Samuel Mockbee, PBS, The Ultimate Black Belt Test, and Mastery of the Martial Arts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 7:02AM
In my mind, Samuel Mockbee of the Rural Studio is/was THE GREAT TEACHER -- like Aikido's Morihei Ueshiba was/is.
Ueshiba is called "O-Sensei" --which means "Great Teacher" --and Mockbee in his own way is as great a leader to the martial arts community - in fact, to all teachers, as Ueshiba was.
The article, to the left (link here), announces a new PBS documentary about Mockbee and his work.
See a trailer for the film, here.
As you may know, I tried to reach Sam Mockbee to offer help and support to what he was doing --as I saw so many parallels to what he was doing with his students ---and what I hoped to do with my own.
The very day I unsuccessfully tried to phone him, I walked into a book store, took an Architectual Digest off the magazine rack, opened it randomly --and came upon Mockbee's obituary. He had died several months before, of cancer.
I kept calling The Rural Studio and eventually connected with an intern there, Pam Dorr. I told Pam that I was organizing a group of black belt teachers in a revolutionary teacher training program and that I wanted to bring them to The Rural Studio to help in any way we might help ---just so we could study what Mockbee had done.
That effort has become a 6 year commitment to going to Alabama to help Pam Dorr and the community there. The next project is in April --the link for you to participate and even donate a few dollars to the effort, is here.

I urge you to seek out this PBS documentary --and to look at Mockbee's work for inspiration. I also urge you to participate in a martial arts tribute to a Great Teacher --and help us with the next Alabama Project. Go here for more info ---there's an down-loadable poster there --and you may call me at 530-903-0286 for even more information. Donate, participate, get involved.
The people who will be most influential in the martial arts of the future, who will most shape our educational direction and our ability to make meaningful contribution --will NOT be kickers, punchers, and grapplers. Just as I urge people to take their martial arts 'out of the dojo and into the world,' we must also take the world and bring it into the dojo. This is the only way we can make what we do relevant and important in today's world.
--Tom Callos
Our team working in Alabama!
























