*** Updated 10:00 pm on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020***
We are really excited about the positive feedback we have been receiving on the live classes and will have a set class schedule for you all starting on Monday next week. This week, we are testing out attendance at various times during the day, so please do provide us feedback on your preferred class times! And check your emails for a daily class schedule.
Keep in mind you are not limited to taking live classes! If you miss a class time, you can watch it later on your own time.
All live class recordings will be uploaded to the Student portal; currently, all of the Monday, March 16, live classes have been uploaded, in addition to some pre-recorded Cage Fitness, Warrior Kids, and Muay Thai circuit sessions. We are building up the pre-recorded content and would love to hear if you have any specific requests for classes!
Need some help with accessing classes? To log in to our live classes and on-demand content, please visit our website’s student portal by going to www.pentagonmma.com and clicking on the Students tab at the top navigation bar. Use password “pentagonstrong”. For on-demand content, select Curriculum. For upcoming live classes, click on Events. We are using the Zoom platform, so you might have to download the app or a plugin.
Please be patient with us as we test out this new live platform, and definitely provide us with some feedback so that we can make this a better experience for you.
Thank you so much for your support and love. Stay safe and healthy, and see you online!
*** Updated 9:00 pm on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020***
Dear Pentagon MMA Family,
On behalf of my wife and I and the Pentagon MMA staff, I first would like to thank the Pentagon MMA community for your messages of love and support. There are no words to describe how grateful we are for such an amazing group of students and families. We are staying strong and positive yet feeling the effects of the current situation, just like so many others in this country.
The time has come to announce that we will be temporarily closing effective Wednesday, March 18 until April 1, at which time we will reassess the situation. However, classes are still on! We are officially transitioning to a live class schedule available to all of our members for remote viewing and interacting with your favorite instructors from the comfort of your home. You will also be able to view previous live classes and additional pre-recorded content. Please check your emails and the private Facebook groups for details coming soon.
Our team is working hard to ensure that we can continue to be of service and provide the best instruction to our students, their families, and the community at large. Please join us in staying strong and continuing to work on your health, fitness, and martial arts goals. Now more than ever, it is important to stay on top of your training.
And now more than ever, Pentagon MMA needs your support, as do so many other local small businesses. When the dust settles and life goes back to normal, we want to make sure Pentagon MMA is still standing strong and our staff is still with us, continuing to serve you to the best of our ability.
With your continued support through membership payments and virtual classes, we will be able to pay our operating staff, deep clean, and make some much needed improvements. Please, if you can, continue to frequent your favorite local establishments, whether it is by purchasing gift cards, ordering take-out, or buying something on their website.
We are confident that our community will come out of this stronger and more united than ever. Stay safe and keep training!
In solidarity,
Vivek Nakarmi
*** Updated 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 14th, 2020***
The Pentagon MMA team is committed to the health and safety of our students and families. Please know that we have been and will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 outbreak and guidelines from governmental authorities and health officials. Any closings or changes to our schedule, events, or programs will be communicated via email, our private members FB group, and this page.
At this time, we plan to continue operations and classes, but this can change at any moment. We are taking this one day at a time as this is an unprecedented and rapidly evolving event.
We are also making a few changes to the way we teach our classes, in addition to offering our students the ability to participate in live classes from home. Please check out the details below.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Our Team is reinforcing and doubling-down on measures that we have already been taking as part of our cleaning regimen.
Hand Sanitizers are available at both the front door and the lobby. Please use them upon entry to Pentagon MMA. Carrying your own sanitizer would be very helpful and will allow supplies to last a big longer.
We have a regular cleaning protocol for staff to wipe down surfaces throughout the day. All surfaces, floors, and mats will continue to be disinfected several times a day with a hospital grade disinfectant that kills HIV, MRSA, staph, E. coli, cold, flu, athletes foot fungus and more.
We are asking that every student wash their hands before coming to class. If you forget to wash your hands before you come in, you can use the restroom to wash your hands before entering the mats. Practicing good handwashing habits includes washing your hands upon entering the facility, after using the restroom, before eating snacks, after playing outside, after blowing your nose, and after coughing or sneezing.
We are urging all students, parents and siblings to STAY HOME if you feel sick, even if the symptoms are not consistent with the coronavirus or flu. This will help the spreading of any and all illnesses. This is our policy year round, but we are asking everyone to be especially vigilant during this time.
We ask that all students and parents advise us if they will be traveling to or have recently traveled to COVID-19 hotspots. We are requiring that anyone who has traveled to a country with reported COVID-19 cases self-quarantine for two weeks before coming back to our facility.
Please wipe down any gear and equipment you use as soon as you are done with it. We have Lysol spray available but we recommend you bring your own antibacterial wipes/spray.
ONLINE CLASSES/REMOTE LEARNING
For those who prefer to stay home or are unable to attend class due to illness or other risk factors, we are in the process of setting up technology in place to allow for live at-home participation in classes. This will allow you to stay on top of training and interact with instructors.
We anticipate that this service will be available starting next week, and we will be sending out additional details and log-in as soon as possible.
As a reminder, there is some training content available for our members in the Curriculum section of the Pentagon MMA App, which is available for free in both the Apple and Google Play app stores. Just search for Pentagon MMA in the App store.
MODIFICATION OF TEACHING STYLE
For now, we will have to think a bit differently about the way we train. In order to minimize the amount of person-to-person contact, we will temporarily be making changes to the way we teach adult and youth classes, including halting partner drills and sparring. This will involve more individual drills, shadowboxing, and functional training as appropriate.
We are also asking students to please discontinue one-on-one sparring and rolling during open mat sessions, and instead focus on solo drills and other methods of training.
BEFORE/AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
The Arlington Public School system will be closed from March 16 until April 14. As one of your child care providers, we understand the extreme situation in which this might place your family, and we want to be sure that we can be of service to our community.
At this time, we are reviewing the possibility of offering day camps to our current before and after school program students during the March 16-April 10 period, but have not made a final decision on this. Emails have gone out to our current students with additional details.
POSTPONED/CANCELLED EVENTS
We have decided to postpone our March Parents’ Night Out and Before/After School Open House events until further notice. If you are registered for the Parents’ Night Out event, please check your email for additional details.
We have also pulled our fighters out of the upcoming TCB 22 event on March 28 and will not be participating.
FREEZING YOUR PROGRAM
As a courtesy to our members, any time you miss more than 4 weeks of training, we can add that missed time to the end of your Program. If you foresee yourself being out for more than 4 weeks, please send us an e-mail and we will add your missed time to the end of your Program. Please note that your monthly payment will still be processed on your regular billing date, but you won’t lose your time.
CDC PREVENTION STEPS
We are also asking our students to follow the CDC’s prevention steps below to stop the spreading of illnesses. Specifically:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
You can find these guidelines and more information here:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html
LEADERS DON’T PANIC, THEY PREPARE
While we recognize the seriousness of this virus, we also recognize that remaining physically fit is an important way to ensure a healthy immune system.
Further, we believe that in frightening times, it is important for kids to maintain as much consistency as possible, within reason. Our goal is to employ practices that reduce risk while focusing on educating our students with empathy and compassion so they can balance their emotions with logic and information.
We are hoping that everyone will do their part as we take every measure to keep Pentagon MMA a safe and clean environment. We want to make sure that we will survive this extremely difficult time and that Pentagon MMA and our entire team will still be here when life goes back to normal. With your help, we know we can weather this storm.
Last but not least, please do what you can to support your local small businesses. We are going through some very tough times, and some small businesses might not make it through without community support. Thank you for your cooperation, and thank you for being a part of our community. Please stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Kru Vivek Nakarmi
