Internet memoirs.

When I look at the past, the Internet has changed so many things in my life, it’s almost surreal. I always had an interest in IT but never figured it would lead to everything it did. And who knows what’s still to come?

Having a website and joining virtual communities has been the primary reason why I:

• Started writing books with Loren.
• Got in touch with Paladin Press and made several instructional videos with them.
• Got to travel the world to teach seminars.

Though those things are fun, in the end they’re not all that important. For me, the real kick is meeting people. I thoroughly enjoy meeting others who are just as passionate about training in the arts as I am. Regardless if it’s to teach them, train with them or just have a drink and talk about it. It’s all good.

Once again, the Internet serves as a catalyst for these interactions:

• Last week, I taught a private class to a great guy who’d been following this blog for a while. He was in Belgium, we got together and I taught a class. It was a ton of fun.
• Tonight, somebody who I’d only talked to via Facebook walked in during my Sanshou class and asked to join up. Turns out we had the same teacher and he’d seen me at tournaments in the past. When he mentioned he was a judge, it rang a bell but as I’m bad with faces, it was Facebook that I remembered him from.
• Tomorrow, I’m meeting a friend I’ve only seen a couple times in person but initially got to know via a mailing list. Turns out he lived in Belgium for a while but now resides across the globe from here.

These are just a few examples but there are many more.

What triggered this post is remembering the times before there was such a thing as the Internet. Sure, there were computers then but I didn’t have a way to talk to people from all around the world. Today, we take all that for granted and whine when our ISP has technical problems that force us off-line for half an hour.

So here’s a quick philosophical shout that it could be worse when that happens. Imagine never going on-line again…

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