The Alabama Project for the UBBT & 100

To: All UBBT Teams, Friends, Masters, Students, and Total Strangers:

2008-03-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Subject: Donations for Alabama Home Build

To donate to our host, Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization (HERO) in support of our April building project, please use one of the following method

To to donate by check, please mail the check to:

Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization (HERO)

PO Box 318

Greensboro, AL 36744

To donate by credit card on-line, please follow this link:http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=110816

Then click the “Donate” button and follow on-line instructions.

In either case, please note UBBT 2008 in the comment field. If you are donating on behalf of a particular UBBT member or school, please note that too.

Hal Gustin (team 5 / the 100)

The Alabama Project April 2008

2008-02-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

For the fourth year in a row, the members of THE ULTIMATE BLACK BELT TEST (UBBT) and THE 100, along with a lot of students and friends, will be raising money for -and then BUILDING a house for a family in need in Greensboro, Alabama.

This project is organized by Tom Callos, the Team Coach for the UBBT and The 100, and housing activist Pam Dorr (click on her name to see a film about Pam [that's the UBBT building structures in the background] made by UBBT member and Academy Award winning filmmaker Nancy Walzog).

Members of The UBBT 5, along with UBBT Alumni (and, always, some students & friends) actually travel to Greensboro to build the house in a just 4 days.

We go to this region for several reasons:

This is one of the poorest regions in America (known as THE BLACK BELT).
We go to meet one another and exchange ideas -under the most extraordinary of circumstances.
We go to honor the famous architect/teacher, Samuel Mockbee and his work with The Rural Studio; AND, we go to honor the work of the Mockbee inspired activists Pam Dorr and John Bielneberg of Project M (Maine, Messages, and Mockbee). John is a famous teacher too!
We go to practice PROJECT BASED LEADERSHIP TRAINING (PBLT), a concept where martial arts teachers help young students name, organize, and initiate community-based projects as a way to take their martial arts "out of the dojo and into the world" ---and to learn, experientially, leadership. This is the national event that serves as the model for 100's of other events in communities around the world.
We go to honor two great proponents of non-violent conflict resolution and civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, who both lived and/or worked in this area.
We go to change a families life -their life chances, and give them a well-built home filled with love and respect.

We are seeking a little donation money from a LOT of people! A lot of MARTIAL ARTS PEOPLE, their students, friends, and family members. We have more than 100 schools participating --which means for just a few dollars a week for the next two months, you can help some martial arts master REALLY PRACTICE mastery ----and you can participate in an award winning, revolutionary, industry-changing event with some of the most important and pro-active teachers/practitioners in the world. Click this link to donate:

Would you help us, please, to raise some building supply money for this worthwhile project?

For more information, contact Tom Callos at 530-903-0286 and/or by e-mail at tomcallos@gmail.com.

Note: The info you see on this blog includes new about LAST year's historic build.

PROJECT H in Alabama --Progress

2007-03-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Update on PROJECT H from Pam Dorr:

Construction is continuing here at the Ella Martin House. March has been a super busy month with four college groups coming to continue the renovations begun by the members of the Ultimate Black Belt Team.First we had a group of 25 students from the Universities of New Hampshire and Philadelphia here for a week volunteering for Habitat. An energetic team of 20 came the following week from S.E. Missouri State. At the end of March we have a final group of 14 visiting Greensboro on their alternative spring break from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Habitat is opening the Ella Martin Bunk House in June & it’s already reserved for the entire month! Following June the house is available for rent by the week. Contact Bonita at HERO for reservations.

HERO Housing Resource Center 1120 Main St., Greensboro, AL. 36744 334-624-0842 Phone

2007-03-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

First off, a giant THANK YOU to all of the team that helped make Alabama’s PROJECT H a success; to those who supported the project financially ($40k to date) –and to those who came and provided labor, help, medical (Oh man), and emotional support.

Like many of my ideas, this one was just a bit beyond what I actually thought we could do…I mean, renovating a historic building…getting 70 people together to do it…sleeping in a gym together…eating together…taking cold showers together…and at the same time, getting far beyond the casual conversation, the superficial, the trite or trivial ---and reaching deep inside each participant so that he or she would somehow be moved by the experience.

