Hello, everyone:
Doesn’t the virus understand it’s KIMURA MONTH?!?!?!?
Sadly, no, it doesn’t, because it’s a virus. I hope everyone’s weekend is going well: We got some great training yesterday, including our first Blue Belt Curriculum class. Unfortunately, we expect those to be our last classes for a while.
We expect to get some bad news today at 11 a.m. Due to rising cases of coronavirus statewide, Gov. Inslee is expected to announce closure of all gyms in the state — along with other restrictions on businesses like restaurants and bars.
This means that as of Monday, we will be closed until further notice. (With one exception — Virtual Intro to BJJ will continue as an online-only session. More on that below).
We don’t have all the specifics of the restrictions right now, but this email will include everything we know about what’s happening and how we’re going to handle it.
We expect to be closed until at least Jan. 1. We’ll keep you posted as new information emerges.
THE BIG PICTURE
As those of you who have been with us for a while know: We will never compromise on health, safety and hygiene practices. Your health is our first priority, period. Prior to the crisis, we already had robust hygiene practices developed in consultation with doctors. During this crisis and as we emerge from it, we have pledged to take the precautionary approach, being more careful than the federal and state guidelines require. It’s the right thing to do.
Why more careful? Because jiu-jitsu has unique risk factors for the transmission of this virus, including our proximity to one another, how much (and heavily) we breathe due to exercise, and the length of time we spend in the same space with others. It’s hard to compare our risks to any non-grappling exercise. As our knowledge evolves, we will always adapt so that our practices are always based on the best current information.
When we closed before, we developed a phased approach to re-opening. These phases are designed to keep our members and the public safe, and to be modular — that is, if anything goes wrong in our county during these phases, we can adapt.
This new closure is a disappointing setback, to be sure. But there are also positive signs on the horizon — hope for a new vaccine, and for a newly coordinated effort to get a handle on this virus once and for all. Jiu-jitsu is a tool to improve our lives: Patience, discipline and strategic thinking are part of jiu-jitsu too. This is a chance to exercise those traits.
It’s a long game, and if we do the right things now, we stand a better chance of good outcomes in the long run.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME AS A STUDENT?
First of all … thanks to everyone for hanging in with us during this unprecedented time. Here’s what we’re doing right now.
We’re going to put a freeze on dues payments, so no one will get charged for December. The only payments we’ll process are for dues or gear that people have already bought.
For Intro to BJJ students, Jesse and I will continue to teach the classes via livestream on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. If you and your Intro class partner were training in the academy, and would like to get together at home to follow along with the classes, please feel free. If you’re a regular student and want to attend these classes as well, also feel free — the more the merrier.
I know that folks have already paid dues for November, and that Intro students deserve a full slate of Intro classes. Those of you that went through the first closure with us know that we’re going to take care of folks and honor those commitments.
When we re-open, if you’re an Intro student now, you’ll get the chance to do the full Intro course again at no charge. (This applies even if you do the full online Intro session this month and complete all the classes). If you’re not an Intro student and you’ve paid dues for November, we’ll hook you up when we re-open — depending on our re-opening date, we will give you at least two weeks of free training.
In terms of supporting the academy: If you want to buy gear — hoodies come in tomorrow! — that would be cool. No pressure.
It’s possible that we add a live stream class, depending on the demand. Please let us know if that would be useful. For now, though, we’re just going to do the two streams a week.
I will also continue to produce video resources like fight breakdowns, technique explanations, and whatever video requests y’all have. I may also put together some playlists of jiu-jitsu matches for folks to watch. There’s nothing I like more than talking about jiu-jitsu, so … don’t hesitate to ask for what you’d find interesting!
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING?
The most important thing is that you take care of yourself and your circle, period. Your health and safety is the bottom line of all this.
With that in mind …
To keep yourself safe outside of the academy, we recommend you:
- Follow the CDC guidelines on face coverings. The studies are extremely compelling that face coverings protect people. If you need help finding face coverings, let us know.
- Stay home when you can. Risk can be minimized in many ways, but limiting exposure is critical.
- Dr. Rhonda Patrick recommends Vitamin D, among other practices, for general health as well as specifically in the time of coronavirus. (This is supported by some initial, not-peer-reviewed studies.)
We’re grateful to the academy owners, doctors and other medical professionals who spoke with us during this whole process. We try to be evidence-based and data-driven about everything we do. We’re especially grateful to the following folks who produced materials or consulted on resources like these.
- We drew heavily on the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Re-Opening Guidelines.
- Grapplearts’ Re-Opening Guidelines are very useful.
- Stephan Kesting’s interview with Dr. Chris Moriarty is comprehensive. We’re also grateful to Dr. Moriarty for doing a stream with Jeff where he answered several specific questions.
Most of all, we’re grateful to YOU — for understanding, for loving jiu-jitsu, and for being part of our community. That will continue, and it’ll make our eventual return to the mats all the sweeter.
Take care and stay safe out there.
Jeff