From Gold Belt Mike Mercer

Dinner with the Masters

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Mike Mercer


Kymra and I just got home from a fascinating evening with a host of new friends that included martial arts Master KwanJangNim Tom Callos and Grand Master Soke Dave McNeill. We were hosted by BuKwanJangNim Daniel Sikkens who is my head instructor along with KwanJangNim Jeremy Smith – both are becoming good friends.


KJN Tom Callos and Soke Dave McNeill. BKJN Danny Sikkens with the photo-bomb in the back.

For the sake of translation: BuKuanJangNim is the title for a fourth Dan or fourth degree black belt. KuanJangNim is 5th and above. Soke means head master of an entire system and Dave McNeill is a national treasure at age 71. He holds a 9th degree black belt in the Goju Shorei system and has been inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the Hawaii Martial Arts Hall of Fame and the World Sokeship Council Hall of Fame. And for those wondering how I got myself into all of this, it is my boy Sam’s fault.

I was the odd man out at this table. I wasn’t the only non-black belt, but I might as well have been. Jackie Brown was with us. She carries a Poom ranking which means that she’s actively testing for black and is quite intimidating in the gym. Kymra was there too. She’s not a black belt but she outranks everyone.

I’ve wanted to meet Master Tom Callos for some time. He is the creator of the Ultimate Black Belt Test, an ultra test for instructor advancement that doesn’t just include over the top physical requirements but more importantly requires a tester to do hundreds of hours of community service, outreach and acts of kindness. Additionally, he/she has to accomplish thousands of representative hours and acts of kindness through their school’s students as well as a full week of dedicated volunteer service with a team of black belts. He lives by the mantra, “My life is my dojo,” and encourages a martial arts lifestyle that goes beyond the punching, kicking, blocking, forms and sparring that goes on in the gym.

Callos and I have very different world views but have almost complete agreement on what the expression of our world views looks like – It looks like taking care of other people. Because my exposure to the martial arts community is limited to my own gym, I don’t know anything else where the martial arts are concerned. It is suggested that our gym’s approach and the community around Callos UBBT test and The 100 Network might not be the norm. Only now am I coming to understand that the chasing of a black belt can become an extraordinarily selfish pursuit and does for many if not most that pursue them. Callos is actively trying to change this. I have a deep appreciation for what he is doing and was more than privileged to talk with him over a number of subjects. As well, I was able to give him some good contacts for his upcoming long-term trip to Thailand and Cambodia.

Over the last couple of days I’ve also interacted with Soke Dave McNeill. He did a clinic that was nothing short of fascinating. In the clinic I was amazed by three things beyond the specifics of the curriculum that he was teaching: First, how lighting fast this 71 year old could move; it was impressive. Second, his knowledge of physiology and brain function. Much of what he showed us was principally based on the idea that the brain can only process so may physical things at once (as a male, I already knew this). And, third, the humor and simplicity with which he taught. It was kind of like listening to a chilled out old preacher. He made you want to capture every word like it was gold. And then there was the admonishment. After his demonstration of each technique before releasing the students to practice them, he would warn, “Be careful. Be very careful. Do not injure each other.” In fact, one of the moves that he taught was called the Rodriguez named after a student who suffered a dislocated elbow in a training session. He said that he did not wish to have names for any of the other moves.

Mostly, I appreciated the way Soke McNeill dug into what we were doing in Indonesia. He wanted to know exactly how we were working and asked all of the right questions. I could tell from our conversation that it wasn’t his first introduction to the subject.

Last night when we left, Soke McNeill extended his long arms from his big frame and gave me a hug. With his hands on my shoulders he repeated, “Be careful. Be very careful.”

Of course, I never imagined that I would, one night, end up having dinner with a couple of bona-fide martial arts masters – one a true legend. That said, I never really anticipated studying martial arts. It causes me to wonder how much bigger God’s bucket list for us is than the bucket list we’ve written for ourselves.