For me the week started on Monday, as I came in with a few other team members to do the most dangerous and dirty work, which was the demolition of a room and ceilings/walls. Very dirty work, for sure. Joe Sherwood, Jason and Claire from the UK, and the Kastner Clan did most of the ugly stuff before the team arrived on Wed.

From Wed to Saturday night, everyone who arrived worked like dogs, nearly non-stop, always hard, through thick and thin to make this project happen. We went to watch a movie film festival and the Rural Studio, we worked on other projects, we met in a circle on numerous occasions to “talk story”, and we gathered in many other ways to make friends, to listen to stories, to laugh, and to share ideas.

People brought students, friends, and family members. Kids ran around, strangers became acquaintances (if not friends), and we performed a demo, sent 5 people to the hospital, nursed our wounds (part of the house collapsed on us), and got back on the horse to make it happen.

In the end, the trip wasn’t about building a house –it was about overcoming obstacles, about thinking differently, about coming together, and about team.

Directions from Airport to Hero Office

2007-03-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Directions fromBirmingham airport to HERO andGreensboro, Alabama:

Take highway 20/59 South from the airport towards Tuscaloosa.

Stay on 20/59 for 55 miles.

Take exit #71A. This will be Al Hwy 69 South towards Moundville.

Stay on Hwy 69 South 34 miles.

Make a left on Main Street in Greensboro. There is no at this intersection for Main Street. There is a Methodist Church on your right. Make a left onto Main. Our office is on the left about 2 blocks down...

My cell phone: (tom) 530-903-0286
Hero's Office (PamDorr and team): 334-507-3700

InTribute to ML King and Our Trip (Julian Bond)

2007-03-02T23:35:00.000-08:00

This letter from1993 was a response to a letter I'd written to the civil rights activist Julian Bond.

In tribute to our upcoming trip to Martin Luther King country, I'm publishing this here for the first time...

The photo features a young Julian Bond listening to King speak.

2007-02-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here Are some Pictures from the ALABAMA PROJECT tear-down and prep for our team's upcoming visit.

Pam Dorr Gives us Update

2007-01-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

An update on Progress of the Alabama Project from Pam Dorr:

14 students from Birminham Southern University came to Hale for 3 days. They helped to build 2 wheelchair ramps and then helped to work on David's house (Habitat). One wheelchair ramp was for a 2 year old. He wanted a shiny ramp and Ethan and Charlotte (2 students from Bennington College in VT that are the early team for UBBT), were able to design something perfect for him. The students were a spirited group and their voices sounded like angels while they were singing/working.

They are the first group of volunteers that came down after UBBT last year. We have left David's house where UBBT finished off last year. There really haven't been any other groups to come since last April except small groups of 1 or 2 each weekend.

I got up early on Sunday morning to see the B'ham Souther studetns off as they were peeling themselves off the basketball court floor where they had been sleeping. I knew then that we are doing the right thing.

Our plan:
a) Create a place for volunteers to stay (with showers and beds) so we can do more good work in the community. The green design is underway for the "Ella Martin House" With the help of Charlotte and Ethan we will have a good headstart on the project by the time UBBT arrives. Our hope is that smaller groups of the UBBT will come down to do work here with local children and families

b) Create a place for kids to learn so they can grow up to want to stay here and do more good work in the community. The "Borden Jackson House" will be converted into a HERO campus school room. When complete, it will hold Youthbuild students for morning and afternoon classes. Youthbuild is a program we just got a grant for which creates opportunity for high school dropouts to get paid to get their GED part day and learn construction trades the rest of the day. The homes they build will be sold to families with incomes 50% below median. When school is out each day for Youthbuild at 3:30, the class room will hold art classes for youth and the community in Hale. The art classes will focus on film, art and photography. The attached pavillion will be updated into an outdoor class room.

A dorm with room for 8-12 volunteers and a class room for students will be ready to go after the UBBT team works their magic in March. I know that even though I won't have the same connection we built with Henry, David, Dorinda, Lula and the other families we will be setting the foundation for many more connections to happen.

Checklist for Trip from Master Dave

2007-01-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

For Team 4 members or any first timers, this is a partial pack list.

