Finally, we are at the start of a new and super exciting season 2020 – 2021, and I am very much looking forward to us getting a normality into our training together after the Corona pandemic, which shut down all leisure activities in March 2020.

I have missed that and we all need the amazing energy injection that is training Yakami Shinsei-Ryu together! You feel that extra when it's suddenly not there - isn't it 🙂

Corona has affected everyone in association life and has also been the reason why, according to DGI and DIF, many sports associations have completely ceased or been reduced by up to 60-70%. This of course also affects Shindenkan Denmark, but fortunately still to a lesser extent. But we have also, since the shutdown, used everything possible to inform about the situation - dealt realistically with everything that was written in the newspapers and told in the news and shared our knowledge, studies and analyzes on KISS - Keep it simple and safe – the way and we have hit the 100% spot in relation to – well everything!

We have also, since March, implemented fantastic initiatives and offered all Shindenkan members active well-designed home training programs, a weight control initiative, safety knowledge and live streaming of KataFIT, up to 4 times a week. We have followed up with newsletters, emails and phone calls to everyone and offered weekly training support on the phone every Friday, throughout the closed period, to all Honbu curriculum training participants.

No other sports organization has that, as far as we know!

It has all happened under the joint initiative that we have called "Shindenkan - Together we stand strong!" 🙂

In my eyes, we have done it "The Shindenkan Way", where no one has been allowed to stand alone, and it has been a pleasure, because that is how we see ourselves in Shindenkan - Together we stand strong. It is our strong community that has brought us through the Corona shutdown, and it was also our sense of community that made so many members turn up in such large numbers to the outdoor training - when this became possible in the local schools.

For me, it was absolutely fantastic to finally meet outside and start training again. This was, of course, coordinated according to the guidelines and rules of the Danish Health Authority - reinforced with Shindenkan's own safety rules, which were nationally coordinated by the Honbu-dojo.

There was lots of really good energy and a sense of community - and really good and safe training, with a high technical level and not least good Danish summer weather :-)! As always, the rules were followed so that everyone could feel safe and have a good time, and get the maximum benefit from the training.

Shindenkan – Is for our members

Shindenkan is for creating whole and happy people, but the effect of the Corona shutdown has unfortunately also affected Shindenkan, even though we in SOPORG and the local school management have done everything we could to counter the loss of members that can occur when the members in associations do not can meet physically and cultivate community, and the Yakami Shinsei-Ryu training that binds us together and that we love.

But after we in Shindenkan's management have met, and after talking to all the Chief Instructors, it is clear that most local schools have got more than 80 % of the existing members back, - but there are some that are down to 60 %. It is bad, and a huge effort must be made by all local management to reach out and touch the members who may find it difficult to return to normality in daily life with homework, children who have to stay home from school because of runny noses, and all the many other side effects we have experienced together during the period.

It IS very important to reach out to our training buddies - because most people who, like ourselves, are affected by Corona at school, at work or at home, just need a kind gesture to find the courage and energy again 🙂

And in Shindenkan we can do anything we want! We can do so much more and fight - because together we stand strong!

Shindenkan – The economy is also affected.

All associations in Shindenkan are voluntary and unpaid, and work according to a budget that is adopted at the annual general meetings with income, investments, expenses and costs according to the general meeting's adopted strategy – Strat23 and the goals contained in it. This has been the case since 1988 and last season was no exception.

Shindenkan does not have a credit card with transaction security, which means that we have no right of objection, and thus no right to refund the investments that have been made.

In Denmark, only the large sports organizations with paid employees can get this, and since everything in Shindenkan is voluntary and unpaid, we only have a Debit Card - just like 99 % of all other sports associations in Denmark! This is regardless of whether the Shindenkan are big in Martial Arts.

But as we all know, martial arts in Denmark is a smaller and more dispersed sport than, for example, football, handball, badminton, tennis, golf and so on.

In order for us at Shindenkan to have financial security to be able to carry out the activities in the adopted strategic plan, the activities are often financed through private approved outlays, which are subsequently reimbursed after validation and control locally or nationally, by the respective democratically elected managements and committees, in accordance with the articles of association and General meeting decisions and approvals of the seasonal budget.

