PLANdemic...it's not what you think!
What’s your plan?
How do you define “back to normal”?
How long are you willing to live in your adjusted lifestyle?
What has to happen to make you feel safe to start doing the things you love to do?
Just seven short months ago (at the time this is written) we began LEVEL 3 Martial Arts Performance Outdoors - our adapted martial arts program with a subtly modified curriculum. This allowed our current students and new students to get outside and start feeling normal again by exercising, soaking up some doctor recommended vitamin D, breathing fresh air, and getting their safe and physically distant essential doses of positive socialization (BY THE WAY - OUTDOORS HAS BEEN A LIFE SAVER AND A BUSINESS SAVER - I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO COME MEET OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF AND HAVE SOME FUN WITH US)! But let’s back up a bit further to the last day our studio had a live in-person class under it’s roof.
MARCH 14, 2020
That week we had our first three students quit their memberships due to the coming pandemic. Immediately we pivoted to Zoom for our LEVEL 3 “At-Home” training program which was great…for awhile. But as time went on we continued to lose students due to the pandemic - a few for reasons like “high risk” and some financial as expected. But most actually quit due to what I view as misaligned expectations. Many students / parents told me “…although the Zoom classes have been great its’ just not the same, we’d rather train in person. When you start in person again we’ll come back”. Dear reader please believe me when I say as someone who’s dealt in extreme physical contact with countless training partners over the last 33 years without lapse, I ALSO VERY MUCH prefer my martial arts training in-person and not through a screen!
But what was really happening here was deeper than just wanting to train martial arts in person again. They were potentially setting themselves up for further withdraw because they had high hopes of all this going away fast but no “what if” plan if it didn’t. Now I fully understand in this situation it’s impossible to have certainty and confidence when trying to formulate a plan. But by being able to drop any expectations which are rarely ever met as we want, combined with using the “what if” strategy, we can start to create a plan. Ask yourself, “What if my favorite activity resumes in person again - will I start attending? What has to happen for me to be comfortable with that?” Or you might ask “What if this adapted lifestyle were to continue through all of 2021, what little things can I get back to doing to feel normal again?” But as I discovered in July when we began our in person martial arts classes outdoors, like most people at the time our inactive students still didn’t know their own guidelines of how to get back to normal.
JULY 2020
LEVEL 3 Martial Arts Performance offers outdoor martial arts classes for the men, women, teens, children, and families of Moorpark. Upon arriving to teach my first class outdoors after months of online training I said to myself, “This feels AMAZING!” The park in Summer is gorgeous. Being around all the students in person for the first time since March was invigorating - having that social connection in person again was indescribably impactful. Just being around other people, even as physically spaced as we were, relieved loads of emotional and physical stress I didn’t even realize I was carrying. We had the distance, the open space, the light, the nature, all supporting our adapted training program. It was a moment I won’t forget. I began calling, emailing, and posting on social media to our former students to join us outdoors for a fun, safe, and essential activity that was sure to get them feeling somewhat normal again. I wanted everyone to feel that moment. But my efforts to recruit our previous students were then often met with either pure silence (I believe the kids today call it “ghosting”) or the new concern of “…we will come back once the pandemic is over.” The lack of planning continued to erode away at the fabric of our business, but more importantly, the spirit of our former students. Enter 2021.
FEBRUARY 2021
Our program is stable. Our students are happy and progressing in their skills and goals. Our community continues its effort at normalcy. But many of our former students have yet to return. The unknown is difficult for most everyone. But when we can even somewhat answer the “what if” and create a plan then there’s optimism which leads to seeking opportunities and solutions instead of waiting for the perfect scenario, which almost never comes. Yes our plan will probably need several adaptations and our “what ifs” will probably have “what ifs”. But having even a small readily adjustable answer can provide a feeling of preparedness to take action on your terms when the time comes. I encourage anyone reading this to use the “what if” strategy and create a plan - then share the strategy with others!
For those who know me and our program you know we miss our former students for more reasons than membership count. You also know I do not pretend to be in expert in things I have no experience with like a pandemic. So please do not misunderstand this blog post as me professing my expertise and telling others how they should live or think. It’s not meant to be assumptive, dismissive, or judgmental upon anyone for their choices or actions. After all, one ever really knows someone’s personal battles they fight behind the scenes. We all must do our best for ourselves and our families so that we may contribute positively to the world around us. We wish all our former L3MAP families well and we hope their absence is simply due to being out of the groove and nothing more serious. But if any of you are reading this, give yourself a plan of some kind and know that we are here to help and we welcome you back when you are ready. You can even just stop by one of our outdoor classes to visit and say hello.
Yours in the community and the martial arts,
Eric Perlman
