It’s really hard to make money if you’re not selling anything.
Not making money is fine in the case of Cabal Fang. That’s the point. It’s a charity whose only purpose is to provide free support, to anyone who wants to practice martial arts as a form of personal development.
But I got bills to pay and a retirement to fund. So, in addition to Cabal Fang, I started Bobcat Martial Arts as a for-profit club and opened a shop that really doesn’t sell much in the way of martial arts stuff.
And then it occurred to me: It’s really hard to make money if you’re not selling anything. What kind of chuckle-head takes three months to figure that out? Anyway, at least I did.
I’m starting with the “Bobcat Martial Arts Dime Magazine Series.”† These will be .pdf magazines for download, all priced at ten bucks. They will contain all kinds of new material, tightly focused on specific subjects, and they’ll include links to unlisted YouTube videos that you can’t access any other way.
Cool, huh? Stay tuned.
† Those of you who’ve been following this blog since the beginning will immediately see the inspiration for the format and style of this product. Although I’m no longer active, I have been a zinester since the 80s, on and off. Zine culture roots are pulp and indie. And since Bobcat Martial Arts is my vehicle for teaching Frontier Rough & Tumble and walking stick self-defense — both of which reached their pinnacle in the 19th century — a penny dreadful, dime novel kind of vibe just made sense. Nowadays a dime is ten bucks instead of ten cents, which is also my price point. And so voilà!
Robert Mitchell Jr. 