This is the Ultimate Black Belt Test! Welcome!12/8/2009 1:18:00 PM
This is a new guide for UBBT members, both primary and student members.
I’m going to tell you what I think the program is about –and how you should
apply yourself to it.
But be aware, part of what the UBBT is about is exploring
the unknown.
What I don’t know about your UBBT --is what interests me the
most. I can tell you what the program is about from my perspective, but in the
end I’m looking forward to hearing about your own unique contribution to the
work, your own approach to living like a champion.
First, Some UBBT History and Background
I started the UBBT because I felt that the martial arts
industry, in general, needed to look deeply at what training for and being a
black belt (and a martial artist) was about. I felt –and still feel –that instructors
were not asking enough of themselves, or their students. I felt that far too
many martial arts teachers had reduced their focus and their work to the
pursuit of better technical instruction, tournament competition, and/or “business”
success.
In a nutshell, I felt like there was so much more we could
be, so much more we could DO!
I started the UBBT with the hopes of setting a higher
standard of performance for the entire martial arts community. I had seen my instructor,
Ernie Reyes, Sr. do this very thing with our West Coast Demonstration
Team. Through the team, Master Reyes
changed the way people all around the world practiced and performed their
martial arts.
The UBBT is The West Coast Demo Team of black belt tests.
When people see what we do, how we apply ourselves, the things we tackle, the
way we approach our practice, how we overcome obstacles, how we work together, and
how we apply our training to our lives, I want them to be MOVED.
I want them to
have a new set of standards, new goals, and a new belief in their own ability
to do the magnificent.
Together, we can redefine what it is to train for, earn, and
BE a black belt and a martial artist in today's world. But there’s something even more important
than that:
In the UBBT we can LIVE in a
way that shows people how to be better people, how to be healthy,
compassionate, connected, participative, and loving. We can teach by example.
THIS is what our journey
is about –and, after 40 years of practicing the martial arts, I have come to
realize this is what it is to pursue any kind of “martial arts mastery” worth
the time, energy, and effort.
The “ULTIMATE” black belt test is about exercising more of
our potential as human beings.
Our vehicle is martial arts training, but we’re
not supposed to be enamored with the “car,” it’s where the car TAKES US, it’s
what we experience, who we meet, and what we DO along the way that matters.