New RVTKD Rules for COVID-Era Practice

We are excited to welcome RVTKD students back into the dojang for classes. You may have noticed that a lot has changed since we last trained together in March 2020. Here are a few things that you need to know so we can keep everyone safe as we reopen:

• Instructors and students must be fully vaccinated before returning to class. You’ll be required to provide proof of vaccination before your first class. You can bring a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to the dojang with you, but it will be much easier if you use this form before you arrive. If you choose to bring your card to the dojang, please arrive 10-15 minutes early so an instructor has time to check your card without causing congestion at the dojang entrance or delaying class.
• While in the building and in the dojang, masks and physical distancing are required.
• All students are encouraged to arrive for classes in your dobok and ready to train thereby minimizing the challenges of maintaining physical distance when changing in the bathrooms. If you do need to change before or after class, then use of the second floor bathrooms in addition to the first floor bathrooms. If both bathrooms are in use, wait outside until someone leaves. As always, do not wear/tie your belt until you’ve entered the dojang and bowed in.
• The storage cubbies will be closed for the foreseeable future. There will be space to leave your shoes in the hallway outside the dojang. We recommend you leave any additional personal items in your car.
• We will temporarily suspend use of focus pads, heavy bags, jump ropes, jump boxes, and all training gear that encourages physical proximity, contact with surfaces, or both.
• Even though we will all be wearing masks, we will suspend the use of the kihap during drills and while performing poomsae. Since the kihap is, by its nature, a vigorous expulsion of air from the lungs, it has a high likelihood of creating airborne droplets.
• The water bottle filling station will be closed for the foreseeable future. Bring a full water bottle (or two) with you to every class—this is especially important during the summer months! Find a spot for your water bottle (and towel if you bring one) along a wall in the dojang, leaving plenty of space between you and the next person’s items.
• Friendship among peers is one of the five tenets of Jidokwan and many of us have developed close friendships with training partners both in and out of the dojang. That said, we encourage everyone to avoid congregating inside the building before or after class. Inside the dojang we should always avoid small talk, telling stories unrelated to training, or otherwise being distracted from our practice, but now we must be especially mindful of maintaining space and attention to safety.
• And, finally, if you feel sick, stay home. Help us keep everyone in our Taekwondo community safe and healthy. This is no time for heroics, and rather than valiantly struggling through the hardship of an illness, it is better to be smart and take care of yourself and the rest of your training partners.