1.       Is NAPMA another mouthpiece for the left wing political establishment or is this organization supposed to help martial arts instructors do their jobs better?

2.       What would be the logical conclusion to Mr. Callos’ worldview? I would humbly suggest that neither he nor I would be writing anything in English - German would be the official language.

3.       Isn’t freedom worth fighting for? The ONLY reason that you can write your article is because somebody had to step up and pay the price, so that you and I can so deeply disagree on this particular subject. I guess it isn’t important that Afghan girls can go to school. It probably doesn’t matter to you that Iraqi people risked their lives to vote.  Do you remember all those purple thumbs?

4.       If freedom and self-determination are not worth fighting for, then how is it OK for two people to stand in a ring and beat the hell out of one another just so we can be entertained? Mr. Callos your worldview is at best inconsistent.

Leave the politics out of NAPMA. If I want to be told that my son is “fighting useless battles for nothing (but in the name of freedom),” then I will subscribe to the liberalwieniesareus.org newsletter. I am a member of NAPMA for one reason: to be a better instructor for my students. Mr. Callos, if you are bored with teaching us how to be teachers, then maybe you need to work for someone else.   

Tommy Stallard
Arlington School of Self Defense
Arlington Texas

Tom Callos’ Response

Hi Tommy,

First, let me tell you I take no offense, none at all, to your comments. With that being said, let me respond:

Item #1: My comments about war are about all that is wrong with war - as in every situation, there are something good and something bad. In discussing whether MMA is brutal and violent and inappropriate, I contrasted it against war - to put it into perspective. In a war where your daughter is unjustly killed, where your 6-year-old son is disfigured, where your wife is abused and killed - well, these aspects of war are unfair no matter the politics. They are, as politicians and the military like to say, “causalities of war.” This is the kind of things I object to - civilian casualties in a “war” that may not have needed to be fought in the first place.

That aside, all my heroes speak out for what they believe to be true (who would Jesus bomb?) and I am shocked that we (the industry) don’t have more voices against the war. What, has NAPMA become a right wing political mouthpiece by ignoring the war?

It is, in my opinion, the right thing for us, the “martial” world, to discuss. As is religion…and my martial arts, probably a bit like yours isn’t confined to the dojo. My life is my dojo.

Item #2: Or Greek, Italian or Slavic - and while WWI and WW2 may (or may not) have been “just” wars, war is not “good” just because the U.S. government says it is. Just like Hitler’s reign, sometimes the people ought to step in and say, “wait a minute, this stinks.” In a perfect world, we don’t oppose the government, nor do we take it all hook, line, and sinker. Just because Bush and his people say it’s so, doesn’t make it so.

Item #3: I’m in agreement with you. Freedom is worth fighting for…but let’s make some distinctions about what is right - and what isn’t. Does the end justify the means? Let us NOT leave politics out of being a master of the martial arts and/or our businesses. I’m not ready to stand back, in any situation, in any industry, and be apathetic about what is unjust - and/or what ought to be questioned.

I am not bored with teaching teachers or being a teacher and/or student…I am appalled that so many people, martial arts teachers included, are standing back and doing nothing, saying nothing and accepting what I find to be unacceptable.

When you find it isn’t unacceptable, try erasing the line between you and them. Make it your loved ones getting their faces blown off. Make it your life that is destroyed. Make it your world that has been shattered, while corrupt companies and many inadequate leaders play politics. We are so isolated from the real costs of war that we forget what a horrific terror it is. Would Jesus or Buddha (or name your religious figure) approve cluster bomb attacks on innocent non-combatants? I have to wonder.

At my age, with my experience, albeit unlimited, I must speak out - and this is exactly what we should be talking about.

I’m glad you responded Tommy - and I’ll bet that if we sat down together and chatted more, we’d find some similar beliefs - and a few we’d probably just have to disagree about.

But how can I sit quiet? Every place is the appropriate place to talk about the freedom from being brutalized by whoever happens to be in power. I don’t believe our soldiers are in Iraq for the right reasons - I think $700,000,000 a day is too high a price - and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone, somewhere weren’t thinking we might just spend our nation into submission.

Tom Callos

Mr. Stallard’s Response

Mr. Callos,

First of all, I want to thank you for the call and the e-mail. You did not have to go to that kind of trouble, but I will probably never agree with you on the war. I think that we would agree on almost everything, concerning martial arts instruction.

