The previous LA County Health mandate that required those in "high risk sports" to be fully vaccinated or have weekly proof of a negative COVID test has been changed from a "requirement" to "strong recommendation". Member safety is still our primary concern, as we attempt to move towards a more engaging practice with certain safety protocols still in place. The eventual goal is to work towards a practice structure similar to what we had prior to the pandemic in a step-by-step process while still abiding by the local health jurisdictions recommendations and mandates.

Updates in protocol from the previous October update are listed below, and will be in effect starting June 1, 2022.

• Youth under 18 are strongly recommended to be fully vaccinated. If not fully vaccinated or without proof of weekly negative COVID test, no kiai is permitted during practice. Youth COVID testing may now include over-the-counter tests approved for single test screening, when performed at the in-person sign-in.
• Monday practice time will return to its original 7-8:30pm time. Beginner class on Monday will go from 7-8pm.
• Friday practice time will return to its original 7:30-9pm for the first practice and 9-9:45pm for ato-geiko (after practice)
• Bogu bags can be left in the dressing room again instead of bringing them out into the gym, but each household please remain 6 feet apart. You can still bring your bag into the dojo, if preferred.

Reminders:

• Adults 18 and over are required to be fully vaccinated
• Online sign-ups will continue prior to each practice, as will screening and temperature checks prior to entering the Center
• Come early to get screened so there is time to get dressed, sweep the floor and prepare for practice. Everyone please review the member expectations here.
• We require masks everywhere indoors, including inside the dressing rooms and dojo. For non-dojo activities, the Center strongly recommends, but no longer requires, wearing a mask inside the Center.

COVID numbers and local mandates continue to be fluid and we will adapt and modify our protocols and practices as they change, whether it be for more or less stringent protocols. We appreciate your continued support of Norwalk Kendo Dojo and your flexibility and patience with the process. Feel free to contact us should there be questions.

After being shut down due to this winter's surge, we are finally back in the dojo! However, the surge is not yet over, and omicron has taught us that we must not let our guard down. Going forward, we will have a unified dojo policy regarding vaccinations. All adults 18 and over must be fully vaccinated to participate at the dojo.

Dear Norwalk Dojo Iaido Community,

Thank you for your patience as we worked through our COVID protocol update for iaido. We are making it less stringent than the kendo protocol update, while still following the lead of the state and county.

• Norwalk Dojo members must be fully vaccinated, or show proof of negative COVID test taken no more than 3 days prior to each practice
  • note: OTC serial tests such as BinaxNOW or QuickVue are not acceptable, per LACDPH guidelines
• As before, practice is open to members of the Norwalk Dojo iaido community as long as they are fully vaccinated. If 3dan or below, they must also have their instructor's permission.

We are once again accepting new members, so if you know of anyone who would like to learn iaido, please point them to our new members page.

Online sign up information will go out shortly for practice on 10/18/21. Hope to see you then!

Norwalk Dojo

Hello Norwalk kenshi,

Here is the latest update on the COVID Protocols for Norwalk Kendo Dojo. The update is to provide further clarification and modifications to our dojo's practices and screening of members due to the previously mentioned LA County mandate.

In light of the recent changes, impact to our practice structure, and still maintaining the overall safety of the members as the primary focus, here are the current revised protocols:

• Adults 18 and over to be fully vaccinated
• To participate in full contact practices, minors under 18 to be fully vaccinated or provide proof of weekly negative COVID test
• Monday practices will be uchikomi practice (7:30pm-8:30pm). Participation requires vaccination or COVID test as indicated above based on age group.
• Friday first practice (7:30pm-8:15pm) will be no contact practice. Participation by 17 and under does not require vaccination or COVID test. Participation by 18 and over requires vaccination.
• Friday second practice (8:30pm-9:15pm) ato-geiko. Participation requires vaccination or COVID test as indicated above based on age group.
• Begin accepting new members in October.
• Sign-ups will continue online for each practice. Screening, including temperature checks, prior to entering the Center and wearing of face masks indoors will continue.

As it has been, COVID numbers and local mandates continue to be fluid and we must adapt and modify our protocols and practices as they change. We appreciate your continued support of Norwalk Kendo Dojo and your flexibility and patience with the process. Feel free to contact us should there be questions.

