CIMAA Goes Online!
October 20, 2009 – The Central Illinois Martial Arts Association’s first-ever interactive martial arts directory goes online today, providing new opportunities for instructors and students alike.
CIMAA includes a number of different martial arts schools on their website, including karate, tae kwon do, and mixed martial arts.
CIMAA allows you to directly answer questions from potential students."
Instructors are encouraged to sign up the forums to list their school, as well as interact with potential new students and other schools in the area.
One such instructor is Rusty Shackleford of Peoria.
"It’s a real great tool for a business owner," Shackleford said. "CIMAA allows you to directly answer questions from potential students. Plus, I can talk to other instructors about what they’re doing with their program and we can bounce ideas off each other."
Another instructor in the Peoria area is looking forward to the opportunities. Jerry Flynn has been in teaching in the area for over 20 years.
"For a long time, this town has been very divided," Flynn said. "Some instructors have bad blood with others. Sometimes that is with good reason, but most times it’s not. I think CIMAA has great potential to break down the prejudices between schools."
In addition to providing free interaction between martial arts students and schools, CIMAA also offers to the option for users to donate to the organization. CIMAA founder Adam Bockler says that extra money leftover after website expenses will be put back in the community, like helping students pay for their program’s monthly fees, a new set of sparring gear, or a tournament entry.
I hope that CIMAA will allow anybody who wants to attend a class the ability to."
"Ethically, it wouldn’t make sense to make a profit from CIMAA," Bockler said. "Too many times I’ve said and I’ve heard other students say that they don’t have the money to pay for class this month. Or they don’t have the money to go to a tournament. Clearly they want to go, they just don’t have the money to go."
Bockler said he has other ideas for CIMAA in the future, but is keeping its focus small for now. He declined to comment on future possibilities.
"In the long run, I hope that CIMAA will allow anybody who wants to attend a class the ability to."
