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I've been connecting to the internet since the early 90's and I am still amazed at how much it has grown in such a short time. I started using it to follow news, then moved to chatting with friends, then to do business, after that it was politics, and now I've started using it to broaden my martial horizons.
Unfortunately, it appears that not too many other people are using it for the advancement of Taekwondo. Most of the martial arts blogs you will come across online are MMA and the ones that aren't are very basic blogs authored by a student or instructor who just writes about their day, their last class, and other personal things.
When I came up with the idea for Planet Dojang I tried to find as many Taekwondo blogs as I could to see what the authors were writing about. What I found, or more specifically, didn't find, pushed me to develop Planet Dojang at an even faster pace. I wanted an Olympic Taekwondo resource driven by important and frequently updated articles geared toward instructors, owners, students, and parents alike. I have also planned a series of podcasts that will be coming out in 2007. In essence, Planet Dojang is like a free martial arts magazine that is with you every other day of the week with new information you can actually use to learn, grow, and succeed in Taekwondo and martial arts.
One thing that isn't hard to find on the internet is a martial arts supply store. They are everywhere and sell everything from the needless to the hard-to-find equipment. I added a store to Planet Dojang simply as a way to recommend and endorse products. The store area of the site features the products that I use, my competition team uses, and gear that I highly recommend. I also do reviews of new or little known equipment from time to time.
Another hole in the community that needs to be patched is message board use. Everyone knows that the internet is full of online communities of people who like to discuss specific topics using message boards; except I was only able to find three Taekwondo boards and all three were relatively dead. If Planet Dojang starts to draw a lot of popularity I will do my best to launch a message board for everyone, but I am a man that likes to be successful so I'm not going to launch anything until the demand is there.
I don't want this article to become an advertisement for Planet Dojang, but I did feel the need to address the lack of online community outlets for those involved in our great sport. What I really want out of this article is feedback. I want you to tell me your thoughts on the absence of a strong online Taekwondo community. I want you to tell me exactly what would make you happy in regards to an online resource such as Planet Dojang. I want to be in touch with my readers so I can give them exactly what they want; and hopefully we can build a strong community from the bottom up. I believe the current disconnect is hindering our growth and the spread of knowledge. Are we willing to be the pioneers of this new growth? Am I alone on this?
