Also, while I'm thinking about this topic, one of my more recent thought process' was about how to present jiu jitsu to the average user/reader on Steemit.
I think that one of the main issues we run into when producing content, is that we get into the mode of producing content aimed towards people who already do jiu jitsu. There is nothing wrong with that, but also consider the broader audience (specially here on Steemit). Most are not going to be able to, nor care about going inverted, using lockdown or other other sporty guards, or maybe even have the basic jiu jitsu knowledge to even consider techniques like this.
Many people also do not have the athleticism, or flexibility to perform some of the more sporty techniques.
Many of the more sporty techniques are not very safe or applicable to perform on the street or in a fight. Most of the self-defense techniques, I'm finding, still are applicable when rolling or competing against other jits practitioners.
So lately when I've been thinking about the production of my own videos to share here on Steemit, it's dawned on me to consider the audience. What would be most useful or helpful to the person sitting behind the keyboard, potentially reading my post or watching my vid. Most likely it will be more of the self-defense techniques.
@jiujitsu I think this would merit an entire post on itself. It's definitely an aspect that needs to be considered:
I had been thinking of writing an article aimed to explain briefly what BJJ is about and why it is appealing to many of us, the benefits, etc. aimed for a more general audience (some people have not even heard about it before).
While we can expect that people who are interested in BJJ, MMA and grappling will eventually join Steemit, we can also work on growing our community "from the inside" by promoting and providing an insight into the BJJ universe/lifestyle, so to say.
@irime you're exactly right. It could be awhile before we see growth from the outside, which is one reason I became motivated to try to move it along with this account. But we can already consider posts towards the general Steemit community about why we love jiu jitsu and it's benefits. I think that may be one reason that @flipstar's posts do so well; simply documenting his journey from white belt to blue belt. That probably resonates with the average reader than most other posts we see for bjj and mma.
I'm not the best at filming videos. Just because I know the techniques, doesn't always equate to being the best at instructing. For me, I do well in class, one on one, explaining technique to a new user. But, in front of my camera, or specially after the filming when I'm editing, I'm way to hard on myself. I pick myself apart, whether it's speaking, terminology, the camera angle, anything that I do not like. Perfectionist attitude is awful when putting yourself out there.
I recently spoke to one of my instructors, Eli, and he said you just have to do it, film it, cut it, post it. Don't worry about the negative feedback, focus on the positive and constructive feedback.
I actually was brainstorming ideas the other night and though about what types of contests that I could post on Steemit. One of the ideas was to post one technique name with a brief description, and challenge current jiu jitsu practitioners on Steemit to submit their video attempting to explain the technique. It would be great to see how different people present the same technique. Each user could post the video to their own account and earn. I would then create a post with all of the entries, and after the 7 day payout, reward the winner.
The difficult part is the judging criteria. Any input on this idea is appreciated :)
One of the few types of posts we have to go by are the #openmic, #rapchallenge #beatbattle type of topics. The judging is so subjective. You cannot really go by how much each person earns, or # of upvotes or re-steems.
I have to agree you with in that the content being produced is for the existing practitioner and will be hard to gain traction for anyone who doesnt already have some interest in BJJ. But then also at the same time I think it is important that we are putting out content for those who are already involved in the sport, so that we lay the ground works for when they come on Steem and try and find a community they can see that there is already one built and they can grow and be a part of it too. So I think you have to find a sweet spot for your content putting out stuff for both new and existing practitioners.
I do think you are right. We need balance. One thing I've noticed with my upvoting and re-steeming is that there's quite a bit of UFC and mma news posts. A tiny fraction of it is BJJ at this point. I think we need to really work on attracting instructors who already have followings on YouTube, or are attempting to make a name for themselves. We would see quite a bit of content from those types of users.