A Year Later, Roswell Martial Arts Gym Hosts an Open House

Early last year, it was clear Chris Walker’s martial arts program, The Dojo Crabapple, was outgrowing its current space. So, in February of 2020, just weeks before the Coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, he signed a lease on a new facility for his growing martial arts gym.

At that moment in time, no one could have foreseen that the timing couldn’t have been worse – and yet there was no turning back.

Moving to the new location would provide 50 percent more training space to accommodate the fast-growing roster of children, teens and adults signing up for American Karate lessons. It would also pave the way to add Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) classes in the same facility – Diego Saraiva Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Roswell – as an affiliate location of Nova Uniao Atlanta.

The build-out for the new facility began in earnest and Walker and his wife, Katie, who manages the business side of affairs, began laying plans for an open house. By the time the move from the old location at the Roswell Crossing shopping mall to the new one in Crossville Village plaza was complete, businesses across Georgia were in full crisis mode trying to figure out how to survive the pandemic.

The outbreak hit The Dojo hard, so to speak. The afterschool program, which picks up children at school and transports them to The Dojo for afternoon Karate classes, ground to a halt when Roswell-area public schools transitioned to remote learning. Similarly, students for the teen and adult classes in the evenings stayed home in quarantine. The nascent plans for BJJ classes were put on hold.

Clearly, the open house at the new facility would have to wait.

“Opening a new location and transitioning a service-based business is daunting in the best of times,” said Chris Walker, chief instructor, The Dojo Crabapple. “Add to that trying to navigate emerging safety guidelines and a desire to keep students safe in an activity, which inherently involves person-to-person contact, and it all felt overwhelming.”

Perseverance over adversity

Walker scrambled up plans to survive applying the lessons he often teaches in his martial arts classes – such as perseverance over adversity – to the small business.

The Dojo introduced small in-person classes by reservation only and with attendance limits to allow for social distancing. The classes were augmented with pre-class safety protocols such as a COVID-19 questionnaire and temperature checks. In a note to students and parents, Walker articulated a rigorous disinfectant regime he completed several times a day. It helped too the new facility was airy and spacious, with high ceilings and good ventilation.

Despite the widespread work-from-home policies, the couple also observed some parents of their after-school students, still had to go to an office for work. The new location afforded them the space to set up school desk stations, complete with Wi-Fi access, breathing barriers, and in compliance with social distancing guidelines. Parents could drop their kids off at The Dojo in the morning – and staff would help kids get through their remote learning day.

The team didn’t stop there either. Just like the corporate world pivoted to video conferencing, Walker and his instructors introduced Karate classes over Zoom for those students that wanted to maintain their training from the safety of their own home.

Cautious optimism

The year-long fight, so to speak, to remain in business by providing limited martial arts classes that also guarded the health and safety of students, appears to be paying off. As vaccinations have rolled out, and pandemic concerns ease, attendance has picked up. The full training schedule at The Dojo Crabapple has been re-instated, including Karate, BBJ, weekend cardio kick-boxing and all-day summer camps for kids.

“We’re aiming to provide a fun environment that challenges our students to impart confidence, fitness and problem-solving skills,” added Walker. “Martial arts and indeed, Karate, are truly about balance – mentally, physically and emotionally. It trains you to understand how and when to use your mind and body to overcome the obstacles life throws our way.”

The open house to be hosted this Saturday, June 5, 2021, has been more than a year in the making. While the event was originally planned to celebrate the opening of a new training facility, it’s as much a celebration of small business survival, as it is an opportunity for new students to check out martial arts.