1. Open Mind - may be the most important item you can pack.

2. Inflatable mattress - not one of those thin things, but a full grown one (maybe an extra one for Tom).

3. Rain gear - if nothing else this will insure that it won't rain.

4. Hat - if it isn't raining it will be sunning, and probably hot.

5. Sun screen - don't plant the seed for skin cancer.

6. T-shirts and sweat shirts - it could be hot or cold, so be prepared to layer and unlayer.

7. Long pants - inside or outside your legs are going to be exposed to sun and/or bugs, probably both.

8. Insect repellant - vitamin B complex works well for some people, but don't rely on it. Alabama bugs are black belts.

9. Handiwipes - they could be your only shower the whole trip.

10. Medications - if you are taking something now, take it with you, it might not be available there.

11. Energy bars/drinks - make sure you like them because you might be consuming a lot of them.

12. Flexibility - things can and will change on the fly - go with it.

13. Ear plugs - I don't snore, but Sparky does.

14. Sunglasses - hides the bags under your eyes from lack of sleep.

15. Motrin - no explanation should be necessary.

16. Flipflops - if you get a chance for a shower at the high school you'll need these or stilts.

17. Soap & towel - you'd be surprised at how many people forgot these. Right Tom?

18. Work gloves - you could be putting your hands into some nasty stuff.

19. Boots - nails in boards love tennis shoes.

20. Sense of adventure - this will be one of your legacy pages.

21. Uniform and belt - you'll be performing at one of the schools.

22. Sleeping bag - it could be cold at night. If it's hot lay on top of it.

23. Deodorant - Please!!

24. Plastic bags - for dirty clothes and to keep your clean gear in so cockroaches don't come home with you.

25. Camera - you'll see some things that just need to be recorded.

Where to SEND money

2006-12-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

You can use PAYPAL at our website, www.raisethehouse.com
or mail it to:

HERO Housing Resource Center
Project: Raise the House
PO Box 318
Greensboro, AL 36744
334-642-0842

If you need the EIN# for Tax ID it is 63-1127351

Banners for Alabama Project

2006-12-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

You can, I believe, cut and paste / copy these for your own website.

You need to add the hyperlink: http://www.raisethehouse.com

Project H Defined

2006-12-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

This Project, Defined

This is a multi-faceted project, with the following objectives:

Helping Local Youth
Project H (the name of this year’s Alabama project; “H” is for HOUSE) is about having a place to conduct events, classes, workshops, and seminars that benefit children living in one of the poorest regions in the United States.

After the building renovation, members of the UBBT and the 100, Pam Dorr and her associates, and John Bielenberg of PROJECT M, along with his students, will be using this facility to conduct various workshops, events, and “happenings” for local children.

We plan on songwriting workshops, art classes, martial arts seminars, filmmaking classes, and photography workshops, classes on architecture, design, sustainability, and building. We hope to see many more subjects covered –and so our plan is to first, renovate a space for this purpose…and we know once we do that “they will come.”

Project H will not only serve as a meeting and educational center, but it will also provide temporary housing for various “artist in residence” programs.

Helping Pam Dorr and The Hale County Housing Resource Center
Project H will give Pam Dorr and her associates a place to temporarily house people coming to volunteer or otherwise help them with various projects. By having a place for volunteers to base from, we hope to see an increase in the amount of people assisting Pam in her endeavors.

Management, defined, means “getting things done through the efforts of others”; Project H allows members of the UBBT and The 100 to have a hand in managing more progress in Greensboro, which is fast becoming our “campus” for creative community activism and “master instructor” education.

Which lead me to:

Development of The Master Teacher’s Campus
Ok, I confess: this is my dream, a vision, a possibility…

I see Greensboro, Alabama as a potential site for a “Master Teacher’s Educational Campus” –and what this means is that we could create a place where we (Master Teacher’s of the Martial Arts) meet to learn, grow, and evolve.

Because of the cost effectiveness of investing in this region, because of its proximity to The Rural Studio, Pam Dorr, and now PROJECT M, because of the team-building potential of our activities there, as well as the open and gracious acceptance of our teams by the community in general, Project H could very well become the center for a movement in NEW THINKING and education for the martial arts community.

The very fact that Greensboro is not a tourist Mecca, that it not Las Vegas, or a beach resort, and that there are not an abundance of hotels, motels or convention facilities –the fact that this is a region in decline --and one that needs help and revitalization –all of this is exactly why it’s the perfect place for us to meet.