Thank you,
Norwalk Kendo Dojo

Apologies for the last minute announcement, but iaido practices are suspended until further notice, while we update our COVID protocols.

- Norwalk Iaido Instructors

Yesterday, the Center sent us an update to their COVID protocols, which was required to comply with the latest LA County Department of Public Health youth sports protocol. Per LACDPH, "Indoor Moderate or High Risk Sports for children of all ages and staff/coaches/volunteers. A weekly negative test result is required for all participants who are not fully vaccinated, including children who are playing and staff/coaches/volunteers."

In the context of Norwalk Dojo kendo practices, for now everyone will need to either be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID test result.

Note that this LACDPH order applies to all youth sports groups, including kendo dojos, in LA County, not just Southeast Japanese Community Center.

The new Center requirement is effective immediately (received 9/11). The dojo officers and instructors will be meeting to see how this might further alter our dojo protocols going forward. Please stay tuned.

Jean Kodama

This message is a follow up to the 8/11 dojo announcement ("COVID-19 update; monitoring ICU numbers").

Last week we came very close to halting practice, when LA County COVID ICU numbers almost reached the threshold we set for closing the dojo (see announcement for details on how we're doing the monitoring). Fortunately, new daily case numbers appear to be coming down, and it could be that hospitalization and ICU counts are following suit.

But the UK saw a similar decline in July, and their numbers are rising again (see article). So we still need to be vigilant, especially since LA County is now restarting in-school learning (it's been speculated that school closures for the summer contributed to the UK's initial drop). Also, deaths remain troublingly high.

As announced, we won't set a date for starting beginners; instead it will depend on COVID ICU numbers dropping low enough. If the County has indeed turned the corner, this could be in a couple of weeks.

Here's hoping!
Jean Kodama

Greetings everyone! I hope you're all staying healthy and are vaccinated for COVID, if you're eligible. This message might seem long, but if you just read the first 10 words of each paragraph you'll get the gist of the announcement.

We had planned to start new beginners in August, but the COVID numbers are looking worse and worse. It's hard to compare apples (2020 new daily case numbers) to oranges (current numbers in a partially vaccinated population, being hit by CoV2 variants), so I've switched to tracking COVID ICU numbers in LA County. The bad news: we have exceeded the point where we were last year when the state of California pulled the emergency handbrake on its blueprint program. We will hold off accepting any new members until the ICU numbers drop back down (details at the bottom for those interested in monitoring it too). We want to start beginners off right, on the dojo floor, learning proper etiquette as the fundamental starting point for kendo and iaido, and moving forward from there without interruption.

For now, we will continue doing keiko at the dojo. Current members have been practicing together in the dojo since April. We started off very slowly and carefully, and have been progressing in phases together as a group (which is a safer situation than bringing many strangers together for the first time, as would be the case with new members). We will continue practicing with care, perhaps backing off on a few things as seems prudent. We will stop keiko if the ICU numbers exceed the point where we were last year when LAC locked down (again, see bottom for details).

On a positive note, Dr Ferrer (Director of the LA County Dept of Public Health) has said she is cautiously optimistic the numbers were starting to turn around, thanks in part to LAC's universal masking mandate on 7/18. Also, County and State officials, as well as businesses, are talking about vaccination mandates. If a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, that should help a lot in the fall and winter.

We will hope for the best, and look forward to welcoming new beginners soon!

Jean Kodama

__________________________
Details on ICU monitoring

• see this spreadsheet
  • LAC ICU numbers in column O
    • confirmed COVID cases taken from the LA County COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard
    • to see the numbers yourself, select "hospitalization" in the left hand column, then hover over the ICU waveform to see data for different dates
    • note that reporting is usually at least a day delayed, with typically no reporting on weekends
  • timeline notes in column A, after row 60
    • 11/16 CA pulls emergency brake
      ICU number in column O is 321 (red)
      this is the threshold for holding off new members
    • 11/30 LAC lock down (triggered at 4.5K daily cases)
      ICU number in column O is 492 (purple)
      this is the threshold for stopping keiko
• new members
  • after column O drops below 321 (goes from red to white), we will notify new members
  • practice may start with about a week's notice, so you may want to keep monitoring column O to have advanced warning
• of course, we will comply should federal, state, or local authorities shut down things sooner
• if you have questions, email norwalkkendo@gmail.com

As part of starting up phase 3 reopening at the dojo, we are adding back Monday practices. Like the Friday practice, the schedule will be modified: it will also be only one hour, and for now will start at 7:30pm. So, just like on Fridays, please arrive by 7pm to finish screening and help with dojo setup. Iaido will move to 9pm (instead of 8:30pm).

