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CAF COVID-19 Advisory – March 16, 2020

Thank you to the many Dojo Chos and Aikido participants who have been diligently providing the Board with updates on their perspectives of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic. The health and safety of our CAF family is a paramount responsibility of the CAF Board.

With all of your input, the Board has been monitoring the spread ofthe virus since it was declared a pandemic. We have had some specific conversations with various dojos about the situation. Everyone has been responding to their local conditions with care and diligence.

There is an abundance of information about the pandemic in the media. Each dojo has municipal, provincial, national and international information and recommendations available to them. The CAF Board has been following the Health Canada website closely. Here are the links:• Government of Canada – Santé-Publique – Français

https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-publique/services/maladies/2019-nouveau-coronavirus.html

https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-publique/services/maladies/2019-nouveau-coronavirus/reponse-canada/gouvernement-canada-prend-mesures-concernant-covid-19.html• Government of Canada – Public Health – English

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/canadas-reponse/government-canada-takes-action-covid-19.html

To date, some dojos are continuing practice, some are modifying their practice (i.e., weapons only) and some have cancelled practiceand upcoming seminars. At this point in time there has not been a Health Canada recommendation the CAF can use to give direction for the dojos to follow.

The 2020 CAF Summer Camp page has some information specific to the upcoming Camp. Please continue to monitor that page for updates.

Furthermore, the Board respects each dojo’s intent to protect the health of its participants. Member dojos need to monitor their local authority’s recommendations diligently. This pandemic is forecast to be a long-term battle. After the immediate health of our participants is safe, dojos are advised to start thinking about their strategies to respond to the upcoming financial and operational effects of the virus.

The Board will continue with further updates to inform dojos so they can continue to make good decisions.

Dan Jones, President CAF

In view of the current situation with the coronavirus and in the interests of the safety of members, their friends and families, we will make a few changes to the dojo schedule.

As I mentioned previously, all children’s classes are cancelled for the next three weeks at least.

Starting tomorrow and for the immediate future, all classes will be weapons training — jo or bokken.

The 10 AM class on Saturday, March 15 will be an hour and a half long. The second class is canceled, But please be prepared to stay for a discussion of the situation.

Do not worry if you do not have a jo or bokken of your own – one will be loaned to you.

Don’t worry if you have no experience with this kind of practice… We will start at the beginner level.

Keep an eye on the monthly schedule posted on the website for any further changes. As well, we will send out emails promptly, advising you of the current schedule.

If you feel sick, even slightly, do not come to the dojo. If you have been in contact with someone who potentially has the  coronavirus, do not come to the dojo. In either case, I recommend that you seek medical attention and self-quarantine.

Please bear in mind that, especially in the early days, you can be spreading the disease without having any symptoms yourself.

If it looks like the dojo has been exposed to coronavirus, all classes will be canceled. If the authorities recommend that activities like ours be suspended, all classes will be canceled.

Check the website for an up-to-date schedule.

It’s a tough time and I don’t like making this decision, but we have to be realistic and reasonable.

To parents and guardians of kids’ class members:

As you probably know, in view of the risks posed by COVID-19, public school classes in Ontario are being cancelled from the start of March break (this Saturday, March 14) until April 5.

See 

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-to-close-all-publicly-funded-schools-for-2-weeks-after-march-break-due-to-covid-19-1.4850653?cache=yes%3FclipId%3D89830

To protect the health of all our students and their families and friends, our kids’ classes will be cancelled during this time and will reopen when the schools reopen. 

I am very reluctant to do this, but the health of our students has to come first.

Members will be notified promptly of any change to the schedule of regular adult classes.

If you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

Keep well!

In view of the growing concern about the coronavirus, I wanted to share our preliminary plans for the dojo.