With Project H as our base, with community activism as our conference room, and with the backdrop of The Civil Rights Museum (in nearby Birmingham), the legacy of Martin Luther King, of Rosa Parks, and Samuel Mockbee (three of my heroes), we have a destination that is as unconventional as our approach to the martial arts, to life, and to our careers. We have a chance to help build a center for social activism, for unconventional thinking, for sustainable business practices, environmentalism, and peace education.

In Alabama our dollars go farther. In Greensboro we are witnessing –and becoming a part of –a center for something extraordinary, something organic and community-based. There is a wisdom and intelligence in the region –there is something there we can take back to our own communities, to our lives –and at the same time, it’s place where we can learn to organize, construct, and implement our new approach.

I am committing myself to see this vision become a reality.

When we meet, we have to go somewhere, why not Greensboro? If we are to become the forward-thinking, dynamic, martial arts activists that I envision, then why not, from the very beginning, set our sights on doing something remarkable? Let’s put Greensboro on the map –let’s participate in the revitalization of this amazing area –while we revitalize our own thinking, our approach, and our careers!

We have our homes. We have our own towns. We have our schools and other endeavors. Project H gives us a place we convene –a place we gather –a sacred place where we purposely put aside our schedules, our duties, our responsibilities…and come together to learn, grow, and change.

It’s not a place to take a holiday. It’s a place where we go to fill our spiritual cups –where we serve in honor of great men and women. It’s a place where we break the current mold of the “martial arts industry” –and re-craft an approach more indicative of our values and intentions.

A New Home for Project M
John Bielenberg is a maverick teacher–a revolutionary in his industry. Project H (the name obviously borrowed from Bielenberg’s “Project M”) is to become the new home, for a few months out of every year, for Project M.

Project M models Samuel Mockbee’s social agenda –and brings to Greensboro all sorts of wonderfully talented people seeking to make a difference in the world.

We are so lucky, so fortunate to have the chance to be involved with Project M –and to have a hand, albeit a small one, in bringing this amazing program to Greensboro.

2006-12-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

Facts About The Alabama Project

FLIGHTS
To get to Greensboro, if you don’t drive, you’re going to fly into Birmingham, Alabama.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION
Everyone is on their own. Most team members carpool the 2 hours trip from Birmingham to Greensboro. Prior to the event we will work to make sure everyone connects for transport.

DATES FOR THE EVENT
March 7 to 11, 2007
Wednesday March 7 is FLY IN day. We have a meeting in the early evening.
The event is over Sunday Afternoon, so you would fly out Sunday or Monday.

SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS
UBBT Team members all sleep together in a local gym. If you are a guest of a team member, you may stay with us –or find a local hotel (there are a couple of small hotels in the area). You may also bring a travel trailer.

FOOD
Some meals may be catered –and we may have a kitchen available to us. Nobody’s starved yet!

MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING
People find the time to train; we will offer a few special classes while we’re there; and we have a demo to give, so there will be practices for that.

SIGHTSEEING and FREE TIME
We have some meetings, then we do work on our project, and there’s training, but overall, there’s a good deal of time to mix and be social. Our trip will include a tour of Rural Studio buildings.

EXPENSES
Bring $20 a day for food. Bring an extra $20 to pitch in for guest teachers. Other than that, just get too and from the event.

FUNDRAISING
We’re asking each school to raise a minimum of $1000 for the project, thanks!

WHAT TO BRING
Work tools if you’re driving. Bring work out clothes and work clothes. Bring your uniform. Bring sleeping and bathroom materials.

Alabama Dates and More on WHY? And WHO...

2006-12-05T11:14:00.001-08:00

First off, the DATES for the ALABAMA Project on MARCH 7 to 11, 2007.

Alabama was about the LAST place I could think about spending any time, until I heard about the bearded man you see in these two pictures: Samuel Mockbee.

I met Mockbee thru an article in some magazine I picked up while flying somehwere to teach a martial arts business and training seminar.

The piece briefly described Mockbee's RURAL STUDIO architectural program at Auburn University --and it showed a "pod" --or living structure --a few of his students had built out of compressed waxed cardboard bales.

I liked the structure because I fancy the idea of "living IN art" and with art --the little dwelling had this organic, artistic look to it that spoke both to my aesthetic sense of "cool" and to my desire to live and consume with simplicity in mind.

