The creation of this site is my first experience with the interactive documentary / website format. I believe that this method of translating information creates many avenues of possibility. It steps away from the conventional academic platforms and potentially independently constructs a narrative through creative, critical, and authentic means of communication. This short essay looks to explain various aspects of this site and speaks to further research ideas. 

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 Anthropologist Charlotte Davies has outlined ideas surrounding the concept of reflexivity in her work. Davies argues that an intense grip on reflexivity, specifically in the light of postmodernist relativism, restricts and creates boundaries around social research. However, Davies believes and argues strongly that reflexivity can be approached from a realist perspective. Davies refers to reflexivity in the context of research as a 'turning back on oneself' (2008). Visual Anthropology acts as a key space in which to approach ideas of reflexivity as the researcher and filmmaker influence is apparent. Ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall highlights that, 

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“Any image we make carries an imprint of our bodies. The images we make become artifacts of this. They are in a sense, mirrors of our bodies, replicating the whole of the body activity, with its physical movements, its shifting attention, and its conflicting impulses toward order and disorder” (2006, p.145).

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 The structure and content of this website reflects onto me as an individual in many ways, from the design through to the narrative. The interactive website is also a place in which reflexivity can be productively explored. I believe that my influence was made clear to me whilst collaborating on the website and receiving feedback. I had a tendency to include media that was not relevant to the narrative and significant to me in intricate, often obscure ways. Through feedback I was able to spot these influences more clearly. 

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 The interactive capacity of this website is achieved in multiple ways, through slideshows and navigation systems. A viewer must engage with the content to work their way through the structure. When receiving feedback it was made clear to me that original drafts of this site didn't take people on the journey of information I had intended. Although there is no strict progression of events, the interactive sitemap I believe is a good guide. This in essence created a parallel narrative structure and style (Munday 2016).

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 The media used throughout this site has personal connections to me and people included in the site. For example, two of the background pages include me at my BJJ club, within that community. The blue illustration on the home page was my screen saver for months and reflects the ability to fight larger opponents in BJJ (the artist is credited at the bottom of this page). The videos used in the headers were clips I have watched as a way of learning BJJ techniques outside of official settings. Media on the home page includes a white belt which was symbolic of an aspect of the narratives purpose. All the media on the site, throughout the structure reveals certain aspects of, and perspectives of BJJ. The visual mediums are used as a way to attract attention to certain ideas and translate information. 

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 I wanted the design of this site to be clear, bold, and aesthetic in some sense. I believe that this was a way of making the platform more interactive and engaging. I also attempted to design the website in a way which could attract non-academic audiences. This notion I hope has been reflected in the writing style and mechanics also. This was in part, an experiment for myself, coming towards the end of my degree in Social Anthropology I think translating anthropological insights in inviting, inclusive methods is important and worthwhile to a public, productive, and activist Anthropology. These are ideas are outlined and supported by Public Anthropologist and Academic Thomas Hylland Eriksen. Eriksen passionately advocates the message that there is great value in presenting the intricacies of anthropological knowledge in  straightforward, vivid, and creative language that strives to make the world simpler and more complex at the same time, through an emphasis on form, structure, and narrative (2006). 

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 There are multiple narratives of this site which are of course interpretable to each individual however, I attempted to create a clear perspective of my relationship to BJJ and that of many practitioners I know. That is the idea that practising BJJ often creates a unique bonded community. Alongside this, BJJ discourse can help individuals become present in a world which often actively places us in the past or future. In the technological era, with contemporary existential crisis's such as climate change, finding ways to ease the mind has become a daily and difficult task for many. Moreover, the site reflects an aspect of Visual Anthropology that resonates with me, the idea of translating information in a corporeal way, utilising the senses and emotions. This practice in documentary formats is effective when starting with individuals, creating empathy, and reflecting onto holistic topics in intricate ways. For example, the documentary 'Jiu-Jitsu VS The World' goes into depth with individuals, which in turn reflects the global network and culture of BJJ as communities of practice (Wenger 2000).

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 Through representing research in visual formats, anthropological insights can help in relation to contemporary debates by entering them from critical, empathetic, and creative ways. Cutting through fast paced media landscapes in inviting ways to share ethnographic knowledge in ways that resonate with those outside of academia. Hopefully this website to a degree reflects this perspective in practice. Moreover, it has been a useful experiment in terms of the interactive documentary format. I believe that in the future, translating ethnographies into this format could be beneficial for anthropologists to engage with the world further in meaningful and productive fashions.