A miniseries podcast discussing the evolution of Sport Karate (Point Sparring) in North America and some issues within the sport

I am a rookie podcaster who wants to create good content for a community that I care about -- the sport karate community! This includes athletes, parents, coaches, sponsors, organizers, any one who is passionate about sport and sport karate (even those who aren’t passionate about sport karate, but are curious about it) or martial arts in general.

I am a Canadian Mental Performance Consultant, PhD candidate at Brock University, and a competitive point fighter athlete in sport karate. I identify myself as an "athlete advocate" which I define as "always looking for the betterment of the individual athlete". I am incredibly passionate about MY sport and truly believe that it could be something exceptional... but still has room to grow.

This podcast is positioned within a North American context and is trying to understand the identity of sport karate (point sparring specifically) and where it sits within sport in general (not just martial arts). It's an opinion piece, based on my own experiences and observations, but has a solid foundation of sport knowledge which I'm trying to present in the most respectful and positive way possible.
Information is being pulled from sport history, sport sociology, sport psychology, and communication and media research in order to try and understand the identity of the sport of karate within society.
 

I was “benched” from my sport — understandably — because of the social distancing restrictions within my country. Sometimes taking a break is great. I was able to reflect on my own experiences as an athlete, but I was also able to see how my sport was being represented to the world. From what I saw… everyone seemed pretty confused!

My goal is to co-create an understanding of identity in a sport that I’m afraid is dying. Karate has gone from a “tough-guy” image that was created in the 70s to having many different strands of “point fighting” or sparring taught in karate. This makes it confusing and hard to understand what “sport karate” is. As a sporting community.. I don’t even think WE know what we are. Meanwhile when you tell anyone you do “karate” they immediately think that you tie something to your forehead and “karate chop” plywood in your garage. There are so many clichés that people have missed that karate has evolved into this really interesting and exciting sport to participate in… and even watch (if I’m being biased). It also has a passionate community… which doesn’t necessarily agree with each other. But I’m here to express that there is room to thrive for all aspects of the sport (AND the martial arts). We may not have the “tough guy” image that we had in the 70s, but we are still a highly strategic and athletic sport.

Going through the process of creating a podcast I appreciate Podcasts more. It presents a unique medium to use and be on and is filled with a community that wants to learn and grow.

One thing that I have learned and that has left it’s mark through the process: clickbait should be used with caution.
 

I’m self-funded.. it began as a side project. Interestingly there are ways to Podcast that makes it quiet affordable! I’m still trying to avoid the stigma of “any body can have a mic”… I think I’ve put together a good product while being responsible for the information I put out on the internet!

Elyse’s Point was originally set up as a miniseries of 9 episodes.. but because I’m trying to co-create knowledge it is better to try to talk WITH people than AT people. So on to the next phase!

I am strategically trying to produce my episodes by making them in batches and using social media to update the community.
 

What do I gain?? So far.. very little (BUT intrinsic reward and obsession have been great side effects). I have a Mental Performance Consulting website, but it’s tailored to all sport and professionals and not specifically karate. I guess podcasting is a form of expression and passion at this point. It is fulfilling to receive feedback from the community about the podcast.. even those outside of the sport karate community.

I will be reaching out to sponsorship for the next phase of Elyse’s Point, but because the viewership is still on the smaller side... we will see! I’d say “fingers crossed” but I think it takes more than luck.
 

I’m still learning. I bought a inexpensive USB mic, edited everything on Garageband, put it through Auphonic to make the sound consistent (side bar — they have awesome customer service!) and then put it on my host platform (Podbean) ahead of time. I’ve been doing episodes in batches, which I find not is efficient with time but helps with my content creation too. I will be using a similar format for when I invite guests on the show.

I’m going to be checking out Podbean Live software (on my computer) for interviewing guests.
 

I love these questions! They make me think and reflect about what I’m doing. Apparently marketing is 80% of the process. Going through University I had to take marketing (for my sport management degree) and I thought “why do I need to learn how to market?? The product will speak for itself” — not the case! It’s been a great learning experience… marketing is in almost everything.

I have built a community page on Facebook where I upload the episodes and the followup questions on each episode. It’s been useful.. although they aren’t a talkative bunch.
 

Podcasting is not as easy as it looks. Try it. I DARE YOU. There’s a lot of the behind the scene work that is put into building a podcast. Much of the advice that I’ve gotten is that “you have to enjoy the process” and that is a true statement.

When I started I was very keen on sharing on social media than I was on the actual platforms. That was a mistake. Although I have a nice community on social media the platforms will help you grow.

Podcasting host sites have many free resources that are there to help rookies (like me) start a podcast. I’ve found that the hosts platforms are just as passionate about podcasting as the producers of content. They want to help! It’s an exciting medium to be apart of.

I kind of get overwhelmed with how much information is actually out there.
 

You can learn more about me and my work from my personal website (www.embodiedmentalperformance.com), and follow me on Instagram @embodiedmp where I post about mental performance skills for professionals, athletes and coaches!

For podcast specific information you can visit the Podbean website (https://elysespoint.podbean.com/), and the Elyse's Point Facebook website (https://www.facebook.com/ElysesPoint).

If you'd like to get in touch you can email me at embodiedmentalperformance@gmail.com