Hello and happy fall!
COVID-19 cases are still very high in Walworth and Rock Counties. Just last week, we had several students who could not attend because they needed to quarantine. Thankfully we not traced any cases back to the martial arts school. That is largely thanks to your diligence. Thank you all for making this a safe space to workout. However, it would break our hearts if anything happened to our students. As such, we need to update our COVID-19 mask policies.
The Center for Disease Control recommends all people wear masks indoors to protect from COVID-19. Martial arts is a very physical activity. We are all breathing hard, and working with partners. This means we are at a higher risk than other activities, and we cannot in good conscious ignore these recommendations.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU?
• Starting Tuesday, September 14th, we will require masks worn indoors. These masks should completely cover the nose and mouth. Wearing a mask while working out is difficult. If you need to take a break or get some water, please let us know.
• We will continue to maintain a 6 foot distancing while working on forms and kicks.
• We will limit partnered activities like self defense to 15 minutes per partner. You will have time to sanitize your hands before and after working with each partner. If you have dry or sensitive skin, please let us know and you can use the sink to wash your hands instead.
• If you are not feeling well, stay home. Consider attending the Zoom classes. You will find links to our Zoom meetings in this email and on our Teams App. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
Thank you again for your hard work. We realize that this is not easy. No one likes wearing masks, but it is a relatively small thing we can do to protect our friends and fellow martial artists. We will discuss this more during announcements. Hopefully, if everyone does their part, we can see everyone’s healthy, smiling faces again soon.