I tore out the page and saved it, as it seemed to me like something worth looking into, in the future.

Fast forward a couple of months and the scene repeated itself; I was on another flight and picked up another magazine, but in this one Mockbee talked about sustainability, social consciousness, and how (in so many words) he sought to transcend his subject matter, and make his work about the world.

I thought to myself, "This is what I want to do in my career. I'm a teacher --and I want to open minds, to inspire, and to (in so many words) make a difference in the world."

Mockbee wasn't JUST teaching students about architecture, he was teaching them about life --and about connection, responsibility, and compassion.

I got inspired enough that when I returned to my office the following Monday, I picked up the phone and started trying to reach Samuel Mockbee. I was having a fantasy that I was going to quit my job (or take a long hiatus) and go work with Mockbee and these architectural students. I imagined that I would create and run projects that would help fund some of these "houses for the poor" --and well, something in me said "seek this guy out."

I don't know WHAT I was thinking!?

A couple of hours later, after 10 calls and 10 messages, I quit work for the day --and later that night my wife and I went to Borders Books...where I picked up a copy of Architectural Digest --and son-of-a-gun if I didn't flip open the magazine right to a page on Samuel Mockbee.

It was his obituary. He had died of cancer a few months earlier.

It was like a kick in the gut! I really felt a loss. It was like I had lost a friend or a teacher, even though we'd never met.

A few months later I still hadn't gotten Mockbee or the Rural Studio off of my mind --and I was in the midst of designing, printing, and marketing collectible posters for various projects (I had done one with Bruce Lee's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, another for the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, one with Erika Jong, and a chapbook with writer Ray Bradbury), and so I phoned the Rural Studio to offer them my services.

My contact there became Pam Dorr. Pam was a clothing designer from the Bay Area who left her career and volunteered to work with the Rural Studio --mostly because she too had been touched by Mockbee and his vision.

At first I don't think she knew what to do with me, but after I bugged her for several months, she let me loan some specialized audio equipment to one of the students at the Rural Studio, for a book project.

I never saw that equipment in working-order again, but a nice postcard/book came out of it --and I did get several copies!

A couple of years later I called Pam with yet another crazy "Callos idea"; this time I wanted to bring all of the black belts in my new program "The Ultimate Black Belt Test" to Alabama, to the Rural Studio, to "do whatever they need us to do." I thought it would be a great idea to expose all these martial arts leaders to Mockbee and the Rural Studio's vision --and I was hoping they would find inspiration, like I did, in the work. I told Pam that we'd do any grunt work she --or they --needed, and that we'd sleep on the floor, pay our own way, and work like dogs just to hang out there.

I don't know WHAT I was thinking!??

This offer became the $20,000 House Project (described here in my blog).

What's come out of all of this --is that I have met Mockbee through seeing his work first hand, working with some of his students side-by-side, and by witnessing how one person can so directly influence the work of so many others. And if the truth be told: I want to be the Samuel Mockbee of the martial arts world.

I've also met and had the privilege to work withPam Dorr, who I believe is carrying on the social/spiritual work of Mockbee (and in a way I think he would approve of). Pam is BIG --she's multi-talented, she's organized, she has this amazing composure and spirit --and while she's already a star to many who know her, I have a feeling she's destined for even greater things. I could volunteer (and I do) for Pam, any day for any reason, just like I would have done for Samuel Mockbee.

So I bring all of my students and peers to Alabama, to Greensboro, to meet Samuel Mockbee; to meet Pam Dorr; to see the work they've done --and continue to do.

I bring them to Alabama to meet the people there, as they are something special.

We go to see the simplicity, we go to witness the disparity between our world and theirs (both for better and for worse).

We don't meet to train, learn, and develop friendships at some Hilton Hotel at the beach --we go get dirty.

We help people in need.

We sleep on the floor in some building donated to us for the purpose. We shower (and not too often) at the local High School.

We eat what we're served.

We go to Alabama to meet each other, to meet leaders and teachers.

We go to give of ourselves --and in doing that we get an education one can't get just "anywhere."

Mockbee was here for a reason. Pam Dorr continues the work for a reason.

We go to Alabama for a lot of reasons.

After each of our trips there, I come back and think, "Now, THAT was some good thinking!"

