Getting Your Kicks on the Net

GETTING YOUR KICKS ON THE NET...
HOW THE INTERNET IS CHANGING THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD
by Mark Thibodeau, Nancy Sains, and Michael Sains
From Web Bound Magazine

With the Internet changing the way the world communicates, it is also changing the way the martial arts world communicates. One of the most significant ways the Internet has impacted the martial arts community is that it has provided all martial artists with a huge source of martial arts related information.

Once upon a time, martial artists had to rely on their school or instructor to provide them with information about their particular martial art or about any upcoming tournaments or events. Martial artists were also left to find information on tournaments at the state, national and international levels from word of mouth or from martial arts magazines and other publications. Now, with just one click, martial artists have the world at their fingertips.

However, when a martial artist does search the Internet for information using one of the major Internet search engines or directories, often times those search results are not even close to their query. There is so much martial arts related information on the Internet that one needs to sift through it all just to find a website that relates or pertains to the information being sought after. To make things a little easier, many forums have been created for the martial artist -- specific search engines, chat rooms, directories, web rings and news groups -- all dedicated specifically to the martial arts. With all of these tools right at your fingertips, martial artists are sure to find answers to all of their questions.

In addition, martial artists are now able to obtain instant access to all upcoming tournaments and events, whether in their local area or around the world. With the speed of the Internet, competitors are now able to go online and view their current rankings, point standings and even other competitor's statistics. This high-tech source of information has changed the training schedules and habits of many martial arts competitors.

Martial artists are now able to access websites that offer information relating to the history and origin of the many different martial art styles. One can also find complete biographies on the many martial arts Masters that actually created or developed the particular martial art they are studying. This information can be very instrumental in a martial artist's training.

Since the Internet has become a global meeting place, martial artists can now talk in real time with other martial artists anywhere on earth, including the countries where many of these martial arts originated. This benefit alone has improved the techniques of thousands of aspiring martial artists all over the world. And with the advent of translation software -- like AltaVista Translator -- martial artists can now "speak" in their native tongue with other martial artists, competitors, instructors and even Masters from around the world.

Martial artists can also find thousands of websites on the Internet dedicated to famous martial artists or martial art celebrities. Some of these sites would include those of the legendary Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Cynthia Rathrock (Lady Dragon), Olympic Gold Medalists Herb Perez and Mike Swain, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, Billy Blanks (founder of Tae-Bo), Jet Li, and Don (the Dragon) Wilson, just to name a few.

Now that all of this information is available to the masses, the martial arts community is growing quickly and continues to gain popularity, and the Internet will help fuel this interest during the next decade. Over the years, the martial arts have gained notoriety with Judo being a medal event in the Olympic Games. Also, Taekwondo has been a spectator event at the Olympic Games for years, but, in 2000 it will join Judo and become a medal event starting with the upcoming Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia in September of 2000.

With all of this in mind, ALLBLACKBELT.com set out to build a website that brought all of that information into one place. When you arrive at ALLBLACKBELT.com, you can expect to find a martial arts superstore, offering thousands of brand name products in over 13 categories.

If you are not shopping for martial arts gear, you can visit our community network to find tournament information for all martial art styles at the local, state, national and international levels. Whether you are moving or just looking for a new martial arts school, you can visit our School Locator section to find a wide selection in your area. We invite all martial artists to visit our chat room where martial artists gather from around the world to discuss tournaments, events and other related news and information. And be sure to visit our new Links section to add your URL or find websites and information directly related to your particular martial arts training. While you are looking around, be sure to create a free personalized, web-based email address @allblackbelt.com.

Mark Thibodeau is the Webmaster for AllBlackBelt.com which may be found on the internet at http://www.allblackbelt.com