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What is the
New Warrior?

The New Warrior
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20th of June 2008
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Who Is The New Warrior?
Male and female; yang and yin --- inseparable reflections of a single whole. Yet, how separate men and women can appear! How easy it is to focus only on the distinct legacy of our own sex.
We men have inherited the role of "warrior". First, there was the Old Warrior, the warrior of the past. Now, there is the New Warrior, the warrior of the present.

The Old Warrior competed with the elements, other animals, and other males, through force where necessary, for the ancient prize of survival. Our histories are filled with tales of combat and competition, male against male, tribe against tribe, nation against nation, for territory, food, women, and more. And competition and domination worked, we survived, when many did not. The memories of the struggle of the Old Warrior haunt our bones, and live and breathe in each of us today.

We feel it, yet our polite modern world condemns it. It tugs at us and in desperation we become "nice boys", secretly baring our bloody fangs in hidden, vicious ways. We bury and deny our warrior energy, and in response, it finds expression in distorted "shadow" forms.

The New Warrior has looked at his Old Warrior in the eye. He has learned to spot the shadow of his Old Warrior, and to make new, healthy choices in his life. The New Warrior commits himself to living a life of passion, energy, and feeling beyond survival, to harnessing and openly directing his warrior energy into a personal mission of service in the world.

The New Warrior is a man for today's world, ready for full, vibrant, equal partnership with other men and women. For most of us, the struggle for physical survival is over. The New Warrior has put down the sword, pick up his own heart, and placed it in service to himself and others.

Where does a man go to gain the awareness and insight of being a New Warrior? The answer is "The ManKind Project International New Warrior Training Adventure offered by The ManKind Project Los Angeles Community.

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Who Is The ManKind Project International (MKPI)?
The ManKind Project International (MKPI) is a worldwide non-profit, non-political, nonsectarian, tax-exempt men's organization formed to offer educational and experiential personal growth trainings, and to support men in their journey of becoming better men in their lives. MKPI is available to every man in the world regardless of his financial, social, educational, religious, political, or employment backgrounds.

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How Did New Warrior Get Started?
In the early 1980s, three men -- Rich Tosi, a former Marine Corps officer and corporate executive; Bill Kauth, a psychotherapist and activist in many social movements; and Ron Herring, an educator who had designed intensive accelerated learning events, came together to ask themselves deep social questions about the world of men. These three men sat down together to address the question: "What needs to happen with men today?" Over many months they put together the first "New Warrior Training Adventure" (NWTA) as an initiation of men within an organization of men working together to improve their lives and help other men.

Originally it was called the "Wildman Weekend.". And, in January 1985, in Haimowoods, Wisconsin they put on the first training with 18 men. In the first year they initiated 72 men in four trainings. They continued and refined the New Warrior Training Adventure weekend experience and expanded it to other parts of the Country, and then to other regions of the world. Today, MKPI has enabled over 26,000 men to experience the NWTA weekend with over 100 trainings worldwide each year, initiating more than 2,500 men per year with more than 3,600 staff participants. Today, there are Community Centers in more than 24 cities throughout the United States, and additional Centers in Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, German, France, and South Africa, with plans to expand to other countries throughout the world

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What Is The Stated Purpose of MKPI?
When formed in 1986, The ManKind Project International set forth a specific worldwide purpose. This continues today to be stated as follows:

"We are an order of men called to reclaim the sacred masculine for our time
through initiation, training, and action in the world."

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What Does This Mean? Let's Break It Down!
THE SACRED MASCULINE: In our culture, every era had its popular male traits. The '50's man was aggressive, liked sports, never cried, and always provided for the family. In the '90's, the "sensitive" man became popular, one who shared child care, was devoid of gender bias, and was in touch with his feminine side. These popular visions of manhood, however, lose sight of both the life giving and protecting characteristics of men, and the destructive facets of manhood. The "sacred masculine" acknowledges both aspects of a man's character. It provides a model for men to generate and maintain their lives in such a way as to include and yet rise above life's issues and struggles, for the betterment of his life, his family, and his work, and thereby make the world a better place to live in.

INITIATION: Initiation is a rite where men have the opportunity to see who they really are through the mirror of a new paradigm. The ManKind Project International, through its various Community Centers throughout the world, has initiated over 26,000 men in its eighteen-year history. Once small, through the worldwide MKPI organization, it is now possible for all men all over the world from different beliefs, cultures, and languages, to evoke a universal form of masculine initiation.

