The Peculiarities of Martial Arts Social Media

Let me just get my social media and tech cred out of the way.

I had an account on Friendster. Most of you haven’t even heard of that cautionary tale.
I still remember my ICQ account number (2946721)
I remember when I couldn’t use Facebook because I no longer had access to a University email address. Yes, that was once a rule.

I say these things not to brag, but to let you know I’ve been involved with technology for a long time. Social media was part of my life before it even had a name. That interest, that skillset, has followed me to various projects I’ve worked on. My last venture was an IT consultancy. There, we handled web marketing for a number of clients as well as our own interests. That was a significant learning experience.

Martial Arts Social Media Is Not Like Other Social Media

Then I took everything I learned to whistlekick as I dove headlong into my dream of a martial arts company. Everything I knew about social media would work in this realm, surely.

Ummmmmmmmmm…no.

Holy cow, no. Martial artists – we are a weird bunch. While I hesitate to say that social media has rules, because things are always changing, the demographic I find the hardest to understand is martial artists. Many of the cliches that long existed offline found a foothold in social media, which adds a significant complication to any marketers efforts.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about the way social media works in the world of martial arts. Perhaps, more accurately, I’ve learned a ton about what doesn’t work. Whistlekick has grown as a result of that knowledge, and we are at the point now that we earn new customers and fans through proper usage.

Which is why I’ve set out to share that knowledge with those who are interested in learning. It’s sort of the story of my life – find a problem, learn about the problem, solve the problem… and help others solve the problem for themselves.

Of course, we’ve recently rolled out a service that will do this for you, if you choose not to do it yourself. If you want to skip ahead to the end and just learn more about what we’re offering, you can visit Black Belt Social Media.

Here are some of the peculiarities of social media as it relates to martial arts. I suspect you’ve seen many of these things before. Feel free to add new ones in the comments below.

Martial Artists Refuse to Let You Criticize Anything

While marketing is always best when it’s positive, even a hint of criticism will send portions of the martial arts community into a tailspin. From there, you’ll see others rushing to defend the premise. This turns into nothing more than an online argument about what style/art/school/teacher/technique is better. Even if your original post had nothing to do with that. The solution? Look very closely at your posts and make sure they can’t be interpreted as negative, ever.

Martial Artists Are More Polarized on MMA than Politics

If we wanted to see World War 3, at least the social media equivalent, we’d force martial artists to publicly discuss their feelings on MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Unless you’re selling products to that market, it’s probably best you not mention it. Oh, and never compare anything in martial arts to anything in politics.

It’s Impossible to Spell Kempo Correctly – I mean Kenpo

Martial artists get really worked up over the spelling of words that don’t come from English – that don’t even originate in our alphabet. Kempo/Kenpo, Kungfu (vs Kung-fu, Gung fu, Gung Fu…) and so many other debates lead back to that perceived negativity and, ultimately, arguments. I’ve found it best to acknowledge the debate in the listing of the term – Kempo/Kenpo, Kung fu/Gung fu/etc.

That way, people see you’re trying to accommodate everyone’s perception of the spelling and it leads to fewer (though doesn’t eliminate) arguments.

Martial Artists Often Forget That There is More Than One Style

For much of the world, the single martial art they train in is the only one that exists. Most people simply aren’t exposed to the culture and differences of other martial arts. Which leads to some ridiculous claims and criticisms. We once showed a post that involved a belt on the floor. The karate community went nuts, as this was a no-no for most of their schools. Practitioners of other styles wondered what the hubbub was. The lesson – be sensitive to the cultural differences across martial arts, and do your best to learn them.

Rank Matters

If you say something and claim that you’re a white belt, you’ll catch a lot of heck. If you say something as a black belt, it will go much easier. Martial artists love picking each other apart. While rank is respected (sometimes), saying less is actually more effective in many cases. If you’re writing something that requires credibility – as I’ve done in this piece – it’s not a strong candidate for social media.

I’ve already thought of a few more, but I’ll leave those be for now. I really want to see what everyone else has to say in the comments below. Of course, if you’re interested in affordable social media services for your martial arts school, please check out the brand-new Black Belt Social Media from whistlekick. Thanks!