Impact of the Internet on Martial Arts

Communication is at the root of everything. Whether it’s written, or verbal, or demonstrated. As martial artists, every bit of what we know was communicated to us, at some point, by some person. As the internet has grown and taken hold it’s made an impact on everything that we do This is regardless of who we are. Even martial arts has been swayed by the most modern form of communication. Let’s explore the impact of the Internet on martial arts.

The Breakdown of Barriers

When I think about martial arts and how the industry has changed, rather than how styles or practitioners, much of it comes down to the dispersal of myths. Years ago, many schools operated with a culture that their offering was “the best.” Not only were other schools inferior, but even questioning an instructor might be seen as grave disrespect. That’s easy to do when information about alternatives is difficult to find, but that’s not where we are today. You don’t have to go any further than YouTube to see a huge amount of content on every possible style, strategy, and more. These videos don’t just provide information on technique, they offer context.

And it’s this context that has driven so many schools to offer additional training programs and even supplement with secondary, tertiary (and even more) systems to learn. Students are less likely to trust that they’ve somehow stumbled into the most effective combat style offered anywhere than they were, and those claims seem to be less prominent than they were. This is, of course, a very good thing.

As that messaging has receded it’s left space for more reasonable statements, and everyone has benefitted.

The Proliferation of Content

YouTube isn’t the only place to discover martial arts content. Amazon has a ton of martial arts books that are self-published, and martial arts podcasts abound. If you want to go deep on the educational or the entertaining, there is more being released on a daily basis than you could ever watch. Not all of it is good – but that’s OK. The best rises to the top and you find what you like. This website is a perfect example of the growth of martial arts-related content. It won’t stop anytime soon, either. For me, this has been the most positive impact of the Internet on Martial Arts

The Growth of Martial Arts Celebrities

Years ago, our only celebrities came from movies and television. Sometimes they’d come from competition. Now, they come from that content mentioned above. Individuals like Jesse Enkamp, Iain Abernethy, and many more have risen to popularity. They’ve reached their position through their efforts to provide a growing audience with something they want. In some cases that’s entertainment, in others it’s education. The consumption habits of those passionate about training and a martial arts lifestyle are met by the production habits of those with something to offer. Pre-internet, various gatekeepers would have decided if an individual was to rise to a place of notoriety. Now, it’s up to their own efforts and savvy.

The Exposure of Ideas

There’s no better way to research a subject than online. Whether it’s where to train, what competition to attend, how to think of applying that pesky movement at the end of the form you’re working on… Most of us start with a web search. New media, in all forms, has dragged many traditional martial arts instructors and schools along for a ride they’d resisted greatly. In taking that step forward, it meant that not only were they competing with more schools than ever before, but they also had the opportunity to reach more students than ever before. Some schools and instructors embraced this, others did not.

Our last year of the pandemic has shown us the need to adapt to changes, as individuals, and as an industry. More people participated in martial arts training online over the last 12 months than, I suspect, anyone ever imagined. Some schools handled this well, and others didn’t. But one of the best aspects of that online training was the awareness many schools had of what other schools were doing – and they were able to iterate in almost real-time. It’s the business equivalent of sparring, and it led to some rapid and massive improvement on many levels.

Impact of the Internet on Martial Arts

When you get right down to it, the internet has led to more changes in society than any other single technology. While there were those who originally rejected the longevity of such a development, it’s clearly here to stay. As martial artists – both students and instructors – we should embrace it. What’s the alternative? Ignore it? That’s silly. When we have the opportunity to leverage new technology in order to meet our mission, we should. And if your mission is to teach an old subject in an old way simply because it’s old… Well, that’s a silly mission. Traditional martial arts can be taught in modern ways without losing the benefits, and that includes accommodating the internet.

Whatever that may mean to you.