TRAINING: We have trained thousands of men in advanced leadership, facilitation, group dynamics, and other skills. They now use these skills in training and mentoring other men, and in their daily lives. Men of The ManKind Project International are often leaders in world work such as men's councils, men's conferences, and men's studies at colleges and universities. They are leaders in their communities, their work places, and their families. In this sense, we are training men in our culture to imagine, teach, and live out a healthier form of masculinity.

Perhaps the most important contribution of The ManKind Project International are the Integration Groups or "I-Groups", formed with the intention of helping men integrate this new paradigm into their daily lives. As a New Warrior, you will be given the opportunity to participate in an eight-week Integration Group, composed of six to ten men from your training, and led by a team of New Warrior facilitators. In this group you will learn the skills for facilitating men's emotional work. The men of most Integration Groups work together for many months or even years, and create for the members of the I-Group a close-knit community of men who support and challenge one another to be men.

ACTION IN THE WORLD: The "sacred masculine" model calls for men to have a vision of the world in which they wish to live, and to form around that vision a mission which will help bring the vision to reality. Each man may have his own personal mission statement. In the Integration Groups, men hold each other accountable for living their mission. Also, Integration Groups often have their own external missions of service, such as working with men who have been convicted of abusing family members, mentoring inner city youth, tutoring, prison work, park clean ups, sponsoring regional men's conferences, establishing father-daughter weekends, and giving talks on men's issues to Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary clubs, and churches and synagogues.

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Why Do You Call Yourselves An "Order Of Men"?
An order implies an over-arching, historical objective aimed at a change in the entire culture. In our case, the aim is a worldwide shift in how masculinity is defined and acted out by men, regardless of race, religion or economics. We are not a religion. We are not a front for any specific spirituality or organization. We simply feel called upon by history to reclaim the sacred masculine. We are not "the" answer or "the" order. We are "an" answer and "an" order. We are one of many well-grounded groups of organized men making a contribution to the future of the world through dedicated service to men. Our viewpoint is that only when we see the sacred essence of our own manhood, will the way be open for men to reclaim our rightful role as guardians and stewards of this earth paradise entrusted to us by the Creator, however you may define this.

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What Are The Characteristics Of A New Warrior?
A man who has been taken the journey of the New Warrior Training Adventure is offered the opportunity to take on the characteristics of a New Warrior and take his place in the world carrying those traits with him into his family, his work, and his community. It is these traits and his choice to do his own personal growth that enables him to face the struggles of life, to attain his personal successes, and to forge ahead in his life's journey with clarity and intention. These characteristics become the fundamental values of the New Warrior, by reshaping and redefining a man's awareness of his world, his choices, and his feelings. These values include:

Responsibility - A New Warrior is responsible for his life, his feelings, his choices, and his actions. He chooses his reactions.
Integrity - A New Warrior's choices and actions are consistent with his intentions, mission and commitments. He keeps his promises.
Congruency - A New Warrior's actions equal his thoughts and words. He does what he says he will do. He "walks the talk".
Self-awareness - A New Warrior examines his thoughts, feelings and behaviors. He is aware of his "shadows", patterns, and limiting beliefs that compromise his integrity with these principles.
Accountability - A New Warrior "owns" to another man when he is out of integrity. He acknowledges and owns the consequences of his actions, and the choices and intentions behind them.
Clarity - A New Warrior discerns and articulates his feelings and judgments. He seeks understanding. He knows what he wants. He knows who he is. He knows the choices he wants to make.
Mission - A New Warrior seeks to discover his true mission of service and to live in integrity with it.
Commitment - A New Warrior clearly articulates his pledge or promise to do something. His intentions are clear and follows through.
Action - A New Warrior takes action to live his mission and fulfill his commitments. He asks for help when he needs it. He asks for what he wants. He moves through his fear. He takes risks.
Service - A New Warrior offers of himself through acts and deeds without expectation.
Authenticity - A New Warrior is sincere and honest in all of his dealings. He is aware of and owns his feelings. He speaks his truth. He comes from his heart. He is genuine and real.
Directness - A New Warrior speaks clearly to another man of his perceptions, feelings and judgments towards him. He neither practices nor tolerates sideways comments or 'gossip'.

The New Warrior is the man of the modern world! He is as common as you and I. And, what makes him different is that he has chosen to live his life in a new fulfilled way by being conscious of who he is in the world and the choices he makes.

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Is The New Warrior in My World?
The New Warrior is the man of today! He is the man of tomorrow. He may be the man that you sit across from in the coffee shop, or the man you pass on the street. He many be your father, your brother, or your son. He may be your employer or even your best friend. Whoever he may be, there is one truth that he shares with other New Warriors. He has chosen to seek personal growth and has become aware of his shadows, and works toward a new way of being open to his heart as he continues his life's journey.

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