Martial Arts Blog
Here we aim to bring you martial arts news and articles from around the web, especially the more whacky and weird aspects. We will also post blogs here from the Bear Martial Arts team, and also from you guys.
If you fancy writing a blog or posting an article, please email team@bearmartialarts.com your article and we will publish it on our site. You'll get full credit for your article, and we will even promote your own website / blog if you have one :)
Please note that any articles which are offensive, or are deemed inappropriate, will not be approved for publication.
Martial Tribes - Our Verdict
You'll notice at the top of this page a link to a martial arts social network known as "Martial Tribes". Their concept is pretty simple - a social network purely for martial artists. Think Twitter and Facebook but your whole feed is martial arts based. We thought it sounded like a good idea in principle, so a few members of the team here decided to try it out.
The Good Bits
Like with all social networks, it's free to sign up and use. Nobody would really pay to use a social network (despite constant rumours that Facebook will one day charge), but still it's worth noting there is no fee here as well.
The interface is pleasant and easy to use. It's very similar to a Facebook style feed. The difference here is that users can post to their friends only, or to "all" (presumably all users). This is useful if there is something you want to promote to the wider world, or an issue you'd like to raise with the wider martial arts community.
Your profile is simple to update. You have enough options to make it look personal, but not too many variables so that a profile can look manic (like MySpace in the good old days!).
They seem to have enough users to make the network social - the biggest problem with any new social network is that there is no one on there to be social with. A lot of posts have comments, and there is good interaction between martial artists from all over the world.
And looking at the users there seems to be a genuinely rich mix of users from every corner of the globe. This is great if you want to connect with martial artists from all walks of life.
One feature they have which is particularly impressive is their sponsorship section. Here martial artists can pitch to Martial Tribes for sponsorship for competitions, events, and training. This is a lovely touch, and hopefully they get to use their money to help martial artists who need a boost.
The Bad Bits
There isn't really a lot to write that's negative about the site. When posting photos, errors occur regularly - typically your whole picture isn't shown, with no option to crop. This is mildly irritating.
It's clearly a growing network, and has no where near the participation of Facebook or Twitter (it's not likely to for a long time to be honest!). You can connect with many more martial artists through these platforms, but it is nice to have a network purely for those with an interest in the arts.
Our Verdict
It's a wonderfully designed site and a great idea, and a concept that we are sure will take off. So click on the link at the top, sign up and give it a go. It's free, so what do you have to lose?
Disclaimer - we have not been asked by Martial Tribes to write this article, nor are we under any obligation to be nice about them! This is purely our view about their social network.
Mortal Kombat 4 Ending
Do you remember the ending to Mortal Kombat 4?
We think this might be the worst ending to a computer game of all time! Do you agree? Post your favourite "bad endings" below.
Grading Systems
Here is a great guide to the grading systems of different martial arts.
Image courtesy of http://www.cykelvalg.dk/kampsport-baelter/
