Hello Everyone,
It’s Mr. Ray –
I want to give you an update on the state of our reopening. As the state of Maryland
continues to see a decrease in Covid-19 cases, the Governor is allowing martial arts schools to
reopen. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that everything will be back to normal.
Here are the quick details.
• Classes begin Monday June 29th for those students in our Junior & Adult programs.
(Little Dragon’s and Special Needs excluded at this time.)
• We will offer 1 Junior & 1 Adult class per day (Monday-Thursday)
• You MUST register ahead of time
• You MUST only attend 1X per week to allow for all students to participate
• Parents are not allowed in the building past the front desk window
• You MUST wear a mask to enter the building
• No more than 3 people in the front lobby at any given time
• Parents MUST perform a temperature scan and we must record it before you are
allowed entry
• Anyone who’s temperature registers above 100 degrees Fahrenheit is not allowed in the
building
• Students need to wear shoes (sneakers/tennis/wrestling shoes only please)
• Wear a Mitchell’s T-shirt and Gi pants along with belt. No full uniforms. (Plain black shirts
are allowed if you don’t have Mitchell’s T-shirt)

If you would like to read any further, here are more in-depth details.
While many of you may have heard Martial Arts schools can open at 50% capacity, the state is
still requiring that group activities be 10 people or less. That being said we will only be able to
have classes of up to 9 students (the instructor counts as one of the 10 people.)
We were able to meet and exceed all of the state standards to remain open as a childcare
facility during the day, to provide care for essential workers. So, we have some experience in
overcoming challenging regulations set by the state during this period.

Having the childcare facility gave us experience in dealing with these things but there is a
conflict in timing. Because of the childcare regulations and the martial arts school regulations
coexisting in one place we are going to need to delay the time any karate classes can start. The
earliest we will be able to start classes is 6:15pm. Due to the delayed start time and the
restriction on class size we are making a massive overhaul to scheduling of classes.
To ensure that everyone gets class time and we do not go over our allotted number of students
we are working on software for the website where you will be able to RSVP for classes. To try
and meet all of the state guidelines in terms of the number of people in the building and grouped
together, we are unfortunately going to have to ask parents to only come into the lobby to drop
your child off. We have always thought it is an important thing that parents get to watch their
children grow in the martial arts and see their progression however, for what is hopefully a short
period of time, this may not be possible. And as you come into the lobby be aware there can
only be three parents in the lobby at one time.

For anyone coming in the building, the state requires us to have a temperature check and log
the names of anyone entering. In addition to this everyone entering must wear a face mask. We
are going to need to separate the classes, so we have approved materials that allow us to
separate the main floor into different sections otherwise we would be forced to only have 9
people in the whole giant area.

I would assume the popularity of ju-jitsu in many schools where most of the class is spent rolling
around on the mat has prompted the state to make it mandatory for all schools to sanitize the
floor between every class. To make the sanitation process faster so as to not delay the next
class for any longer than necessary we will be starting classes without mats so you may wear
tennis shoes if you like.

While we are talking about dress code, during the summer we allow students to choose between
wearing a gi top or a Mitchell’s t-shirt. To err on the side of caution, we are going to say that it is
probably easier to wash a t-shirt than a gi top, so please only wear your gi pants and not the
top. You can wear a Mitchell’s t or a plain black t-shirt with no graphics or words.
We are in the process of finalizing the schedule and software to RSVP. This should all be
accomplished very shortly. I will give you another email when we have the schedule ready for
you and we can get things up and running as far as being able to RSVP for classes.
I know some of these restrictions may seem a little absurd to some of us, but it is necessary to
follow the state regulations in using an abundance of caution. As the situation in the state
continues to improve hopefully the Governor will lift a lot of the stringent rules soon.
I hope to be able to see everyone in person starting next week and I know we will get through
this together and get things back to the way they are supposed to be.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon,

Mr. Ray