“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
In 2011 and 2012 I had the honor of connecting with Tom Callos and a project that he started called the 100 and the Ultimate Black Belt Test. The idea (if I can be so presumptuous as to summarize it) was to bring 100 like-minded black-belts together to demonstrate to the world what a team of hard working, committed, compassionate individuals were capable of doing.
The obvious work that we did was on ourselves—each of us did 50,000 push-up and sit-ups, 1,000 rounds of sparring, 1,000 reps of kata, and 15 minutes of meditation every day. But so much of our daily work was for our community. We all brought 1,000 acts of kindness, mended relationships, organized service projects, and together traveled to the poorest county in the United States to contribute toward house building and community service work.
It was transformative to say the least. And I made some great martial arts friends in Chris Hadlock, S. Kai Lee, Greg Garcia (all of whom I need to see more), and others that I still stay connected with. And I thankfully got to connect even more with my friend and mentor Tom Callos.
As a teacher I was immediately struck by how I could take my experiences back to my own dojo and began including my own students in the process as much as possible. When I had two students getting ready to test for black-belt, it was a no-brainer to replicate some of what I experienced into their own tests. One of them, Chrissy Scott, went on herself to complete the full UBBT the following year, even traveling out to Alabama with us for the house build.
Now, 10 years later, we have three strong black-belt candidates ready to complete this challenge of heart and determination. It is a test that others have described as almost impossible, but worth every step. As a Sensei, their test is much my test. I learned long ago that my words and action as a coach and mentor can have a profound effect on my students and their lives/community. Coming to that realization as a teacher can be, quite frankly, terrifying.
My concerns about failing as a teacher and mentor, however, only stick with me if I think of myself as a Sensei in isolation. But when I remind myself that I am surrounded by a community of martial artists, the fears melt away. One thing that this process will assuredly bring out in all of the participants is the value in connecting with and surrounding yourself with good people that will support you when you take on challenges such as these.
If you are a student at Zen Martial Arts, a parent or family member of someone at the dojo, a member of the greater Isshinryu community, or even just a fan of this work, please lend your support to our three candidates and remind them that we are cheering them on!
Ganbatte!