I am a very political person like you; I know what I believe and my beliefs are passionate. While I still DO NOT believe that NAPMA is the place to discuss politics. (If I want to hear your side, then I can tune to CNN, any network, any flavor-of-the-minute Hollywood star or NPR. If I want to hear my side, then I can listen to talk radio). 

Here’s an idea - We can also vote; and I am proud to say that I have not missed one single election in more than 10 years. I don’t agree with everything the executive branch does.

Sincerely
Tommy Stallard
Arlington School of Self Defense
Arlington Texas

I am 24-year career law enforcement officer. I am currently a training director for one of the Department of Homeland Security agencies. I am a life-long martial artist and have recently been invited to use an approximately 800-square-foot space to provide my self-defense services.

In the past, I have taught students in their homes, but I have always wanted to operate a martial arts school. Only one of my current students will join me at my new school, so I will be starting small. I do not teach traditional martial arts. I teach 18 or older, males and females, a combination of self-defense and fitness. I have no intention to train children. (I have a five-year-old daughter and triplets boys who are three-year-olds, so this is enough exposure to children.)

I am sure I know the answer to my question, but I still must ask it.

Is NAPMA really for me and will it really help?

Sincerely,

Steven Mosley
Combat Hard Fitness & Fighting

Rob Colasanti’s Response

Dear Mr. Mosley,

Sounds like you’re moving farther into the world of professional school operations. Congrats! You know there’s never been a better time in history to own or operate a martial arts school. We’re now starting to see million-dollar single locations pop up. The key, however, is to get the best information you can find, get as much of it as you can possibly afford. Then, IMPLEMENT, fiercely!

It doesn’t matter if you’re teaching all kids, or all adults…or both. Doesn’t matter what style you teach either. The bedrock principles for running an effective, highly profitable martial arts school are virtually the same, despite these variances. You have to become a “Black Belt” in the areas of marketing, sales, systemization, retention and quality. The truth is that NAPMA helps you with all of these areas and many others - EVERY SINGLE MONTH. The investment you’ll make in NAPMA is very small, but the return on your investment will be very large, if you’ll simply put our service to good use.

Yes, I do think NAPMA is for you. Actually, I think joining our association is the smartest thing you can do right now. You want to start off strong, hit the ground running and avoid many of the common mistakes that have held so many others back. NAPMA will help you trim years off your learning curve and get you up to speed quickly. I suggest you visit napmafreeoffer.com to start today.

I wish you good luck…as you build the martial arts school of your dreams.

Rob Colasanti
President, NAPMA

I can’t say enough about the Little Ninjas Program. All three Fear Knot Martial Arts For Kidz schools have had tremendous results since we replaced our younger students’ “traditional” program in January 2002. The Little Ninjas turnkey program also played a part in my original school growing from 123 students to more than 250 in just two months.

Watching the results Little Ninjas had on our students after only a few short months reinforced our decision to go with the program. I immediately installed Little Ninjas after participating in standing-room only workshops at the 2001 NAPMA World Conference. Since then, we’ve found that younger children respond much better and have more fun in this concept-based program where they learn to become disciplined by playing games (fun) and control their behavior through a game (fun). I can’t remember the last time a child tried a Little Ninjas class and didn’t want to come back and “play” again.

Specializing in children’s developmental programs for three- to nine-year-olds, we’ve found that students who graduate from Little Ninjas are also more prepared for and successful in our seven- to nine-year-old program. Not only is the program designed specifically for the five- and six-year-old age group, but also it’s much easier for our instructors to teach. Imagine not having to teach a five- or 6-year-old how to chamber, properly make a half-turn landing in a front stance and throwing a low block?

With more than 100 students in our Little Ninjas Programs, I know that we’ve been much more successful and, in turn, making a much more important impact than traditional curriculum.

Keith Wilkes

FEAR KNOT Martial Arts For Kidz

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

Thanks for your consideration.

We are just starting our school and, at this point, simply need to spread the message about our product; therefore, we invested in your Extraordinary Marketing program. It certainly has fulfilled, if not exceeded, my expectations; however, we are still in the “research” phase of our school. We must still learn, study and implement the strategies and techniques that you have presented in your program. We would then like to gauge our progress, based on our success with enrollments.

