For serious martial arts practitioners, whose progress is directly tied to their commitment to practice, access to a venue for training is key, no matter where they are. That’s why frequent work travel made Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu disciple Amanda Orson, of Downingtown, concerned she wouldn’t have a place to spar with other athletes on the road.

Orson, the VP of growth at a stealth-mode startup who began practicing the sport in May, quickly learned that not being able to find “open mats” — martial art gyms open to anyone to come in and train — was a common gripe.

“After conducting a search in the usual places (Google, App store) and coming up with at best stale, at worst non-functional results, I asked our resident brown belt how she was finding them,” Orson told Technical.ly in an email. “She really didn’t have a method, just sort of knew people and would get informed.”

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