*Warning* (sensitive subject) Vaccine requirments for dojos

[Shojiko]

I personally know people that have stopped training with their school/org because they implemented Vaccine mandate to be able and continue training. I know some people that are okay with rules like this and some that aren't (vaxed and unvaxed).

Out of curiosity, I checked the websites of different orgs of Karate that are present in my state and alot of them have implemented the requirement with no alternative such as testing.

It doesn't really affect me, as I myself train different martial arts and fitness and my gyms do not implement any type of requirement.

Ive only noticed the rule with some establish Karate organizations ( from what I searched). the local TKD spots where I live do not have requirement besides making the student wear masks and temp check.

I pretty sure alot of it revolves around safety, personal preferences and liability. But it seems to me know one really takes precaution or care as much where I live. Some establishments even offer alternatives to show proof of negative test etc..

Whats everyone's thoughts on the subject?

[LionsDen]

Good riddance to anyone who decides they don’t care if they infect me, without me knowing so I infect my grandparents.

Don’t really need those people in the dojo, or society as a whole really

[sensei8]

This is a very personal topic to everyone, and I believe that each person has their opinions regarding to this topic. With my underlying conditions, I just do whatever I have to do be protected from the Covid-19.

The seriousness of Covid-19 is no joke, imho!!

Training with a mask? No. Hard to breath with the darn thing on. Due to the closeness of MA training, social distancing is quite interesting. Did what was necessary per the CDC Rules.

As far as Governing Bodies are concerned, the SKKA never ever once interfered with any network dojo's internal SOP whatsoever. Therefore, the SKKA never would've dictated to any network dojo regarding the Covid-19. Yes, the SKKA would've made itself available to support the dojos under their umbrella in any way that it could have.

Vaccine's? I've had 4 vaccine's myself and will continue to do so per the instructions of any of my doctors. As far as students being vaccinated?? Can't force that issue on anyone.

Edited June 4, 2022 by sensei8

[bushido_man96]

Our school and organization doesn't require it, and we don't require masks while training, either. If the school did require masks and vaccines, I'd be done training there. I'd find somewhere else to train, or train on my own.

[JazzKicker]

There are, sadly, people who think vaccines are poison, that it's their body, their right to refuse, etc. Well, more of those people are dead now, or were close to it.

I think it's quite reasonable for a club to require vaccination. It's not without precedent, after all!

I can tell you personally, the boogie man is still out there, I had it last month despite vax'd and boosted. It was not pleasant, for several days, and I'm glad it wasn't worse.

[aurik]

I don’t understand how this whole vaccine mandate thing became so political. We have vaccine requirements for schools already. We have had them for decades in fact. Many of the diseases we vaccinate against are mild for most of the people who get it, but they can be fatal for some, or have life-altering side effects (blindness, sterility). COVID is no less dangerous and contagious than diseases we already vaccinate against.

I didn’t get vaxxed/boosted to just protect me. I also did it to protect those who cannot get the vaccine or who are immunocompromised.

IMO it is the socially responsible thing to do.

[hammer]

Right now, I look at this as a private business decision...if a school feels they want to have a vaccine policy they can implement one. If students don't want to abide, they can train somewhere else.

As a 57 YO with underlying risk factors, I'm a big proponent of the vaccine to prevent serious illness. I had COVID in March, and I believe that the vaccines helped make my and my spouse's cases very mild. I'll most likely get the second booster in the fall and/or when they come out with a more targeted vaccine for Omicron.

That all said, I'm not a fan of broad vaccine mandates since the current vaccines don't prevent spread. If they do at some point, I'll support them.

[Zaine]

I live in Texas, so my dojo cannot require vaccines by law, which is insane to me since we're a private business and historically the platform our governor has run on has frowned upon policy like this. So because of that, no dojo that I can go to here will have a vaccine requirement, which makes me nervous. However, during spikes our dojo will require masks, which is appreciated. We are in a period now where masks are not required, but wearing a mask is still accepted and you will be asked to leave if you're causing a fuss about someone else wearing one because of their own choice. I would feel a lot better if our dojo mandated vaccinations, and I know a few others who would as well since we're immunocompromised or frequently around immunocompromised people but the literal law is standing in our way.

[Wastelander]

I require my students to be vaccinated and/or wear a mask, and I currently teach outdoors, making risk of transmission lower, in general. We are currently going through what doctors are calling a "Silent Surge," which isn't really being talked about, so most people don't even realize how bad things are. I just can't take the risk of exposing my wife--or anyone else, for that matter.

[Zaine]

Something that I really appreciate about my dojo is our precautions, despite the location. We did have a case hit our dojo 2 weeks ago, but it was only 2 people and they notified everyone immediately. We've had people not show up when they came in contact with someone with COVID, even when they weren't infected themselves. Everyone is very careful here. We have some high-risk individuals (like myself), some who live with high-risk individuals (a few take care of elderly parents) and we've approached the whole thing with a lot of compassion and understanding.

That said, I love the decisions that Wastelander is making here. You really cannot be too safe with COVID. As compassionate and careful as my dojo is being, we're still taking more risks that we need to.