We aren’t going to lie: The day our karate schools were shuttered by governor’s orders due to COVID-19 was a terrible one.
Each of our school owners, and our students too, have put in endless time and energy into building amazing communities. And, on that day, we were all scared about it coming to an end.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to dig that deep into our training to figure out what to do next. As we always tell our students: keep going even if obstacles get in your way.
So, the next day we launched virtual classes.
We’ve found that continuing our karate classes while we are forced to stay at home has had many benefits for ourselves and our students.
Staying healthy
We don’t know about you, but now more than ever, we are focused on keeping ourselves and our kids healthy. There’s the obvious: everyone wants a strong immune system at this time. But also, we’re all facing big challenges: home schooling our children, working from home, going to stressful essential care jobs with staffing shortages. Being physically healthy and strong helps us tackle these new challenges.
Keeping routine
There aren’t many of us whose lives haven’t been turned absolutely upside down. No more getting up at 7 a.m. to get the kids breakfast ready and usher them out the door to the bus. No more stopping at Starbuck’s at 8 a.m. on the commute to the office. Having that karate class at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays helps us remember at a bare minimum what day of the week it is. Having something to do at a very specific time, gives us a sense of normalcy and comfort.
Stress relief
Whether it’s doing knee strikes, push ups or sparring drills – martial arts is an amazing outlet to relieve stress. We say that the bow into class is also an opportunity to bow out of whatever stress was happening in your day. Through movement and exercise, we refocus – to think about our breathing, heart rate and technique – giving us a much-needed break from the stresses of life.
You can join us!
If you’re an enrolled student, and haven’t had a chance yet to check out our online classes, contact your school to find out how to get going again.
If you’re a beginner: we are starting beginner courses NEXT WEEK. Join us twice a week and get a weekly private lesson virtually. Find out more and enroll in the links below.
Kids Kickstarter Course: Ages 5 to 11: Burn energy, set goals, find focus. Two virtual classes per week for beginners and one private video session per week.
Adult Intro to Self-Defense: Get fit and learn practical self-defense techniques to protect yourself and your family. Two virtual classes per week for beginners and one private video session per week.