The Challenge

 

I am no longer actively teaching. I do care about what currently dojo’s of every sort are experiencing.

I taught for free, but always through the facility that the Boys and Girls Clubs offered to me. I was always doing so as a service for my community and helping youth develop stronger wills to succeed at whatever they eventually chose to do.

I started my program back in 1979 when focused instruction for youth was not the norm. I faced many instructors in many arts who thought I was crazy for 1. Teaching for free, and 2 teaching kids for everyone knew real karate was for adults.

 

 I never listened to them.

 

 I originally got the idea from working in Scranton. When I would walk around town over my lunch hour I discovered school after school for dance around the town. I realized all of those schools were fulfilling a need and also making a living doing so. That gave me the idea of teaching youth karate.

In fact I told many of those same instructors who thought I was crazy that the future was in youth karate especially if they wanted to keep their schools open.

 

Time proved my vision was right.

So now everyone is in a fix, even that free youth program at the Boys and Girls Club  back in Derry. For they stay open because of continuous fund raising done by parents of the town who believe in the Club. They have lost at least 3 of their biggest fund raisers this spring, and that means they are in the same boat.

This morning I listened to a discussion about how the CDC is working on guidelines how to safely re-open schools. Not suggesting the answer is that each district is left to their own to work out how to do so.

 That also makes me reflect on each youth karate program which logically needs to answer parents how they are going to do the same. And if those programs do not have logical answers such as what schools are going to do, then….

The issues is not that you can reopen your program, nor is it adults can choose to return to training. The largest issue to me is how you can demonstrate to parents that what you are doing is going to keep the children safe.