The Project

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves as men, don’t we?  It’s easy to get caught up in society’s lofty expectations and lose sight of who we really are.  We tend to isolate ourselves and process emotions alone or not at all.  Some things in life can’t be explained; they must be experienced.  In the case of The Mankind Project, that means taking one weekend out of our busy lives to try a fresh approach with the issues we face.  MKP is an international organization dedicated to male empowerment which offers a unique opportunity to reconnect with our core masculinity.  Blending practical knowledge and sacred spirituality, the group gives men the tools to shape their lives based on an ideal vision.

The Mankind Project was developed in 1985 by Ron Hering, Bill Kauth and Rich Tosi. “New Warrior Training Adventures” are the focal point of the groups’ work.  According to their website (www.mkp.org), “The New Warrior is a man who has confronted his destructive "shadow" and achieved hard-won ownership of the highly focused, aggressive energy that empowers and shapes the inner masculine self.”  Apparently we all have a shadow acting as an opposing force to our goals, preventing us from achieving balance. These training weekends are held throughout the year at 27 centers across the country and others around the globe.  Each consists of approximately 30 initiates going through a rite of passage along with 40 staffers.  Nothing can be shared regarding the actual content in order not to create expectations for future initiates.  Maintaining the mystery is so important, men are required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

The local MKP community has grown exponentially over the last several years, jumping from roughly 10 to 100 initiated men.  They got a big boost recently with the establishment of an official training site at Lake Cachuma.  Previously the closest location was in San Bernardino. Diehard Warriors often travel thousands of miles just to participate.  Something must be pretty special to keep these guys coming back again and again.  The mystery surrounding what the heck goes on during these weekends is enough to make a curious fellow plunk down $650 and see what the fuss is all about.

The Warriors

I met with three members of Santa Barbara’s Mankind Project community who reflect the life altering potential of the New Warrior Training in unique ways.  James Wapotich, 40, is a lone wolf who has staffed the weekend fourteen times.  Six months after his initiation, he drummed up the courage to leave a stagnant job without another one lined up.  In the past he would have worried but this time he knew it would work out.  “I’m having a lot more fun stepping into the unknown and really relishing it,” he exclaims.

Every MKP initiate chooses a unique mission stating their purest intention in life.  Wapotich’s mission is: “I create a world of expanding wholeness by letting love flow through me.” This implies a desire to shape reality based on a willingness to share love and other emotions. The New Warrior Training has also instilled a strong sense of leadership by forcing him to transcend self-imposed limitations. “A lot of what you learn there can be applied to various forms of business,” be says. “People seem to have more respect for me now.”

Stefan Hermann has staffed the New Warrior training 46 times and clearly embodies his leadership role.  The 47 year old German is a former tennis pro who played Wimbledon twice before a career-ending injury.  Prior to the weekend, he was completely unaware that his competitive persona had dominated every male relationship in his life.  “I always had to be better than the other guy,” he reflects.  MKP helped him establish a spiritual connection with himself and others.  It was all the more profound considering he was initiated along with his 15 year old son.  Two of his four sons are active in the group. 

After four years looking within, he was ready to reach out.  Hermann has since made a big impact on local youth representing programs like Share the Word, which entails speaking in schools about dating violence prevention.  M.A.S.K., Managing Anger with Skill and Knowledge, is another outreach program which addresses the devastating effects of repressed anger.  “Domestic violence is a male issue because we don’t find healthy ways of expressing our negative emotions.  Underneath the tough guy layer is someone with lots of grief and anger.  You can take that energy and use it in a healthy, constructive way.”  Hermann is not content to stand back and let things run their course.  Fittingly his mission is:  “I inspire the rewriting of future by modeling, teaching and coaching on the sacred path.”

            One of the main things MKP addresses is the lack of initiation rituals in our society.  In all indigenous cultures, boys in their early teens were guided through an intense, primal experience ushering them into manhood.  They feel the absence of this in present times is a major cause for male shortcomings.  Boys to Men is an offshoot of MKP which takes boys through an initiation process and offers them mentorship.  Hermann hopes to bring the program to Santa Barbara next year. He adds, “I believe when men grow up a little bit and become more mature, we’re going to be better partners.”(www.boystomen.org)

            Two of the best qualities of MKP are their commitment to action and lack of concern with societal labels pertaining to class or profession.  “There are guys I’ve been sitting with for five years and I don’t know what they do.  Their profession isn’t important.  We’re working down at the base level,” says Hermann.  “Who are we as men?”  Interestingly, the content of each training is identical.  It’s the energy and camaraderie of the participants which provides a different flavor.  Certainly no group therapy pow wow, everything about the New Warrior Training is experiential. In order to apply the knowledge drawn from the training, men are encouraged to participate in weekly “integration groups.”  These groups, which meet at different locations around town, provide a supportive forum to confront personal issues head on.

Anthony Johnson, 56, has “always been on some spiritual path or another.”  A firecracker of a guy, he had me hanging on every dramatic word.  Having staffed 13 trainings over the last decade he’s quick to clarify, “MKP is not some magic aspirin you’re going to take and presto change-o, become something new.”  Being an African-American, Johnson was inclined to speak up during a training weekend about MKP’s lack of racial and ethnic balance.  In typical fashion the response was, “So what are you going to do about it?”  His answer was The Multi-Cultural Project, a movement he takes around the country with weekends for warriors and their spouses.  Through his mission he aspires to break down the barriers inhibiting deep human connection:  “I co-create a world where all people experience profound relatedness.”

 Right now Johnson is living and breathing, “Initiation,” the screenplay he co-wrote based on the book, “Of Water and the Spirit” by Malidoma Some.  LeVar Burton (Roots) is expected to star and direct.  The riveting story will show people for the first time what happens in an African initiation from boyhood to manhood.  Johnson shares Some’s belief that lack of initiation, avoidance of grief and disrespect for elders are the greatest troubles in our society.  “For thousands of years in all indigenous cultures, boys have been taken on an ordeal and faced their demons.  That’s why men in this society are so screwed up later on.  They never learned what it means to be a man.”