All About MAD (Making A Difference) is much more than just martial arts. Ultimately, we exist to inspire as many people as possible to live their legacy. Making a Difference is about you, and we hope the content here inspires you to elevate your life.
We help create a legacy for today's martial artist, but we are so much more. Like many of you, we are movers, shakers, dreamers, and rebels who decided to raise awareness of martial artists making a huge difference around the world. In Greek, the word is Simnos, meaning “honorable.” We seek out “honorable” men and women—those who have sacrificed for the greater good. Not for financial gains, black belt stripes, or hall of fame awards, but for those who make the world a better place every day.
Seven years ago, our daughter Haleigh and I had an idea to reach the world through martial arts and began to pray about it. The Arnold’s are a small family of dedicated souls uniting amazing people who change lives for the better. Now, here we are—connecting and learning as we seek out and meet the world’s game changers. Welcome to the future of human development through age-old martial arts traditions and many other pathways.
You might be asking, “why go through all this just to unite?” Because it takes years of sacrifice and dedication to become a fully decorated honoree who is truly “all about MAD.” We know there are thousands of people worldwide making a significant difference who deserve recognition—men and women dedicated to serving others, often without acknowledgment for their valuable impact.
We founded All About MAD because we see a need for martial arts values in our world. Most martial arts organizations focus on testing and promoting to higher degrees of Black Belt, but we are much more. We inspire, encourage, and recognize the very best—those who use martial arts techniques and a serving heart to change lives. The number of stripes, years of service, or “good ol’ boy” methods won’t get a person in.
We have created a group that elevates our people both outwardly and inwardly. We unite martial artists regardless of the size of their organization or the cost of services—focusing on internal benefits and shared values.
For us, “making a difference” is about uniting people with heartfelt praise and recognition for sacrifices made throughout their lifelong journey. We have developed a step-by-step process to gather the greatest leaders and game changers, committed to exceptional quality and never taking shortcuts.
At the heart, All About MAD is an innovative belief that these men and women deserve the best so they can be recognized and feel unstoppable. As a result of prayer and wise counsel, we are currently reaching 15 countries and 27 states. "All About Making a Difference" is soon to be recognized worldwide.
This is the result of constantly asking and seeking ways to benefit people. God has truly blessed the Arnold family, our All About MAD board of directors, our martial arts school business coaches, our official referee certification board, our North America group, our South America group, our European group as well as our website and marketing team. All About MAD is doing just that, MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
We invite you to join us in this wonderful journey. From our annual conference to our amazing events we choose to give you, and your families, the experience of a lifetime. Memories you will never forget because we set every member up for SUCCESS.
The All About MAD team is being assembled as we speak. Our organization is multi-faceted. We are a like-minded group of believers that know who is in charge and we are in the process of allowing him to open doors only he can open. We are committed to doing our best and living by the 7 pillars of All About Making a Difference. HONORABLE, DISTINGUISHED, PROFESSIONAL, TIMELY, BOLD SACRIFICE and SELFLESS SERVICE.
Unfortunately, the world we live in requires us to take every measure possible to keep each family safe. We pray a Psalm 91 hedge of protection prayer over each member and family involved.
These men and women are not necessarily martial artists. Their role in our organization is to make Godly decisions and govern our organization from the top.
These are business men and women who give valuable insight to why and how MAD does what it does.
These are hand picked, seasoned martial artists that know and understand the value of senior promotions. They have dedicated their lives to improving those are them, and living an honorable life, to the highest standards.
This team of extremely wise mentors lead and guide each MAD location in various aspects of martial arts school ownership. From weekly instructor chats to Zoom meetings for hundreds, these coaches are seasoned professionals who know the martial arts industry inside and out.
We, as an organization, believe in KAIZEN (constant and never ending improvement). We believe that every black belt has incredible drive and a spirit of challenge inside them. We have created various opportunities for every MAD member to grow, set a goal, reach for greatness, get out of their comfort zones and TRANSFORM (Romans 12:2) into who they were meant to be.
Some will love the challenges, others might not. That is the beauty of All About MAD. It is designed to help you stretch… for some that is simply connecting with others. For many that means diving head first in and reaching for the stars. It is totally in your court. We are simply
connecting thousands of the very best martial artists, both mentally and physically, together.
This is where we can REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE! As we come together throughout the year we draw close because of our like-minded thinking. We are ALL in agreement that we want to make a better world using the martial arts as a platform. What if we CREATED THE MOST SPECTACULAR AND AMAZING EVENTS in the history of martial arts? What if they were professional in every aspect?
What if each participant left with an overwhelming amount of pride? WIN OR LOSE.
What if our venues were absolutely beautiful, organized and informative? What if our
officials were professional, kind, considerate and above reproach (Titus 1:7)? What if
martial arts principles were taught at each event and the parents learned them as well?
What if events weren’t run like they have been in the past? What if there were surprises
that made each participant laugh, cry, hug, pray, encouraged, uplifted, happy and kind?
This is the difference in our MAD Martial Arts Alliance.
A very generic yet comprehensive promotion procedure will be followed. Depending on age and ability each black belt will perform a physical fitness test and be given 5 requirements for advancement. Each candidate will be responsible for the physical portion and then select 3 of the 5. Some candidates love weapons, others love sparring, while others prefer self-defense. Our Senior High Dan board will look at ALL ASPECTS of each candidate and vote unanimously in favor for any promotion.
A comprehensive application will be issued to all candidates to be promoted to these distinguished levels. Timeline, accomplishments, martial arts IQ, service to community, recommendations from peers and an unwavering spirit determine these prestigious honors.
We believe in fair judging. As our officials are professionally trained and trained and trained we know that our events will be very exciting. Each competitor can rest assured that we will go to every measure to ensure the best of the best in officiating. We have established 6 levels of officials to allow each referee to grow into the utmost professional.
Each year All About MAD will encourage school owners to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in their schools, their communities and their countries. We have made available various awards to acknowledge the growth and transformation of martial arts in the world. From our Top 200 schools awards, to our personal challenges, each All About MAD member will have something to accomplish! Our goal is to help everyone by challenging them to be the best version of themselves possible. We all want to “level up” in one way or the other.
With modern day technology we can “bridge the gap” and be very transparent as we align with, support, and help each other. All About MAD members will be encouraged to watch our bi-weekly podcast, receive weekly email, and have access to our All About MAD membership vault that is full of goodies. Each member will know that you are valued and a part of this amazing journey called All About Making a Difference.
If you don’t see your question here, feel free to contact us for more details!