to heal and mend issues and/or events from the past that, under different circumstances, he or she would have handled differently. Mend 3 Relationships Gone Bad Every UBBT tester must mend 3 relationships during the test that have been damaged by one or both of the parties involved. Profile 10 Living Heroes Each UBBT participant muct search out and profile (in-person interviews are not required) 10 LIVING HEROES (first 10 may not include relatives and/or war heroes ). Here are two examples from UBBT alumnia: Example 1 Example 2 Environmental Clean Up Project One of the major themes of the work of Team Coach Tom Callos and many of the UBB skills in such a way as to inspire s to engage in the acts of kindness pr arts school promotion -and impossibl the program in the most extraordinar

T s Alumni -is the idea that self-defense is more than kicks and punches, grappling and reality-based scenario training (and all of that). The new definition of self -defense is everything that causes harm and or kills someone. It s attitude, diet, relationship issues, money management, and yes, environmental issues. Everyone in the UBBT does an environmental cleanup project with students and/or community. It s not just the responsibility of martial arts teachers -but of every citizen, martial artist or not. Here s a video from a school (with 3 ubbt alumni in it), that uses environmental i ssues as a major theme within its curriculum. This is also the first school in t he nation to adopt my concept of environmental issues woven into a school s curric ulum. It Mike and Karen Valentine of San Rafael, CA. Example Video Memorize Quote Memorize One Lengthy (100 words or more) Quote, Poem, or Piece that is meaningfu l to You. The quote Mastery is an example of a suitable piece -and participants ma y choose that one -or one that speaks to them. Mastery can be found in the UBBT s me mber s only website. Seek Out a Master Each candidate will be required to seek out one master (of any discipline in or out of the martial arts), conduct and interview and, if possible, study with him or her. Empathy Training Empathy Training is, for the martial arts community anyway, a UBBT curriculum-co mponent creation. Having empathy for people with less -or who are gifted with so mething that makes them see, feel, or otherwise engage the world in a unique way -is a fine form of emotional and intellectual self-defense. The day in a wheelchair is in honor of three martial artists, 2 of which were st udents of mine that through no fault of their own now live and function in wheel chairs. Jay Pak and Patrick Flanagan -here s to you! 1 Day Blind, 1 Day Mute, and One Day in a Wheelchair Reading Requirements Each UBBT participant reads a dozen books during the test. Here s a suggested reading list from Coach Tom Callos and other team members (part ial): Turning Fear Into Power, by Bill Kipp (UBBT graduate) Radical Simplicity, by Jim Merkel The Art of Peace, by Uieshiba Three Budo Masters, by john Stevens That Which You Are Seeking is Causing You to Seek, by Cheri Huber NOW, the Art of Being Truly Present

The New Nuclear Danger, by Dr. Helen Caldicott (one of my living heroes) How to Make the World a Better Place, by Jeffrey Hollender How to Change the World, by Borstein (thanks Charles Chi) The Kids Guide to Service Projects, by Lewis Rural Studio, Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency It s Easy Being Green, by Crissy Trask Practicing Peace in Times of War, by Pema Chodron One Can Make a Difference, by Julia Butterfly Hill Anything written by Thich Nhat Hahn Unstuck, a Tool for Yourself, Your Team, and Your World, by Yamashita and Spatar o A larger reading list is stored on the UBBT s Member s Only Website. Optional Requirements In the martial arts tests of the future (or right now in the UBBT), student will have optional testing components they can voluntarily add to their tests, just like someone choosing their courses for college can choose elective classes base d on their personal interests. The Video Diary Challenge Along with the UBBT s written journaling requirement, participants accepting this challenge produce a video diary once a month (minimum) for 12 months. The Vegetarian Challenge Go vegetarian (no meat or no dairy/animal products) for 3, 6,or 12 months. The Buy Nothing New Challenge

This optional challenge follows suit with San Francisco s THE COMPACT (http://sfco mpact.blogspot.com) which practices the idea of not buying anything new for 12 months (except for food, un derwear, medical supplies, etc.). The 24 Pictures Challenge Record your physical transformation. Take a picture of yourself, shirt-off, twic e a month for one year -to show the changes your physique goes through. After the 12th month, you assemble the shots into a movie/slide-show. See this video as an example of a photo time-lapse montage.

The White Belt Challenge Start a new style of martial arts, as a white belt.