By Brendan Rees
For Matthew Charles, live streaming his martial arts classes has been a “huge learning experience for everybody”.
After being forced to temporarily close its doors to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Mr Charles’ club, Casey Elite Martial Arts in Cranbourne, has been doing its best in adapting to the trend of delivering online classes.
“It just adds that whole new dimension, everyone’s got a different perspective on how they teach … it just gives that broader range,” Mr Charles, a world renowned shihan instructor, said.
He said when the club initially used Zoom, an online conference tool, class attendance was small as “everyone had to be there at the right time”.
“Everybody’s timetable has been turned upside down,” he said, following coronavirus restrictions.
But numbers have increased via its Facebook page with six classes being offered each day ranging from karate, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, yoga, women’s self-defence, box fit as well as kid’s and ‘kinder ninja’ classes.
Although Mr Charles admits the new format had been challenging he said he’d rather keep members engaged where “they’re still getting some of it; they’re still connected”.
“We film workouts that people can do from home,” he said, which is held on Saturdays.
The club has also made it easier for members training at home by distributing its unused fitness mats from its Sladen Street club.
Mr Charles said while the benefits of physical training were vital for people bunkered down at home during the crisis, the club believed checking in with one another’s wellbeing and mental health was also crucial.
“We’ve had a few Zoom conferences just for teenagers of all the programs just to sit down and talk, how you’re coping with things, what are doing, what’s going on with school, what strategies are kids using to keep themselves occupied.”
There was also an “absolutely overwhelming response”, he said, when the club put out a call for members to post their short and long term goals.
“The recent challenge is what has martial arts done for you – not just Casey Elite but martial arts in general, whether you’re a parent or a child.
“A lot of clubs see this as a massive disadvantage which we are suffering but in the long run we’ll be far, far better off.
“Forget about the money side … the moral and the club and that family atmosphere,” he said, was of particular importance.
Fore more information email: info@caseyelitemartialarts.com.au or call 5995 4363 or 0448 814 670.