The challenge is simply that the system is backwards and we at Shindenkan are of course always looking to achieve the best conditions and discounts. This means that advance payments and purchases are made in good time with timely care. This was also the case for season 2019-2020, which was the season where all the outlays that were adopted by the general meeting in 2015/2016 and implemented, finally had to balance!

But then came Corona! This means that Shindenkan has suffered a net loss of over DKK 250,000+ in the 2019-2020 season, albeit with a small overlap for the 2020-2021 season. That's a lot for an organization like Shindenkan!

We have done what we could, on an equal footing with the other associations, and this means that we have covered a smaller part of the loss with just over DKK 100,000 from the government's Corona pool, and through solidarity in the Shindenkan schools. However, we had hoped for more, but the Corona pool has been extremely political, with the major sports within DIF and DGI receiving the majority of the allocations, with up to DKK 300,000 per participant. x many. We therefore ended up with a total loss of approx. 150,000+ DKK, which has already been deducted and not refunded for the private outlays. However, we are not the only sports organization that has experienced this. There is therefore currently made an agreement with a hesitant creditor again – and we are very happy about that 🙂

Shindenkan – Safety first 🙂

Nothing is more important than safety, and we at Shindenkan take that very seriously! We have therefore taken all possible precautions and safety in relation to our indoor training - We therefore follow both the Danish Health Authority's rules and have added our own, which increases safety even more!.

We are a sports organization with our own specialist medical team, which constantly monitors the situation.

What have we done? Yes, we have expanded with floor washing before and after each class, so we are absolutely sure that there is no sweat on the floor in any of our Shindenkan dojos. We have significantly increased ventilation wherever we can, and we disinfect the members' hands both at the start and end of each training lesson. We disinfect all training props before and after use, so that there is no risk of infection via props.

In addition, all of Shindenkan's instructors have been both antibody tested and vaccine tested up to several times, and we continuously maintain this to ensure as high a level of safety as possible, for the benefit of ourselves and our members.
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It is crucial that we, as Shindenkan's chief instructors, team instructors and Instructors, constantly lead as real role models for safety, for competences, for the members – for Shindenkan and everything we stand for.

I am very proud of our level and I will say it briefly: It IS VERY SAFE to train in all the Shindenkan schools - in our Shindenkan dojos.

At Shindenkan, we always want to do better - and can we do more so that we can all feel safe and we can get back to a normality in training. Yes we can 🙂 Because it is important that we all follow the same rules - so it will be a super cool workout and energy for all of us.

YES! It is important that we ALL as members and practitioners support all safety and do the following:

Before you show up 🙂

• NO ONE turns up for training with Corona symptoms.
• Remember to bring a clean towel and some alcohol to our training when KataFIT and StrechKiKata are carried out.
• Surgical masks may be used voluntarily throughout the training session, but is mandatory below The kumite marking part of up to 15 minutes, where the distance from nose tip to nose tip is maintained at 1+ m, which is the Danish Health Authority's recommendation in this area. However, the board's recommendation is WITHOUT a mask in terms of distance and time. In Shindenkan it is WITH a mask, as an extra layer of safety. That KISS common sense.
• EVERYONE must wash their hands thoroughly BEFORE entering the Dojo, and wash their hands after training

Before you step into the dojo 🙂

• We clean the floor with soap and water BEFORE and AFTER each training lesson, to minimize the risk of possible infection and ensure hygiene with KataFIT and StrechKiKata.
• We operate with maximum ventilation in the dojo, with open doors and windows, to minimize the risk of possible infection.
• EVERYONE gets, as extra security and safety normality, sprayed alcohol 85% on their hands when setting up.

If you are in any doubt, ALWAYS read the large posters outside the dojo in every Shindenkan school. We ALWAYS comply with all the Danish Health Authority's and the Statens Serum Institut's guidelines and professional knowledge, both in our local dojos and in our national dojos - and more.

In Shindenkan, it's KISS - Keep It Simple and Safe - it's a common standard, and the same rules apply, both nationally and locally - So we look after each other 🙂