We are merely “White Belts” in running a school and I believe that your Extraordinary Marketing program has taken me to the “Black Belt” ranks - and I’ve only read and studied half of the material!!!  Master Oliver, I have no doubt that we will be successful in our pursuit to be successful school owners -particularly with the information that you unselfishly share. I am definitely interested in participating in your Boot Camp in the future as well as your Coaching program.

Again, since we are just starting out, I must see a return on my investment before I move forward with other investments. I am definitely a Stephen Oliver “believer” and I look forward to working with you more in the future.

Respectfully,

Patrick Rivera

My name is Korbett Miller and I own Miller’s Martial Arts Academy in Kirkland, Washington. I recently rejoined NAPMA after a couple of years’ break. I really like what you bring to the table.

NAPMA was a reason why my school grew to 300 students. The new format is great for giving really solid advice. I am interested in NAPMA’s The Forbidden Kingdom movie promotion.

Thanks,

Korbett Miller

Greetings From Scotland!

I joined NAPMA in April 2006, when my organisation’s billing company: NEST Management, became the NAPMA UK representative. As you no doubt know, unlike the U.S., the vast majority of martial arts schools in the UK are in sports and community centres. Again, unlike the U.S., there are few professional (self-employed) martial arts instructors in the UK; sadly, many martial artists don’t agree with making a living from martial arts. This attitude stems from the martial arts “amateur club” mentality. I am proof, however, that it’s possible to run a successful martial arts business, especially in the remotely populated Highlands of Scotland. It wasn’t easy in the early days, since I had to change our organisation from an amateur club and make many other syllabus, structure, and billing changes, such as having students pay a small fee per class to a much larger monthly fee via direct debit (EFT).

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank NAPMA and NEST Management for their assistance to enable me to make a living from teaching martial arts! Keep up the great work, Rob - I thoroughly enjoy my monthly NAPMA business boosts!

Kyoshi Neil Hourston

Scottish Kempo Academy

Tain, Scotland

www.kempo.co.uk

Live Fit, Live Fearless

Julio Anta (CPT/KBC)
Anta’s Fitness and Self Defense
Miami, Florida

This whole thing with Stephen Oliver and Mile High Karate is out of control. Frankly, I am tired of looking at that guy’s face in your magazine and all the NAPMA literature. Not everyone wants to be part of Mile High Karate and do what he does. We all have different disciplines; and, for him, to jam his franchise and overpriced seminars through your organization as president has really turned off many of my martial arts friends and me who used to be NAPMA members, but switched to MAIA. 

Sincerely,

Master Larry Zahand
Zahand’s Martial Arts, Akron, Ohio
………………………………………………….

Stephen Oliver’s Response

Larry,

Frankly, your perspective is way off base.

First, to unilaterally blame me for anything you don’t immediately agree with is absurd.

Second, as we agreed, we’re happy to pass on the NAPMA member discount to Joe Lewis attendees. We are actively looking for ways to do anything we can, with or without compensation, to help Joe Lewis and his organization.

Third. The $800 fee is only for non-members.

Also, I offered to send you all the membership materials through July, absolutely free. The same offer is open to all Joe Lewis members (and I believe has been made before). We are very open to working cooperatively with your convention and have contacted Joe (and he’s contacted us) about working cooperatively.

Finally, regarding seminars: We just did 6 or 7 that were free ($98 seat reservation - 100% refunded if you attended).

More interesting observations from several perspectives

1.  MAIA and its magazine, MA Success, are HEAVILY pushing ATA, Premier and American Top Team.

If you somehow mistake contributions by me, with emphasis on Mile High Karate, then you totally miss the point. ATA is a feature/cover in MA Success Quarterly (I assume you don’t want to be an ATA school either); and Premier and American Top Team has similar emphasis. Our intent is to feature Mile High Karate no more in Martial Arts Professional than any ONE of those THREE programs.

2. “Different disciplines” - This is ALSO true of Mile High Karate school owners and Instructors. We have a Big Tent. We talked to Joe Lewis in October about franchisee owners being able to be a part of Mile High Karate and us encouraging it, and visa versa.

3.  If you’re not interested in being a franchise - then don’t. No one’s trying to “push anything down your throat.” We would expect AT MOST, this to be of interest to 5% of the industry. We would expect that NAPMA would be of interest to 20 to 25% of the industry and, frankly, would never expect more than maybe 10% of NAPMA members to ever be interested in Mile High Karate. Obviously, the two are very separate. There was a much higher expectation before the ownership change of NAPMA and MAIA members being Century customers.

