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PRIDE Karate rolls with the punches

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 4/21/20

It’s been a year of change for Jason Jones.

During the summer, ATA Karate Elite moved from its location on the square to a larger space at 207 N. Main Street. Fayette’s martial arts …

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PRIDE Karate rolls with the punches

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It’s been a year of change for Jason Jones.

During the summer, ATA Karate Elite moved from its location on the square to a larger space at 207 N. Main Street. Fayette’s martial arts school upgraded its equipment, its mats, and even its name. It joined three locations in the Kansas City area under the PRIDE Martial Arts brand.

Then an unplanned change occurred as the spread of COVID-19 closed the doors of martial arts studios around the country. Jones decided to hold taekwondo classes through video conference.

“We didn’t want to miss a class,” said assistant instructor Ray Snyder. “We knew we needed to do something, let’s have a Zoom meeting.

“Was the first class 100 percent? No, but it was what we had to do.”

Class participants were happy that they could continue training with Jones, a third-degree black belt, and his assistant instructor, Snyder, a first-degree black belt.

The video conference sessions give kids a chance to get exercise, improve their skill, and virtually interact with one another. The classes are appreciated by parents as well.

“It’s an opportunity for people to have a place for their kids,” Snyder said. “It gives the parent a break and they’re still doing the activity that they’re paying for.”

Each week Jones uses the experience to become a more efficient virtual instructor. During week one, he learned how to use the “mute” feature on his students to keep their attention on his instruction. Now he’s working on his verbal communication.

“It was a challenge for sure,” Jones said about the transition to online classes.

“It’s different in the fact that I can’t physically show them what to do or move them into the right place. I’ve had to get really good at explaining things. None of us are camera experts, we can’t always see their foot placement. But we’re getting better at verbally explaining techniques.”

Another challenge is the lack of equipment in student’s homes. But they’ve found ways to adapt to that change as well.

“I’ve had people working at home just using a stick,” Jones said. “I’ve seen some using a wooden spoon or a whiteboard eraser.”

Virtual MMA classes present a bigger challenge with the physical distancing requirements, but Jones is still teaching basic taekwondo and kickboxing along with leadership and legacy classes.

PRIDE Martial Arts classes are designed to improve fitness and teach self defense, but also have a focus on personal development as well.

Tiny Tigers is a class open to 3-6 year olds while Karate for Kids covers 7-13 year olds. There are classes for teens and adults as well. Visit pridekarate.com/school/fayette for more information, or to sign up for a free trial.

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