Curriculum Explained

Ok, so you've looked over the UBBT's curriculum (if you haven't, check out the UBBT Curriculum link above).

If you're thinking that you would like to participate in the program, this article explains a bit more about how it works.

Small Things

In the UBBT, we LIVE the idea that small things and small efforts eventually add up to big accomplishments. Take push-ups for example: 150 push-ups a day totals more than 50,000 push-ups in 13 months. Or take "acts of kindness" - it only take 3 acts of kindness a day to accumulate 1000 in a year's time. 

This is our approach to personal, business, community, and - hopefully - even global transformation. We focus on small, bite-sized DAILY activities which eventually add up to be significant accomplishments. This is how one becomes a doctor, a loving mate, a reader, a writer, an activist, a successful parent, or... a black belt.

By expanding the concept of "the black belt test" from a day or a weekend to a YEAR, we have the opportunity to create a much more COMPLETE and transformational curriculum. We change the event  from a "test" of skill and endurance, to a test about living a quality lifestyle with a continuing sense of mission. We enlist the power of small, repetitive behaviors to bring about change, clarity, and purpose.

We Are Teachers

When you join the UBBT you immediately become a teacher to every person who views or hears about our program. Thousands of people will view our weekly journal entries - and many will benefit from your insights and activities. You teach them about the martial arts by the way you APPLY your own training to your life.

You teach them by both your mistakes and blunders - your accomplishments and successes.

Our UBBT alumni include cancer survivors, people in their 60's, an Academy Award winning filmmaker, 7th, 8th, and 9th degree black belts, mechanical and environmental engineers, school teachers, artists, school owners, activists, police and prison guards, lawyers, at-home mothers, and kids still attending high school. 

Everyone in the UBBT is a teacher, mentor, and role model for someone, somewhere. UBBT members have the opportunity to influence tens-of-thousands of people, so the task is to spend a year living as an example to others. What does it mean to take a black belt test? How much can one person change?  What is one person capable of if he or she puts her mind to something?  How does one play on the TEAM, overcome obstacles, and use his or her journey to make a difference personally and in the world?

 Never, Never, Never Quit

If you want to be a champion, if you want to be a role model, if you want to achieve those things that drive you, that you aspire to, then the sub-atomic ingredient, the smallest common denominator of your success is perseverance. There is always a way to adjust expectations and there is always a lesson to be learned; in the UBBT quitting is not an option. Go ahead, stumble, fail, and fall flat on your face, but keep going. If at first you don't succeed, try - and then try again. Fall down 7, get up 8.

If there's ONE THING you learn in the study of the martial arts, let it be your understanding of the POWER in not giving up, despite (or perhaps because of) the obstacles. 

A side note: In the world and in our experiences, there are times when you can't win. You can't, for example, no matter how focused you are, cheat death. It's coming. There are other things we have little or no control over, but in the context of ONE YEAR of martial arts training, you CAN persevere. In the big picture of life, this 12-13 month physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual training program is small potatoes. YOU CAN DO IT.

 Self-Defense is More than Technique

Certainly, self-defense is the block of the punch, the deflection of the knife, and the control of a potentially dangerous - or even deadly - physical confrontation. But physical self-defense is only a small fraction of what causes us pain, suffering, and loss in the world. Conspicuous consumption, environmental degradation, selfishness, greed, anger, hatred, gender bias, elitism, apathy, and racial discrimination are all self-defense issues.

The UBBT asks it's members to look deeply - and act upon - this idea. We have the opportunity to bring a relevant, powerful, intelligent, and world-changing kind of education to the martial arts, but we must first embrace self-defense from an interdisciplinary and global perspective. 

 The UBBT in a Nutshell

Ok, so you train every day for 12- 13 months. You tell everyone you know that you're "testing" - and you do this to enlist their help and to hold yourself accountable to following through. You work to engage as many people as you can in your test - so the program becomes more than simply your personal accomplishments. You connect with your team members in the UBBT and SHOW THE WORLD how one participates and a team. You treat your test, whether you're testing for rank or not, as it were your personal Olympics. You practice everyday, read every page, every message, and you come to every event.

You endeavor to make your test an acheivment, adventure, and life-changing and community-altering experience.