As a reminder, no one is allowed in the dojo unless you have signed up online first, and have turned in signed waivers for both AUSKF and SEJSCC.

We are also accepting new members who already have a rank. Starting in August, we still start a new set of beginners. If you know anyone who wants to join in August, please have them contact the dojo asap, as prospective new beginners must first observe a full practice prior to joining. The next opportunity will be in October.

As usual, see the NEWS page for ongoing information.

After suspending activities last year on 3/12/20, the Center has announced it will reopen for indoor activities (with restrictions) on April 10th, providing LA County is in the orange tier of the California blueprint (which will occur 4/5). We have scheduled the following:

• Fr 4/09/21 7:00-8:00pm: outdoor suburi
• M 4/12/21 8:30-9:30pm: indoor iaido (reopening pilot run)
• Fr 4/16/21 7:30-8:30pm: indoor kendo (phase 1)

Online sign up info for Friday's outdoor suburi has been sent to current Norwalk Dojo members (you must be a current member and sign up in advance to participate).

If we haven't seen you for a while, this is the perfect time to come back. No one has been back in the dojo for over a year, so we're all in the same boat! Let us know if you'd like to rejoin the dojo.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
Jean Kodama

I hope everyone is keeping safe and sane during these challenging times. All of you are part of Norwalk Dojo- once you've been a member, you're family! We truly hope you're doing well, and would love to hear from you.

I've discovered that zoom is a quick and dirty way to make videos, so I've just used it to record a brief session on how to do suburi in a small space. I also talk a little bit about getting back to the dojo. See link

Hope to see you soon! Until then, stay well!
Jean Kodama

When I last wrote, I said "Fortunately, both Governor Newsom and Mayor Garcetti have said their decisions to reopen would be guided by science, not politics, so we should see a careful, steady return to something approaching the new normal, as long as everyone does their part." I am utterly disappointed that pretty much none of that has been happening, and as a result the COVID-19 situation has worsened dramatically. We won't be able to return to the dojo for a while. In the meantime, we will need to continue, and expand, zoom keiko and suburi at home.

SCKF has conducted two zoom suburi sessions aimed at youth, and plans to hold these every three weeks going forward (next up Sunday, 7/26, from 10-11am). SCKF is also starting up a weekly zoom session for all levels on Mondays at 7:30pm, from July 27 to August 31. I will post some information on the dojo website, but we can only email the actual zoom meeting details to our 2020 members (you must be a current member of SCKF and AUSKF to participate; that goes for Norwalk activities as well).

I hope my next message to you will be to announce at least some form of dojo reopening, even if it's outdoors. But the numbers need to improve. I continue to believe that if everyone does their part, that can happen soon. We will be able to meet again. We will find a way to practice together safely. And we will hit things.

Until that day, please be safe!

Jean Kodama

I hope this message finds you all safe and sane, soldiering on during these difficult times.

Fortunately, both Governor Newsom and Mayor Garcetti have said their decisions to reopen would be guided by science, not politics, so we should see a careful, steady return to something approaching the new normal, as long as everyone does their part. Phase 2, the opening of lower risk workplaces (such as retail businesses for curb-side pick-up, schools, childcare facilities, and some offices), just started yesterday, but still has a way to go.

At the SCKF meeting tonight, we discussed Phase 3 as being the stage in which dojos would reopen. When Norwalk Dojo starts up again, we will follow guidelines from state and local governments as well as SCKF and AUSKF, plus I am looking into other applicable protocols to help keep us all safe.