Please note the following:

• If you feel sick, even slightly, do not come to the dojo.
• If you have attended a “mass” event where you were in immediate proximity to other people (sports, theatre, church) in the past week, please reconsider coming to the dojo.
• If you start to cough or sneeze during class, do so into your sleeve or facecloth and leave the mat right away.
• Wash your hands thoroughly before and after class, and use the hand sanitizer.
• If the virus spreads in Toronto, the classes will focus on non-contact (i.e. bokken and jo) practice.
• Everyone should help in cleaning the dojo more frequently.
• We will cancel classes if so directed by authorities.
• We will follow any guidelines provided by the CAF.
• We will monitor the situation closely.
• Watch your email and the website for updates regarding cancellations, etc.

Please help protect your own health and the health of your fellow members.

Please let us know if you have any concerns or suggestions.

Aikido is like learning to ride a bicycle, sort of.

Many things have to work together simultaneously… leaving one out prevents success.

Hands on handlebars, feet on pedals, steady pedaling action, posture upright, eyes on the road, good balance during turns, etc. The body has to be unified in a comparable way for Aikido technique to work.

Beginners see advanced practitioners riding hands-free or racing or riding a unicycle and want to do the same things right away. There are a few preparatory stages to go through first, like training wheels, just as there are in Aikido.

The senior student a beginner is practicing with is ideally kind of like the dad who runs alongside the child on the bike, holding it steady while the child figures out the movement, rather than challenging the kid and making it impossible for him/her to learn quickly.

And it is good for both bicycling and Aikido novices to practice falling safely!

“I want to improve my Aikido practice.”

“Excellent — what are you going to do?”

“Well, I want to practice intensely for my next test.”

“We’ll help. What are you going to do?”

“I’ll attend as many classes as I can before the test.”

“Good plan. What are you going to do?”

“I’ll practice the techniques I have trouble with more intensely.”

“You should. What are you going to do?”

Pause… “Well, shihonage is a problem, so I’ll work on that first.”

“I see. What are you going to do?”

Long pause… “I’ll stay on the mat after class tomorrow night and ask one of the seniors to help me with it.”

“Great. That would be a good thing to do.”

Thanks to everyone who came out for the New Year’s practice. It was a great class — let’s keep that positive energy going through the rest of the year!

Some photos are on Flickr : https://flickr.com/photos/32184225@N08/sets/72157712501276263

Yumi’s remarks at the end of the class were quite moving… that Aikido practice builds up in practitioners an important reserve of energy that can help them handle other troubles in their lives, like her health issues last year. Through regular practice you can build up internal energy (ki) that will be available when you need it.

I am looking forward to training with you all in 2020.

It was great to spend some time after class at the reception and nice to see some old faces back in the dojo. Don’t forget the Winter Party at Aubrie’s on Feb. 1!

December schedule

The holiday season is almost here. The dojo will close around the Christmas and New Year holidays, so members can spend time with their families and friends. We wish everyone a happy and relaxed holiday!

The schedule is online.

The following classes are cancelled and the dojo closed:

• Monday, Dec. 23
• Tuesday, Dec. 24
• Thursday, Dec. 26
• Monday, Dec. 30
• Tuesday, Dec. 31

New Year’s practice

We will have a one-hour New Year’s class starting at 7 PM on Thursday, Jan. 2. This is a special class in the Aikido tradition, helping to start the year’s training in an energetic and positive way.

Beginning at 8:00, we will have a short reception with some drinks and snacks provided by the dojo. It will be great to see everyone at this class and celebrate the start of another year.

Winter Party

We usually have our annual winter party in January, after all the other holiday festivities have concluded. If you are willing to make space available for this event, please let me know as soon as possible, together with some possible dates that work for you. We are thinking in terms of mid- to late-January.

December dues

Yumi and Jim will be away for a few days, returning on Sat. Dec. 28. If your dues are due in December (as shown on the attendance sheet in the dojo), please pay them ASAP to Tom- or Vadim-sensei, or on Dec. 28 to Jim.

Toronto seminar

On Saturday, Jan. 25: Clyde Takeguchi-shihan, 7th Dan USAF, will teach a seminar at Aikido Shugyo Dojo in Toronto. Our students are welcome to attend. However, we will have classes in our dojo as usual on that day.

