Ok, before you think what on earth is Pete doing with the picture below, let me explain. The blog has been quite a success since its launch (thanks for the positive feedback) however there have been requests for pictures. As always we listen to what you guys who use the site want and therefore I thought the best way to kick this off in true Martial Edge style was a picture of the team.

Top left: Pete Mills,senior editor/co founder, Top right Jason DainterIT project management/ co founder, Middle right, Ben Johnson chief editor, Bottom Left, Lesley Jackson, deputy editor, Middle bottom, Ian Hales IT, Bottom Right, Sham Norsham,IT.

Anyway, enough of the comedy on with the serious stuff.

On Friday we published the brand new Martial Arts Articles and Reviews homepage. As you may have noticed there are still some finishing touches to be made but ultimately it will make your navigation of the content a whole lot easier. We have big plans for the next two to three months with editorial content so it was vitally important that we put a system in place that would allow the site to grow without sacrificing the ease of which you can use the site. As usual feedback and suggestions are most welcome in the forums on what you think to the new articles and review layout page.

Work also began on the task of putting all of our Martial Arts Shop products online - yes kids all 600 of them! So I wont go over board on product plugs but I will however keep you all updated until launch with how development is going.

On Sunday Ben (Chief editor/writing genius/drummer in upcoming band Wintermute) and I made the 40 mile trip across the Pennines from Leeds to Manchester to meet the legendary Phillip Star, author of The Making of a Butterfly and Martial Mechanics. Phillip was over from the United States promoting his latest book and conducting a series of seminars organised by Chris Lomas. If you are reading this blog chances are you are familiar with Phillips work on Martial Edge and he has been a friend to the team for around two years (yes even when we were a tiny little website). It was great to finally meet the man himself and with over fifty years of training in the martial arts it was an honour to spend some time with him. You can catch Phillip in the forums.

As usual I am pleased with how everyone is starting to respond to the message of spreading the word about what we are setting out to do with Martial Edge. Traffic to the website is continuing to rise with an increase of people now starting to sign up and connect on the site everyday. As I said in last weeks entry the team doesnt expect everyone to be martial arts forum users, forums are just the start. Already we have profile pages, write on wall functions and private messaging. (And like Willa Wonkas Chocolate factory a couple of surprises too).

The team have been receiving positive messages recently as loyal users are also starting to notice that the site is catching on. That said we cannot rest on our laurels. Keep telling everyone you know about us. Again, suggestions would be helpful if you think the process of becoming a member of Martial Edge could be easier and whether we do a good enough job of promoting the benefits on the site.

As usual, you can catch me or any of the team members during the week in the forums.

Pete Mills

Senior Editor/Co-Founder

The Worlds Largest Online Martial Arts Community