The NAPMA membership materials, including Web sites, teleconferences, Webinars, three mailings per month, etc. are making massive upgrades and receiving rave reviews from most members. You really should take advantage to review them and see what value they may have for you and your friends who are interested in becoming “professional” martial artists as you obviously are. The magazine after all is “Martial Arts Professional” and the target for NAPMA are school owners that want to be full-time and make significant improvements in their incomes, student bases, student quality and career longevity.
I have known you a long time and you are a bright guy, so I just don’t understand where you are going with all this Stephen Olivier bullshit. I understand that money is the underlining factor in all of this, but what happened to helping school owners to succeed. Ten years ago, NAPMA never ran thing this way, and I really think you need to rethink you mission statement and what NAPMA was created for.

By the way…having recently looked through NAPMA materials all the way back to 1994, in relative terms, just about everything was more expensive then. The prices haven’t changed since 1994 for member materials, which have expanded in quantity (and, soon, quality - dramatically.)
The mission is to make MANY improvements that will actually help school owners succeed at every level. Our Inner Circle group is already moving $500,000-a-year schools to $750,000 and $800,000-a-year schools to $1,000,000 or more. At the basic level, we are adding front-line “best practices” interviews with those “in the trenches” to give members real implementation strategies. Successful school owners (including Toby and me) are developing marketing materials that really work. Finally, we are partnering for real-time growth strategies: For the kids market: Kung Fu Panda; teen market: The Forbidden Kingdom; and the adult market: Redbelt and other movies.

So, your memory is inaccurate.

Clearly, there hasn’t been a NAPMA event since the Century take-over and members (who account for essentially 100% of past attendees to all NAPMA events) are paying less than $300, if they register now. Let me tell you the expenses for the Extreme Success Academy will likely be much more than any previous event, including, for the first time, the many paid speakers and experts from outside of the industry.

[Visit ExtremeSuccessAcademy.com to register at our Early Bird Special and reserve rooms discounted specifically for NAPMA members.]

My husband and I have been a lifetime member of NAPMA and have run a professional martial arts school for more than 30 years. We have spent literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing and sweat equity to educate our community about the wonderful benefits of martial arts.

Twelve years ago I retired from the full-time practice of law to run our school because I truly believed that I could make much more of a difference in my community through martial arts education than obtaining divorce judgments and negotiating child-custody disputes and property settlements.

Imagine my horror, when I viewed a recent Top Story of the Day on Fox TV, “Two six-year-olds fighting in a cage, practicing MIXED Martial Arts.”  What has this MMA craze come to? Within in the same story, both newscasters discussed martial arts, karate and MMA, stating how most of them promote discipline. They sounded and looked very confused because, in the same sentence, they discussed that millions of parents take their children to karate lessons each day and MMA. During this conversation, the female host expressed apprehension about whether she would want her 6-year-old son to participate in MMA.

Isn’t there enough misinformation about martial arts? I have spent many years trying to educate our school systems, teachers and parents that martial arts isn’t about fighting and violence.  Recently, I read that a school owner in Dallas, Texas, has asked Matt Hughes to teach at his martial arts summer camp for children! Is that where we are headed? Give me a break.

My husband describes the current MMA craze, as “Mixed up Martial Arts.” I agree. Let’s delete the words, “Martial Arts,” PLEASE! Let’s call it “blood sport, cage fighting or fight till you drop or die.” It’s a free country, so school owners can teach what they like, but please don’t pigeonhole me and other successful martial artists, as proponents of this latest fad. Moreover, I am concerned how this will negatively affect the insurance rates in our industry. 

When the UFC began, quality martial artists, such as the Gracie brothers showcased their techniques. It was semi-enjoyable to watch because we could observe two very well trained martial artists compete and illustrate their unbelievable knowledge of their expertise, technique and craft. Now, we have ring girls, tattoos, alcohol sales and marketing, piercings and Tito Ortiz saying at the end of his fight, “IF you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Should our industry be associated with these events? Are these fighters role models for our children? Where is the art?  Jhonn Rhee said it best, “Martial arts without philosophy is just another street fight.”

Now, you don’t even have to be a martial artist to be a contestant; you just need to be a street brawler, wrestler, half boxer or grappler. Where is the philosophy? If you really want a street fight, then let’s allow biting, eye gouging, guns, knives and sticks. That would be impressive! More violence would probably be more profitable for the MMA industry. People would really flock to see that spectacle (A free business tip for Dana White).