Kendo events will not happen until Phase 4. With that in mind, the SCKF Board voted tonight to cancel events through the end of 2020, with the option to revisit if circumstances allow.

Earlier, the Center Board decided to cancel Camp Hanabi and the Cultural Festival, and the Recognition Dinner is postponed until next year. See the full announcement in the May Tomodachi Newsletter.

Some good news: you guys are famous! Your photos are in the Tomodachi (see page 8), captured from the suburi videos posted to the Norwalk Dojo Facebook page. Somehow the Center announcement, along with the Tomodachi link, was posted in the Rafu Shimpo daily news. So, you can (kind of) say you appeared in one of leading Japanese-American newspapers in the U.S.

Please keep your spirits up, continue posting to Facebook, reach out, and keep in touch. I miss you all, and look forward to when we can be together again!

Jean Kodama

addendum 5/15/20:
LA County's phases are similar but slightly different from the State of California (see LAC roadmap).

addendum 5/26/20:
The LAC health officer issued revised orders as we continue moving through stage 2; community centers and gyms are still closed.

Both LA County and the State of California issued stay at home orders last night. We are still allowed to go to the grocery store, pick up to-go food orders, and exercise outside, as long as social distancing (6 feet) is maintained. LA's order has an end date of April 19th, but California's has none. So, unfortunately, Norwalk Dojo practices will need to remain suspended until further notice. In addition, SCKF is canceling practices and events through 5/8, including the Nisei Week Tournament.

Good job guys on doing suburi at home! In addition to fitness, use this time to improve your form. Facing directly into the camera, start each move from kamae, keep your tip in a straight line up and down, keep your head, face, and body straight, and make your footwork snap. Work on making your form clean and efficient, plus it's good for disguising your movement from your opponent. Next level: do it with your men on!

Keep safe everyone. Refer to the this page for ongoing information.

Jean Kodama

addendum 3/25/20:
Message from SEJSCC: the Center is closed until further notice, definitely through the end of April; no bingo in May

addendum 4/4/20:
Message from SEJSCC: Center members Klete Ikemoto and Betty Oshiro have passed away due to COVID-19

addendum 4/10/20:
LA County extended its safer-at-home and business closure orders to May 15

Last night the State of California announced that, at least until the end of March, gatherings of 250 people or more should be cancelled or postponed and that for smaller gatherings, people should be at least six feet apart. In light of this, SCKF has canceled the 3/22 Team SCKF practice and 3/29 shido geiko, as well as the 4/18 shinsa (to avoid encouragement of practice).

Similarly, Norwalk Dojo has decided to suspend regular kendo practices through the end of the month.

Again, there is no need to panic; just be informed. According to the CDC:

• The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person
  • between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet)
  • through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes

Please review the information below, and be safe!

Jean Kodama

addendum:
Monday night iaido practices will continue but, as suggested by health officials, we will implement social distancing of 6 feet per person. Needless to say, things could change if there are any updates at governmental levels or from the Center.

addendum 3/13/20:
The SEJSCC Board met and decided to close the entire Center through the end of March. So, no iaido practices either.

As you have probably heard, California has declared a state of emergency (see note 1) over the novel coronavirus. The declaration makes it easier for government agencies to prepare for and contain any outbreaks. In the above-linked article, Dr. Sisson, health spokesperson for Placer County (where the 71-year-old patient died of coronavirus, north of Sacramento), explains the situation and urges people to be vigilant, saying "Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands... We are not at the point where I would consider canceling events, closing schools or requiring widespread distancing measures, but we do want the public to prepare for that possibility."

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath (and generally NOT runny nose). See this infocomic for some easy to understand explanations. There is no need to panic; just be informed.

For Norwalk Kendo Dojo members, we always ask that you observe the following in order to prevent the spread of cold and flu, but especially now:

• do not come to practice if you have a fever, or are coughing or sneezing
• if you cannot cough or sneeze into a tissue, do so into your upper sleeve (above all, do not cough or sneeze into your hands!)
• also, do not cough or sneeze into your men, especially if you are in tsubazeriai

And, maybe consider holding off on any cruises.

Be safe!
Jean Kodama

(the note numbers above were added when creating this page)