Dear Friends,
This will be the first of many in a series of SMAA
newsletters designed to inform and update dedicated martial artists about the
news, events, and progress of the lofty goals of our new association. It is my
sincere wish that you are all able to benefit in some way from our efforts,
and that we make a positive impact on the martial arts world.
Some very important changes have been made recently, so
please make note of the following:
1. My contact information has changed, so please make
note of the following updates:
a. New phone number: (314) 606-7306
b. New email address:
ds@smaa-martialarts.com
c. My wife Kim’s (SMAA Administrator) email address:
ks@smaa-martialarts.com
2. To cut operating costs in these difficult economic
times, we have also eliminated our fax line (which we seldom used anyway!)
3. Only a very small percentage of SMAA members use a
credit card for SMAA services, so we have decided to eliminate the associated
processing fees (monthly fee, per transaction fee, percentage of each
transaction fee) by no longer accepting credit cards. Accepted payment methods
are cash, personal check, cashier’s check or money order. We apologize to
those few individuals for any inconvenience this may cause them.
Now let’s move on to bigger and better things!
It gives me great pleasure to tell you that we are
moving steadily toward establishing many of our proposed programs that are
relevant to the martial arts. I have received and approved the preliminary
drafts of several projects that I believe will be well received. These
include:
1. SMAA Mentorship Program (Kyoshi Clay Worley, Sensei
Angela Sutton, Sempai Joye Zverina, Project Leaders)
This program is designed to assist school owners,
instructors, and club leaders with the business end of the martial arts.
Through this program we hope to provide general/basic advice and assistance on
subjects to include (but not limited to) client’s current situation and
preliminary options for business solutions; improving student retention;
marketing enhancement; getting the most value out of your supplier(s);
expanding your repertoire of products, services, clinics, camps, programs,
etc.; best practices on tournament hosting; insurance selection; e-commerce;
web portals, etc. As you can see, this project is quite extensive in scope and
should serve the martial arts well! The program is now fundamentally complete
save for establishing basic fees and other small details, so full information
will be posted on our website very soon.
2. SMAA Massage Therapy Certification Program (Dr.
Greg Lawton, Project Leader)
This program is designed to do just as the name suggests –
to offer a full and complete training course for massage therapy ultimately
leading to certification in this growing field. Dr. Lawton previously
established a distance learning program for massage therapy in Michigan, and
has generously offered to do the same for the SMAA on a national (and
international) level.
3. SMAA Acupuncture Certification Program ((Dr. Greg
Lawton, Project Leader)
As above, this program is designed to do just as the name
suggests – to offer a full and complete training course for acupuncture
ultimately leading to certification in this field. A distance learning program
for acupuncture has previously been established by Dr. Lawton in Michigan, and
he has generously offered to do the same for the SMAA on a national (and
international) level. Dr. Lawton is also the Project Leader or Co-Project
Leader for our SMAA Martial Arts Insurance Program for club instructors and
leaders, the SMAA Personal Trainer Certification Program, SMAA Mixed Martial
Arts Coach certification Program, SMAA Martial Arts Instructor certification
Program (with Dr. Mike Makoid), and the SMAA Martial Arts Rank Examiner
Program (with Dr. Mike Makoid). Although these programs are only now being
developed, I believe they will be a tremendous benefit to our members. After
all, the healing arts and the martial arts have traditionally been closely
related and are actually complementary halves of the larger whole.
4. SMAA Striking Arts Tournament Format and Rules (Kyoshi
Clay Worley, Sensei Angela Sutton, Sempai Joye Zverina, Project Leaders)
The diversity of the martial arts and its practitioners has
never been greater than it is today. In response to this, it has been
suggested that we offer a format for the various major types of unarmed
martial arts – the first being the striking arts. practitioners from and
striking art are welcome including competitors from boxing, kickboxing,
karate, kenpo/kempo, tae kwon do, tang soo do, etc. our goal is to utilize a
format that will allow for solid competition in an atmosphere of mutual
respect and cooperation for competitors of all styles of striking arts,
including forms competition. The fundamental rules have been approved, and the
various weight class parameters are now being developed, so stay tuned.
Additionally, a certification program for tournament officials is now in the
development stage and should be available to all interested parties soon. Full
information on the format, rules, and official certification will be posted on
our website in the near future.
5. SMAA Grappling Arts Tournament Format and Rules
(Dr. Omar Ahmad, Project Leader)
When the inevitable suggestion of developing a MMA-style
competition for our association was brought up, the obvious choice to head up
this project was Dr. Omar Ahmad – past grappling champion, trainer of many
professional MMA fighters, and long time supporter of SMAA ideals. The format
for this type of competition is similar to that used in other events and will
allow for competition among practitioners of judo, jujitsu, wrestling, sambo,
submission grappling, mixed martial arts, etc. A certification program to
train and offer credentials for tournament officials is also in the
development stage. Format and rules review has been completed and final
approval is pending, so this is destined to be a very popular additional to
our great association.
6. SMAA Pre-Paid Legal Services Program (Sensei Chuck
Coffin, Project Advisor)
We all know that as martial arts practitioners and
instructors, we face a number of risks. A martial artist can be sued for any
injury that happens to a student, or even if a student defends him/herself on
the street, and in doing so injures an attacker, that attacker is likely to
file suit against the student and us because we taught them. Personal
liability insurance may not cover us, and certainly won't defend us if the
matter does go to court. It's a sad state of affairs, but that's the way the
world is today.