Here’s a novel idea: if you really want to know if you can survive a true street fight or how tough you are, then go to any local bar on a Saturday night, with no cage and no padded floors and plenty of inebriated people, furniture and small spaces…or maybe a back alley with a concrete parking lot. See how long your fight will last in those environments.

In addition to that “wonderful” news story on Fox TV, on the same day, I received the April issue of Martial Arts Professional, with Tom Callos’ anti-war message vs. MMA. Tom finally decided to endorse cage fighting because it is more “noble” than our president sending innocent soldiers to fight in Iraq. I love you Tom. You are a great martial artist and mentor and you are one of the great leaders of our industry, but please don’t preach your anti-war messages and politics to me. Moreover, please don’t feel compelled to say that cage fighting is a noble art. I happened to believe that fighting terrorists in Iraq is a noble cause, even though some people strongly disagree. Can’t we agree that religion and politics are two topics we shouldn’t discuss in our business or our professional trade magazines?

We, as a professional martial arts community, must band together and distinguish ourselves from this MIXED UP marital arts craze. Can we continue to teach quality self-defense, with hard-core physical training and good values, philosophy and discipline, which our school has done for the past 30 years? You betcha, but give me a break. If you tuned to Spike TV or a UFC fight recently, you would note that MMA now resembles a WWF match…smoke, stripper girls, bad music and sensational commentators. Anyone running a successful martial arts school during the past 10 years knows that our core market is not 18- to 30-year-olds. Am I saying you shouldn’t teach MMA in your school? NO! There are many professional schools offering MMA with the philosophy of traditional martial arts curriculum as its foundation, and they are very successful.

Beating the living Hell out of someone has and will never be a part of the true meaning of what our ancestors taught us nor is it the fundamental core of what we teach…SELF CONTROL. If it was, then why didn’t our ancestors practice it until they died? MMA training is limited to the physical elite. You won’t see 50- and 60-year-olds practicing MMA for any length of time or is it an art form that can be practiced by all ages for any length of time. Moreover, the jury is still out on what effect or damage the top MMA fighters will have sustained in the long run. What has sustained our industry is the art, character and life lessons we have practiced and learned through our longevity of training. It’s all about the journey. We must keep that message in the forefront and not support this” mixed up martial arts” craze with guest speakers at our seminars and national conventions touted as “leaders of our industry.” 

Appalled and Disgusted in Louisiana,

Stacey Knight Mejia
Acadiana Karate
acadianakarate.com

I am very grateful for your help.

I have been a member of NAPMA, since it’s inception. I also joined NAPMA Squared (now, Maximum Impact), when you unrolled it at the World Conference in Florida in 2003. I attended your seminar during that weekend, and it became very clear to me that you did know what you were talking about.

As a result of you influence and various other coaches and presenters at the last several NAPMA Sponsored “SuperShows”, I have raised my rates (doubled them, and soon will raise them again).

One of the aspects of your Maximum Impact Program that had a profound impact on me is the that you continuously recommend a plethora of books and training materials from many leaders of not just our industry, but all businesses.

I have read more books during the last three years than I have in a long time, mainly because I had no idea how much material was out there!

The change in me has been nothing less than phenomenal. I have been running my schools since 1985 and, although, I have always been very ambitious and successful, I had really just  “given myself a job” for 20 years, with myself as the main instructor and doing almost all the work myself. I always had to be there when my schools were open.

Now, I am a still teaching, but only when I want to. I now have hired several people who do the majority of the teaching, enrollments and upgrades and, although, this change was at first difficult for me, it has freed my time, so that I can now fully focus on growing my schools and marketing them.

My role has now pleasantly changed from always teaching to marketing, planning and training my staff. This, in turn, made my schools grow.

I went from a guy who would never have dreamed of spending more than a few hundred dollars on advertising (which I was convinced wasn’t working well enough) to an entrepreneur who now has an effective $5,000 advertising budget that is really bringing in students.

I went from enrolling 10 to 15 students a month (in one location) to enrolling 20 to 30 a month; and all that while I was separating from my ex, and then was married with many fundamental changes in my life!

I will recommend your coaching program to anyone who asks; you are truly doing a remarkable job.  I am glad I came to the Marketing Boot Camp. I learned several more, very important, key elements, which I will implement immediately!

