Hello everyone,
I hope that everyone has been able to stay healthy and sane during this extended horror movie that is 2020 and found your own ways to practice while we wait for the dojos to open up again. It's been a minute since I've communicated with everyone about whether or not we will be able to open up the dojos again, so I think it's only fair that I send everyone an update since the last email I sent.
A few weeks ago, the dojo leaders and officers of the ECUSKF had a brief phone meeting concerning how we should handle the possibility of resuming in-person practices as the various sectors of our economy start to open up, including gyms and recreation centers. The good news about that is we may have the spaces to practice open up again as the restrictions on close-contact sports are loosened. However, we can't forget that COVID-19 is still an issue, and cases have been increasing across the country. As much as we would love to resume practices as usual, we have to put the health and safety of our practitioners first, especially for those in the vulnerable groups. At the end of the call, we made the decision that the risks were still too high to resume practices again, so we won't be having in-person Kendo and Iaido practices for at least the next few weeks while we continuously keep up to date about safety conditions.
Despite all of that, don't forget that there are a lot of ways to continue practicing on your own. The Kendo practices over Zoom have still been going on so you can always join with those practices. There's also a lot of Youtube videos to watch, blogs to read and cross-training to perform (so you're not starting at zero once we get back).
While I'm at it, I'd also like to announce that I've been able to hold Iaido practices over Zoom. The last few weeks were touch-and-go making sure that those who were able to attend were able to get into the room, but it looks like that's all been worked out (fingers crossed!). I've been doing them on Sunday mornings at 10, and the link can be accessed below. Feel free to join us if you're able to, even if you are just able to watch!
While I'm at it, I'd also like to announce that I've been able to hold Iaido practices over Zoom. The last few weeks were touch-and-go making sure that those who were able to attend were able to get into the room, but it looks like that's all been worked out (fingers crossed!). I've been doing them on Sunday mornings at 10, and the link can be accessed below. Feel free to join us if you're able to, even if you are just able to watch!
Hope to see you all there!
Chris George
P.S. Yesterday, I found out that the AUSKF has released some guidelines for practicing duing the pandemic. I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, but I'll let you know when I do.
