December 6, 2013, I published the very first post on the Stick Chick Blog.
Since I've changed hosts, it's not on this blog itself, and trust me, it wasn't anything super great ("Enter the Stick Chick" - gosh, how original!).
As I've noted in anniversary posts in years previous, the blog sure has changed from those early days on Blogger, and so has my martial arts life, too. There's been moves across country, my oldest got married, surgeries, programs open and programs close, and the format, tone, and schedule of the blog has changed over time.
There are posts I am super proud of and took me ages to write that y'all didn't seem to be interested in. Of course, that could be because Facebook, in particular, is awfulsauce for small guys like me, and it's getting worse. I actually quit Facebook at the first half of the year because of this issue (all my work was getting less and less exposure on the platform when I'd not changed a thing), but I came back mid-year because I have to be where most of you are, and for now, that's Facebook.
Yuck. I really wish we'd migrate elsewhere. WHO ELSE MISSES GOOGLE PLUS, PEOPLE?!?
And then, there's plenty of posts that I wrote off the cuff and slammed to publication without a lot of crafting to it at all, that y'all seemed to totally love.
Trying to figure out what you guys enjoy, and what you don't, isn't as easy as you'd think. Yes, that does matter to me, by the way; I write what I want here, but I am always trying to think about what y'all want to read about, too.
Speaking of which, for the past year, here are the top 5 posts:
This post has been a favorite of visitors since I originally published it to the old blog and updated and re-published it on the new. I'm just one person with an opinion on this topic, but it seems like guidance in how to buy and care for rattan sticks we use in FMA training is a popular subject out there.
Also pretty popular since published. I actually think the problem I talk about in this post is getting a little better. We see more video/podcasts, for one, and that's great.
I admit, this surprises me a little, given that it's very, VERY nerdy and focused specifically on Modern Arnis.
This was a post that I re-worked and expanded upon, originally published in 2016 back on the old blog. It was not so popular in the original version. I think this probably has a bit more relevance in the post-Kyle Rittenhouse trial era.
I have no clue why part 2 is more popular than part 1.
Whatever posts YOU like and share, I want you to know that I'm so appreciative of it. This blog is a vanity project, and every like, every comment, every share is absolute gold to me.
So thanks for 8 years of hanging with me, and let's have a kick-ass year 9.