Thank you, Respectfully,

Sascha Williams

Willams Kenpo Karate

Fresno, California

Thank you for the many insights you and your staff were able to provide about where the martial arts industry is and where it is headed in the future. You’ve assembled an awesome team whose experience in both the martial arts and in business is invaluable to martial arts instructors such as myself.  Of the many ideas presented the weekend of March 28th, the following are important to me:

1.       The quality and content of the information presented was almost overwhelming. The key to success is to pick a few things and take immediate action to implement them.

2.       Meeting with other martial arts school owners and instructors who are facing the same challenges I am was very enlightening.  All of us have our particular strengths and weaknesses. By sharing we validate those things we are accomplishing well and are able to offset our weakness through others’ strengths.

3.       Your staff, guest speakers, and business associates are all very knowledgeable and open to sharing to contribute to the success of others. It was refreshing to be around people of such high caliber who are willing to help and who are so friendly and down-to-earth.

4.       The key to everything is systems. Those systems need to be deliberate and focused and need to contribute toward moving forward.

Again, thank you for a great weekend. We are all martial arts professionals and we need to remember what a tremendous service we provide to the community. This weekend was a great reminder of why we do what we do and what a tremendous impact we have on people’s lives.  That’s a responsibility all of us should take very seriously.

Respectfully,

Penny Pitassi

Three Tigers Martial Arts

Swansea, Illinois

Thank you very much for a great weekend in Denver [Ultimate Marketing Boot Camp, March 28-31].

It was great talking and sharing ideas with everyone.

The good news is that my school income has increased from $96,918.56 for January and February 2007 to $106,479.89 for January and February 2008.

The Inner Circle Group was a very good choice. The ideas and friendship from everyone has been so helpful.

Have a great day.

Dusty Everson, NAPMA Inner Circle Member

What is this obsession that you have with making every student a Black Belt? There are Black Belts throughout the U.S. that could not fight from a wet, paper bag. I know the well-worn arguments that martial arts training teaches students to gain self-confidence, earn better school grades, learn to be leaders, to live healthy and productive lives, etc. I agree with all that - but the bottom line is that a Black Belt should be able to defend himself or herself under most conditions - but.

You can put a nine-year-old in a good basketball program, and if the average young person who has no basketball training went one-on-one with the trained player, then, after a three-year-period, the nine-year-old would wipe the floor with the untrained person.

Yet, after several years in a martial arts school, many children could not defend themselves against the toughest kid in school, or a strong adult could overwhelm them! Something is very wrong here.

To repeat, I know that Black Belt is more than fighting, but Black Belts should know how to fight. After all, they spent years in a martial arts school learning to do just that.

If the bottom line is self-defense, but you feel that being a Black Belt has more important qualities, then why teach fighting techniques in the first place? Why not play basketball? A doctor spends many long years in college to be - a doctor - and nothing else. 

Today, Black Belt, in general terms, is a farce. Most non-martial artists can see that. It is the moneymakers that dupe themselves and their students (especially the parents) into believing otherwise.

If there are to be six- and seven-year-old Black Belts, then will I to walk into my doctor’s office one day and see a seven-year-old ready to examine me.

Whatever happened to long years of hard training, learning the healing arts, doing research and writing book reports, entering into tough competition, being tested in very small groups, learning to lead class, etc?

Why do we allow, as an industry, to permit so-called Black Belts who have no college education, to teach children with special needs?

No matter how you cut it NAPMA is about money, contracts, upgrades and all the various moneymaking clubs (especially the ridiculous Black Belt club).

Professionals should be paid well for their services, but I would not consider many school owners as professionals.

I could debate on most martial arts subject and present what I believe is a wrong trend toward martial arts financial success, and not the true development of the individual student.

Whenever I write any article that is published on my views I am called a dinosaur publicly, but it is the positive e-mails and phone calls that I receive that reinforces my views.

One grand master who has been teaching for more than forty years, as I have, told me that I am wasting my breath, that the money bottom line has deep trenches, and that we will change anything. By the way, this grand master is a great success, as I am.

I do believe that NAPMA and Martial Arts Professional magazine have great value, and those that need business help can benefit from them.

As for an old warhorse like myself, I still want to see tough, demanding and physical tests, and Black Belt reserved for only the special few, the knowledgeable, and the educated.

Soke David L. Grosscup