If you gaze toward the sky, things are always looking up.
Sales of my Cabal Fang martial arts books remained steady last year. In December they were downloaded another ten times (mainly through the iBook store, but also from B&N and Smashwords) bringing total downloads to 789. This doesn’t include hard copy sales, or free downloads of the original version, which numbered in the many thousands.
Yet, despite all of the worldwide book downloads, there are very few if any Cabal Fang clubs or study groups forming (we call them “orders”). The Order of the 61 was supposedly forming in England, but I’ve had no news in over a year and it looks like they’ve given up.
If you were inspired by the Cabal Fang books, but the idea of starting your own order seems like a daunting task, I encourage you not to give up.
Back in ’86 I walked into a martial arts studio at the end of my rope. Eighty pounds overweight, I was miserable, grumpy, and lazy. I was a crappy husband, father, son, and employee, desperate to become something better. I had failed at every weight loss and self-improvement program I had ever tried. And to top it all off, I had never been athletic and was unable to do a single Push-up. But I put on a white uniform, waddled out onto the mats, and pushed my humiliation to its outer limits. A year later those eighty pounds were gone. Two years after that I earned a coveted black belt. By then I had been promoted at my job — twice — and my income had doubled. My outlook was positive and I was well on my way to becoming the kind of person I always hoped I could be.
After achieving a black belt I started teaching martial arts for City of Richmond Recs and Parks. They put me in the class catalog but nobody showed up. There I was on the mats, feeling just as small and alone as I had before. It was deju vu all over again. But then I realized that time and patience were on my side. I waited, filling up the empty time with calisthenics, shadowboxing, kicking drills and solo training. It took months for people to start coming in. Eventually I had dozens and dozens of students. Those were great years. In 201o I achieved a goal twenty years in the making — I earned the rank of Master from the Combat Martial Arts Practitioner’s Association.
What I’m saying to you is that you are not going to master anything if you do not try anything. And by “try” I don’t mean take one swing. I mean swing as hard as you can, no matter how many times you miss, until you hit the ball. It all comes down to time and patience. Any progress is still progress.
A drop of water seems like nothing to a thirsty man. But a drop of water every six seconds is a three liters a day — enough water to flourish and grow.
Cabal Fang Martial arts are a great way to remake yourself. If you’ve thought about starting an order, or if you tried and gave up, please try and try again. Just send me an email and I’ll help. Everything associated Cabal Fang is free except for the books which will cost you just $3.98. We’re even filming free training videos for distribution solely to new orders.
The only cost is time and patience. Your new self is waiting.
Cabal Fang martial arts. Train. Initiate. Transform.
Robert Mitchell Jr. 