Five Ring Members, Families and Friends,
We hope this letter finds everyone safe and healthy in this unprecedented time. Five Rings Jiu Jitsu has been a part of the community for over a decade and during that time we have never experienced an event such as this, where we are facing the realities of a viral pandemic.
As always, the health and security of our students and their families is of utmost importance to us. We are following the advice of medical experts on how to best approach our school’s interaction with you and your family.
NEAR TERM: AS OF 9 am March 13, Five Rings is CLOSED
In accordance with the Governor’s institution of a state of emergency and the closing of all public schools, Five Rings has chosen to close temporarily (at least until Monday, March 30) in support of this public health emergency. We deeply appreciate all the support and positive gestures our membership has expressed in supporting our decision. We would ask that you, please, continue to pay your monthly tuition as normal. This will allow us to continue to make our financial obligations and continue paying our staff's payroll.
In exchange for your support during this time. We will provide weekly curriculum videos that will allow your student to practice at home, and keep active during this time as well. We believe that keeping a sense of normalcy is very important for everyone. These can be found at www.5rjj.com within the “Members Only” section. (If you need help logging in, please reach out to anyone on the admin team – Tom, Dan, or Sarah).
If you are a supporting member, who helps us during this time, we will also do the following once this is over:
Have a monthly rotation of 10% of our membership getting a free month of training as a thank you for staying with us during this trying time. This systematic, controlled approach of compensating members for lost in-person instruction time is far more sustainable to the business than a dramatic all stop of payments. We simply don’t have the resources to sustain a long period of no tuition.
Offer a series of weekend seminars for our students (both youth and adults) to make sure they are on track and ready for their next belt promotion / getting spun back up on their Jiu Jitsu evolution.
Have guest instructor camps for members at no additional charge.
Complimentary Parent Date Night/Samurai Night Event
Our school is more than just a place where people come to train Jiu Jitsu. We are a community and a culture. It's really about an extended family where we help make people into better versions of themselves. Most importantly, it's our sincere wish that you and your family are safe during this time. Additionally, we want to make sure that Five Rings survives so that future students can have this experience in the West Slope / Raleigh Hills area.
Please, if at all possible, do not ask to be put on hold, or cancel your enrollment. If we were to have a mass cancellation of our programs we would have to take measures to eliminate some of our staff's positions, some of whom have been with us for over 10 years.
As always, we will work hard to make sure that we create value for all those who stay as a supporting member during this time. We thank you in advance for your support.
We will stay abreast of current medical recommendations and work to resume regular classes and programs as soon as we believe it is safe for everyone. Stay tuned.
Thanks,
Tom Oberhue
P.S. Professor Tom and the Admin Team have recorded a video talking about our response to the Coronavirus. You can check it out at: https://vimeo.com/397682115