All About Alabama and WHAT we're DOING there --& WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP!

2006-12-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

Twice now, the team members of the Ultimate Black Belt Test, along with many of their students and friends, have raised money for building projects for the poor in rural Alabama.

Our first project was for an elderly man, Henry Lawson, who had lost his home in a fire. Mr. Lawson was living in a decrepit old trailer when we met him.

Over the course of several months, 60 members of the UBBT Teams 1 and 2 rallied their students and communities and raised more than $10,000 for materials –and then Team 2 traveled to Alabama to supply labor to build Henry a new house.

The house we built was, appropriately, called “The $20,000 House” ($10,000 for labor, $10,000 for materials). The design came from two young students at Auburn University’s RURAL STUDIO architectural program (http://www.ruralstudio.com/). The house, specifically designed to work within the budget of people living at poverty-level incomes, was meant to cost less than a mobile home (which decreases in value over time).

The project was set up and completely coordinated by Pam Dorr of the Hale County Resource Center. I’ll tell you more about Pam later.

We were able to build about 80-percent of Henry’s house in just 2 days! While we were in Greensboro, we trained, we met, we gave a big demonstration at a local high school, and we toured a number of the amazing structures constructed by the Rural Studio.

On our second trip to Alabama, last year, The UBBT’s Team 3, with help from the other UBBT teams (and again, many students and other friends of the program) raised more than $40,000!

And then almost 100 team members and volunteers traveled to Greensboro, AL and worked on seven different building projects! We renovated a trailer for a elderly blind woman in great need of help.

We added two porches to a trailer for an elderly couple, we built about 25% of a new Habitat for Humanity house, worked on finishing another (for a single mother and her daughter –who were just out of their minds with excitement and gratitude), and we helped students from the Rural Studio finish a beautiful house for a low-income family made of mud bricks (our team mixed and made more than 1000 mud bricks in cardboard boxes in just two days).

Because of all of this work, the UBBT has received a good deal of press. Black Belt Magazine presented us with the Industry Award for BEST HUMANITARIAN PROJECT in the martial arts world). What is Enlightenment? Magazine published an interview with me about the UBBT –and we were featured in a number of magazines, newspapers, and television stories.

NOW we’re going back for third project –and this one promises to be the most important and amazing UBBT Alabama Project yet. We are renovating the property you see in this picture, for a housing and seminar center/base for The UBBT, the 100, an amazing program in the graphic design industry called PROJECT M, and for the Hale County Housing Resource Center.

This will be a plaqce all UBBT and 100 teammembers can go as a base for team-building projects --AND, we will be using this site to host a variety of educational programs for local area youth. We're looking to raise $60,000 to $100,000 for this project.

More to come in my next blog!

Project H (for HOUSE) in Alabama with the UBBT and the 100

2006-12-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm Tom Callos, and I'm the Team Coach for the Ultimate Black Belt Test (UBBT) and The 100.

The UBBT is a revolutionary black belt test project, for senior, career-martial artists, meant to reengineer the what, when, how, and why around the serious study of the martial arts.

The 100. is the “Green Party” of the martial arts world –and the only martial arts association of its kind (yet), on the planet.

These two groups are made up of more than 100 professional martial arts teachers --from around the world --who have committed themselves to a landmark educational experience meant to re-design the way the martial arts are practiced and taught.

It is our intent to expand the content of the education we provide our students. We seek to expand the very definition of "self defense" to include environmental issues; sustainability; peace education: social/community activism; non-violent conflict resolution; and more...

We understand and appreciate good physical martial arts skills --and we haven't lost interest in producing accomplished athletes and people who have the ability to defend themselves, if and when the need should arise.

However, we believe that in today's world, "self-defense" must include issues that have little or nothing to do with punches, kicks, blocks, and grappling.

In today's world, we need self-defense from mediocrity, conspicuous consumption, consumerism, and the belief that one person cannot "make a difference in the world."

We need to expand our ability to have empathy for others, to feel and act upon compassion for others, and to realize that we have the power to inspire change.

As martial arts teachers, we believe that we are an integral part of the "village" that influences people in today's world. As part of our training to be "martial arts master teachers”, we are first seeking to be excellent, cognizant, participative, and fully conscious HUMAN BEINGS.

Now let me tell you about our ALABAMA PROJECT: