SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A tight grip and a Gi is the uniform of choice for Jiu Jitsu instructor Shane Kruchten.
The San Diego resident feels very much at home back on the mat and in class after almost two months away from his studio.
What You Need To Know
- Honu Jiu Jitsu reopened the week of May 1
- According to the state's reopening plan, fitness studios are not permitted to reopen until Phase Three
- In many areas of SoCal, counties still remain in Phase Two
- Owners believe it is their right to open doors to paying customers
“The last two months, it’s been kind of a hayride," Kruchten said.
Honu Jiu Jitsu, where Kruchten teaches, was one of the last fitness studios in the area to shut down amidst the coronavirus pandemic. While they uploaded a few instructional videos online, he and the owners believed they were doing the community a disservice by staying closed.
“Who’s to say what businesses are essential and what businesses aren’t," Kruchten said. "To us, every business is essential because that’s how we put food on the table for our wives and for our families.”
During the week of May 1, Honu Jiu Jitsu reopened with people steadily showing up for classes.
“The first day it was eight," Kruchten said. "By that Sunday, it was 20. This last week, I had 24 people on the mats, including eight black belts.”
While the opening was well received by his local community, it was not exactly up to par with state guidelines and California's phases of reopening. The state's stay-at-home orders classify gyms and fitness studios as higher-risk businesses, which are not permitted to open until Phase Three of the reopening plan.
Governor Gavin Newsom, who led a roundtable this last week discussing the future of the fitness industry, said guidelines for reopening would be released in the coming week. However Shane Fowler, who co-owns Honu Jiu Jitsu, said they felt they could not wait that long.
“With the guidelines that are set forth, Jiu Jitsu just won’t work," Fowler said. "The truth of the matter is you need two bodies and they have to be able to touch, so is everyone training at their own risk? Yes, 100 percent, but it’s solely up to them.”
They aren't the only studio to reopen in defiance. Several others in California felt the economic reward outweighed the risk of remaining closed.
“Everyone is going to feel it," he said. "We’re a service-based industry, and if we’re not producing services, people aren’t going to pay. This just isn’t something that you can teach through a Zoom class.”