Some seven years ago Sensei Chuck Coffin, retired Green
Beret Lt. Colonel, friend, and distinguished martial artist of long-standing,
introduced me to a company called Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. At that time,
the service sounded good but in my mind I was thinking (just as you probably
are thinking right now!) “I don’t need that,”. All I can say today is “I WAS
SO WRONG!”. In the last few months, I've spent over $11,000 dollars--dollars
I don't have--on legal fees. If I'd listened to Sensei Coffin, my expenses
would have been a tiny fraction of that, and my legal problems would have been
resolved quickly and painlessly.
You might be thinking, “Yeah, sounds good, but my situation
is different than yours so I don’t think I need it.”
But…is it really all that different…?
Ever get a traffic ticket and want to fight it, but just
went ahead and paid it because of the pain (and expense) of getting an
attorney? Ever have a business treat you in a manner that you thought was
unfair, thereby costing you money…but you didn’t do anything about it? Do you
have a will? Need a good release for use in your martial arts club? Heaven
forbid…ever been threatened with a law suit due to an injury sustained in your
school? The attorney services this program offers can help you with all of
this and much more.
At the Directors' meeting held last summer during the
Training Camp, Sensei Coffin presented Pre-Paid Legal Services and their "Life
Events Legal Plan." Our SMAA leadership decided to endorse it, and make it
available to our members. Very, very briefly, the "Life Events Legal Plan"
gives you unlimited phone consultation with an attorney, legal document
review, a Standard Will prepared, along with a Living Will and a Limited
Health Care Directive; they provide you with traffic ticket defense; they
provide you with defense against an IRS audit. If you are sued in Civil
Court--and this is the part that's important to martial artists, pastors,
coaches, teachers, anyone who has a lot of contact with the public--Pre-Paid
Legal will defend you, on a schedule of hours. That schedule of hours goes up
each year you have the membership, and caps out at 300 hours or more, in your
fifth year. There's a lot more than that, too.
Any legal service that's not covered in the basic
membership, is also available at a 25% discount off their standard attorney
rate.
Pre-Paid Legal has also made available an Identity Theft
program, that when partnered with the Life Events Legal Plan is unmatched.
You have Identity monitoring; Identity Restoration if your identity should be
compromised, and 24-hour legal assistance if you should be arrested, detained
or questioned because someone has stolen your identity.
All of this is available starting at $26.95 a month…less
than a dollar a day! When I think of all the money this program would have
saved me – well, all I can say is that I made a big mistake by not immediately
signing up!!!
The Association has reviewed this Plan; many of us have
become members, and we are now making the plan available to those interested.
Some instructors may choose to make it available to their students, or they
may have their students contact us directly.
This program is ready to go! If you are interested in
learning more, the person to contact is my wife, Kim, at
ks@smaa-martialarts.com . If you
can't reach her, feel free to contact me, but keep in mind that my primary
focus is going to remain what it always has been--the martial arts. If you
can't get either of us, you may also contact Sensei Chuck Coffin at
cfcoffin@mindspring.com . As
Project Advisor for Pre-Paid Legal Services, he is extremely knowledgeable
about the plan, and will be happy to help. Please make very certain that he
knows you are a member of the SMAA, or are in
some way affiliated with us, so that proper credit is given and you get the
urgent attention you deserve.
Some of other SMAA programs that are still on the
drawing board include:
1. Cardio Kickboxing Certification Program (Sensei
Angela Sutton, Project Leader)
2. Martial Art Supply online store (Sensei Jim Barry,
Project Leader)
3. Code of Conduct & Ethics
4. …a few others that are still in the “dream”
stage!!!
If you have suggestions on any of the above or have a
program or service that you feel we should explore for possible
implementation, please let me know! I value your input and want to hear from
you!
Pictures from our Training Camp have finally been
posted! Take a look at:
2008 Training Camp
Pictures
Other news from the SMAA and its members:
In addition to all the above I’d like to invite all SMAA
members and friends to attend a tournament that is being hosted by our own
Sensei Angela Sutton on November 8, 2008. My wife, SMAA Administrator Kim
Schucker and I are attempting to juggle our hectic schedules in order to be at
this great event, so we look forward to meeting you there! Please see the
flyer for full details.
Academy
Combat Classic Tournament, November 8, 2008
In closing, let me step up on my soap box for a brief
rant…
We all know what the very best of the martial arts are…and
we all know that there is a flip side to that. The SMAA was formed to
represent the genuine and legitimate martial artist – regardless of age,
style, rank, or any other factor. Our goal is to establish a dominant presence
in the arts that stands for what is right, and to serve the needs of dedicated
martial artists with the highest level of integrity, fairness, and honor.
Let’s all truly be a part of that…by our actions, not just
by our words…by ensuring that all instructors and club leaders become SMAA
members (charter members if at all possible), register our students as
members, are evaluated and register their rank(s), and are evaluated and are
certified as instructors and rank examiners. Once the instructor or club
leader has his/her full SMAA credentials, I ask that you register your
student’s ranks with our great association.
The SMAA is a new voice in the martial arts, although the
association is composed of some of the most senior (and skillful)
practitioners to be found anywhere. As with anything new, it takes some time
to establish a solid foundation…I feel we have done this from the very
start…but this is only the first step. The second step is to acknowledge that
there is always strength in numbers and to rally the troops! With the high
standards of the SMAA I can say with confidence that once this is done (in the
not too distant future) OUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD!!! But it won’t just happen by
accidentally…and I don’t think it will happen by fate…it will only happen
through our own hard work! Nec Sorte Nec Fato (the motto on my family coat of
arms – now applied to our association logo) – which means “Not by chance, nor
by destiny”!!!
I appreciate your loyal support so please don’t hesitate to
let me know if you need anything at all. It’s an honor to be of service to
you!
All the best,
Donn Schucker
Executive Director
(314) 606-7306
