Daily blog #14

Where is Wald.. Covid?

We are but four days away from our official reopen date and with the arrival of summer, is anyone wondering what the corona virus went? Former WHO (World Health Organization) director Karol Sikora was quoted in an interview saying “COVD-19 will likely run its course” before a vaccine is ever produced, that the virus is likely petering out… Are people ruling out that that this mass hysteria was brought about by political gain? I have reason to believe so. It is not my intention to politicize my blog but as a Jiu Jitsu academy owner it is my duty to encourage students to practice Jiu Jitsu. “Emperor Newsome” was one of the first governors to initiate a shutdown in California in order to save lives. Somehow through all of this it was perfectly acceptable to be in a crowded store for any period of time, yet voting booths were not allowed. Beaches and parks were also closed. I find it laughable to see the long overdue reopening of gyms with incredibly vague guidelines and procedures. Strange lack of effort for someone who declared that 22 millions Americans were going to be infected.

My beef with the governors lies in the fact that Jiu Jitsu and Martial Arts as a whole have changed countless lives and groomed many great men and women who have gone on to contribute to society and the community around them. This is a result of the discipline, respect for others and plain hard work that attracts many great leaders together. My duty as a sensei is to convince the usually intimidated students of all ages, colors, sizes and genders why they will benefit from Jiu Jitsu. This can be hard enough on it’s own as Jiu Jitsu is oftentimes associated with cagefighting or crude forms of self defense rather than the inner and outer beauty that lifelong practitioners know. It is both sad and infuriating to see the amount of people who are low risk yet are fearful of this virus, stopping them from a life of good health shared with amazing people. On a positive note, we will be starting our full class schedule on Monday and I could not be more thrilled to be able to share the mats with our students again who I’m sure are feeling the same way.