Black belt testing

For senior students interested in black-belt testing, there is a brief list of our expectations on the website. We don’t intend this to be discouraging at all, but senior tests have to be taken very seriously. You can do it!

Snow days

A final reminder… Winter weather can be unpredictable. If there is an advisory that driving is particularly dangers and to be avoided due to weather conditions, classes will be cancelled.

If possible, we will send out an email to advise everyone and post the news on the dojo website.

Higher-ranking white belts sometimes ask me about our expectations to be allowed to test for shodan.

Here are the basics.

• Shodan is a special achievement, not an entitlement. If we don’t think that you’re going to do a successful test at any given opportunity, it is better if you don’t test and keep working until you are ready.

• There are posted minimum days of practice requirements for each rank. These are absolute minimums. The fact that you have the minimum days required doesn’t mean that you will be allowed to test.

If you have anything less than the minimum, you’re not going to test unless there are special circumstances — i.e., you are moving to another country. And even so, you’ll still have to do a good test to pass.

• Test candidates must train very seriously and consistently before the test. By that, I mean at least three months of attending the dojo routinely, building up stamina and improving and amending technique. This involves paying serious attention to instruction and corrections and implementing them, not just nodding and forgetting.

• We are also looking for correct etiquette — bowing correctly, avoiding talking during class, clean and mended gi, etc.

• We would like to see regular attendance at area seminars. Prospects should attend Osawa-sensei’s camps and seminars, though I know that it’s not always possible, due to distance. You should attend CAF Examination Committee seminars in Toronto and make sure you are paying close attention to the instruction, not just working out.

• I expect you to test at a seminar. There are usually a few opportunities during the year in Canada, and at least one in the Toronto area. This year, black-belt tests will be conducted at CAF Summer Camp, the CAF fall seminar and an Exam Committee seminar in the fall in Toronto.

• If you have a medical condition that prevents you from doing certain techniques (for example, knee problems preventing suwari waza) the grading panel will make allowances for this. If you are a senior, the grading panel will allow a somewhat slower pace of testing, but you still need the stamina to test for 15 minutes without resting.

• If even modified testing is not possible, we will consider promoting you without a test. However, you still have to meet the technical standard in your practice and I expect a higher number of days of practice than the posted test requirement. (Also, be aware that fees for promotion are higher than for testing.)

• On the other hand, sometimes students are qualified to test and are reluctant to do so. If we suggest that you test, plan to do so. It isn’t all about you…

• If you are interested in testing, let us know which seminar you would like to test at. We will advise you and be happy to help you plan and train. We like to see this kind of positive thinking.

Briefly, a black belt should be a model for behaviour and practice for junior ranks, not just someone wearing a hakama.

Yumi-sensei is back!
Nakamura-sensei, 6th-dan CAF shihan, is going to be teaching most of the 4 PM Sunday kids’ classes going forward. Yumi-sensei is looking forward to seeing all the kids on the mats again!
Tom and Igor-senseis will continue to teach the Saturday morning kids’ class.

EC seminar report
Thanks to everyone who helped with and participated in the CAF Examination Committee Seminar at J.C.C.C. Aikikai on Nov. 23.
It was a great success and everyone seemed to enjoy and profit from the classes.
Thanks go to the organizers, J.C.C.C. Aikikai, Aikido Tendokai and our members, and to the instructors, George Hewson, Alex Loo, Yumi Nakamura and Jim Barnes (all CAF EC members).
Congratulations go to the successful shodan test candidates: Alex Machin and Sumi Sato (Aikido Shugyo Dojo) and Victor Chau (Aikido Seishinkai).

Snow days
A quick reminder: During bad snow storms, the dojo may be closed due to unsafe driving conditions. If the authorities recommend against unnecessary driving, the dojo will likely be closed. We will try to inform everyone by e-mail as soon as we can and post the closure on the home page of the dojo website.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.