ASBK Health & Safety Policy
(Updated April 3, 2023)

Self-monitoring:
If you feel ill or “off” in any way, or have respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, mild cough, headache, sinus congestion, etc., or gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, DO NOT COME TO THE DOJO.

If members of your immediate household or work environment are experiencing such symptoms, consider skipping classes until you are relatively confident that you are not infected also.

Vaccinations:
To help protect the health of all dojo members, particularly those considered vulnerable due to age or underlying medical conditions, we strongly encourage everyone to keep up-to-date with those vaccines available for diseases that are easily transmitted from person-to-person such as COVID, influenza, and others such as those listed on this CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html

Dojo Facilities:
We continue to employ a layered approach to keep our dojo environment clean and hygienic:

• Enhanced ventilation
• Hand sanitation stations
• Standardized dojo cleaning & disinfection procedures
• An AED station is mounted on the wall outside the bathrooms
• Emergency protocol information, including “when to call 911,” is posted on the bulletin board
• First Aid supplies are stationed in the storage room

Safety Guidelines During Classes:

• No injuries to others: Be considerate of your partners at all times, understanding their skill level and any injuries or physical limitations they may have.
• Let no one injure you: Inform your partner of any existing injuries, physical limitations, or uncertainties you may have about a given technique.
• Avoid injuring yourself: Know and respect your personal limits – understand when it is, or is not, safe to push your limits. Never feel compelled to attempt a technique or take a fall that you believe is beyond your current limits or may be dangerous to you. Gauge the speed and strength of your attacks as uke accordingly.
• Be attentive to cuts/scrapes: Attend promptly to any new cuts/scrapes with proper wound care and bandaging to avoid further injury and to prevent exposure of others to potential blood borne infections; clean the mat quickly and thoroughly with disinfectants in the event of contamination with blood.
• Cleanliness: Keep your practice gi fresh and clean; to help avoid transmission of “colds” and other infections, please wash your hands before and after practice; use hand sanitizer frequently during practice. Remove all jewelry prior to stepping onto the mat; keep fingernails and toenails trimmed.
• Medical Conditions: Inform the instructor if you have a medical condition that may affect your practice or would be important to know about in the event of an emergency. Any information of this type will be treated confidentially.
• If you are injured or feel ill: Stop practicing immediately and notify the instructor.