(UPDATED 6/8/20)

NOW OPEN!! Here’s what you need to know.

Today Washington County was approved to reopen following Covid-19 guidelines set forth by the state. That  means River City Warriors can reopen as well! We’re excited about the opportunity to see all of you in person and return to the community we’ve so proudly built. With that we need to inform you that outlined by the state are some baby steps in moving forward.

What does training look like now?

Business owners tackle one obstacle after another and this is no different. I can tell you we absolutely never thought we’d be facing public health challenges to keep our doors open. This is a learning process for us, and our goal is to follow the ethical and legal guidelines while offering the most comfortable environment possible. Here’s what we have determined in the moment.

Participation and Health:

1. Students will be REQUIRED to sign up for classes in advance. We have to limit the space available for all classes to keep the six foot social distance for students. There’s two ways to do this, you can sign up right on our website under the schedule tab HERE. The second way would be to check in using the River City Warriors app found on the Google Play store or the iOS App Store.  This also helps us avoid the step of taking manual attendance and having every student touch the same tablet at the front desk. IMPORTANT: Either step will ask for a password and most students will not have this. You need to use the email you used when enrolling at the school, AND choose “Forgot Password.” Otherwise what you’ll do is end up duplicating your account and it will NOT let you register for classes.
2. According to the state’s guidelines masks are required for staff and we’re going to require them for participants. (including kids) As we engage in boxing, in visceral workouts, we cannot understate the importance of this step. The mask as I’m sure you all know do a tremendous amount to protect those around you. When you mask up, you’re stating you care about your fellow student’s health and well being, and their families.
3. Classes will be 45-50 minutes during Phase I: The state mandates as a “fitness” facility we MUST clean all equipment and surfaces every hour after each session This window of time we’ll let us prep for the next session. We’ll be using all CDC approved cleaning supplies as well as having soaps and sanitation supplies for students.
4. You must use your own equipment, particularly GLOVES as there’s no way for us to clean these items as thoroughly as required. You’re welcome to find your own, and we’ll be selling gloves and equipment at 50% off upon reopening to make this as accessible as possible. As always you’re welcome to find gear online or any store of your choosing.
5. During our 15 minute cleaning window in between classes. We’ll need everyone to exit the building to allow us space to clean. This will also avoid people congregating at the lobby in close proximity.
6. We encourage students to explore the arts in this unusual time. Many of our programs will look different as we’ll list in a moment. Take this time to explore something new with an open mind, and get to know your fellow students who share our community.
7. June 8th, 2020 – We’d like to announce kids classes today. Due to the aforementioned strict guidelines some things you should know. All requirements and procedures for adults are in effect, and youth students will need to bring their own grappling dummy to train with at class. We may be running them through a variety of drills but we have numerous safety measures in place.
   1. Students will find designated spots to line up on the floor that are six feet apart. They won’t have to wonder or worry if they’re social distancing, we’ll do that for them
   2. Parents may only drop off and pick up at this time, we cannot allow family members to sit and watch youth classes at this time.
   3. Our schedule will be limited as we have staff that cannot return at this time. It should be updated right here online at RCW, but in general we’re aiming for Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm, and Saturday Mornings at 9am.
   4. Thanks for your patience and understanding, we’re trying to do our best to accommodate everyone at this time.
   5. Kids are still welcome to attend all ages ZOOM sessions Monday and Thursday nights during posted class times.

How will the actual training work?

Again, as we’re excited to open, a few changes dictate what we can do in Phase I of this reopening. Keep in mind Oregon is currently in a fortunate place, our Covid 19 cases are fairly low in comparison to the nation. We’re happy to move forward cautiously to help keep this trend going in the right direction. Hopefully these restrictions are temporary and in a few short weeks we’ll move in to Phase 2 and then onto 3 which is a complete return to normalcy.

1. Kali/JKD – This program will be converted to mostly handheld tools in the short term. Using eskrima sticks will allow us to keep six feet apart and still be able to train with another person. We look at this as a blessing, and feel fortunate that this is one area we can continue to train in a familiar way. Class size will be limited to 20 students.
2. Muay Thai/Kickboxing – Phase I unfortunately doesn’t allow for contact among people even wearing boxing gloves or equipment. This session will be circuit driven as we cycle students through heavy bag, medicine ball, rope, and combination drills. There will be a form of sparring and a myriad of inspiration from us as coaches where we’ll explore the art more than we can describe here on virtual paper. Class size will be limited to 20 students
3. BJJ – In this phase this class we’ll look a lot different. Professor Erik and I have gone back and forth on what we can do during this time. We determined that the best way to serve students at this time is to have a class where all students bring their own grappling dummy. We’ve posted a couple different ways to build your own low cost BJJ partner using materials around the house. Since there is no partner contact allowed, this is the best solution we could arrive at in lieu of canceling the class altogether. Class size will initially be limited to 10 participants.

What and When?

We’re thrilled to announce that we can reopen as early as this Monday June 1st! During this initial week, we’ll be launching all ADULT co-ed classes. We expect kids classes to resume the following week, we’ll look at capacity in regard to the Amazon’s BJJ class for women. In addition we’ll be doing daytime BJJ on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. We’ll do our best to reflect the temporary schedule changes online as well, and expect our full class syllabus to rapidly return. In addition to the schedule, we’ll be streaming classes live via either Facebook or Zoom for anyone who’s still hesitant to come in.

This gap in the schedule at the moment will give us space to make further improvements, prepare the space, and give attention to other requirements on RCW during Phase I. We’re thrilled to be here for you, to see everyone again, and while this list might seem like a lot to follow it’ll flow smoothly. We never expected to face these changes ourselves and never in our lifetime has the model of martial arts been uprooted like this. It’s an usual time, but like we’ve stated since the start of this situation, we are all in this together. We’ll get through this, manage the changes, and before we know it training will return to the lifestyle we all enjoy.

Before we get this show on the road, A HUGE THANK YOU

We can’t overstate the amount of support we’ve received from our students and their families. Over half of our students voluntarily kept their membership active during this pandemic. Many of you reached out personally and let us know how much RCW meant to you, that you wanted it to be there when we could return. It is your actions that allowed us to navigate this trying time and we’ll keep our promise to return the favor. Words can’t express how truly grateful we are for everything you’ve done for RCW, for us as people, and our community. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Sincerely,

Professors Joe & Erik