We're excited to see Covid positive cases go in a downward trend and news that more and more of our Krav Members are receiving vaccinations. We are excited to announce that as of June 1st all of our FDKM instructors and Staff who will be working this summer are all fully vaccinated. With that said and the recent CDC and Virginia State Government new guidelines about social distancing and masking have changed, we will update our policies as well.

All guidelines listed will be effective beginning June 1st. Masking will still be required at all times for the remainder of May. If you have specific concerns or questions please do not hesitate to ask us at info@firstdefensekravmaga.com

With Summer travel near, for those who are not vaccinated and do decide to travel. We ask that you quarantine for the recommended 10 days before returning to training. Here at First Defense the community's health and safety is a priority. We are trying to minimize the transmission and spread of Covid as best to our abilities within our facility and training practices. As business owners it's our Duty of Care. We hope everyone will continue their efforts to help limit the spread of Covid-19.

Attendance cards were put in storage over the course of the past year due to Covid. They also were not introduced to the newest FDKM'ers who also joined us in the last 14 months. With classes picking up again, we will be brining back these cards in June.

Why? What are they for? What do I do?

So there are some major changes to our Summer Schedule starting June 1st. One of the biggest changes is that we're phasing out our online zoom classes, and bringing back more in person training. We will still continue to stream classes on specific days. The second biggest Change to our schedule is that you'll see that Jiu-Jitsu classes have been added. We're welcoming Function Jiu-Jitsu Club to hold classes here at FDKM. More information about the Jiu-Jitsu club is noted below in our news letter.

You can download a pdf copy of our 2021 Summer Schedule Here , pick up a hard copy at the front desk, or visit our website to see the most current schedule. We will also provide new streaming links to classes when available. If you have any questions about the new schedule please contact us at info@firstdefensekravmaga.com

Did you notice the addition of Jiu-jitsu classes to our schedule? FDKM is welcoming black belt instructors Dave Porter, Joe Rudd, and Jason Kammerdiemer and their Jiu-Jitsu club - Function Jiu-jitsu to our facility. The guys needed a space to train & get their club going, so we decided to open our doors to Dave and his students to share our space and community.

Function's Club will begin to hold classes beginning Wednesday, June 3rd.

For more information about training jiu-jitsu please contact Dave Porter at DavidPorterBJJ@gmail.com.

For current FDKM members who have a Full Membership with us and are interested in cross-training with Function Jiu-Jitsu please contact Ann for more information at ann@firstdefensekravmaga.com

For those who are interested in trying out some grappling, sweeps, and throws, come try out our Shuaijiao class. This class is offered on Saturdays at 12 pm. (This new class time begins June 5th)

Our Shuaijiao program is included for all FDKM members who are on a full membership. But you don't need to purchase a full Krav Maga membership to participate in just Shuaijiao. You can purchase a 5-class pass for $80. Replenish your passes as you go.

Curious and just want to try out a class? Contact Ann at ann@firstdefensekravmaga.com

to schedule a free trial class.

On the evening of June 17 at 7:15pm, please join fellow Krav Maga instructor and the host of the Domestic Violence Discussion Podcast, Ariel Gliboff, for a discussion about relationship red flags and how you can create a basic safety plan.

We like to introduce our new Assistant in our Krav Junior Division Classes, welcome Rachel Okotete! Rachel has been training and helping out with our youngest Kravers for the past month now. She's been doing a great job! The kids really enjoy having her help Coach Nick on mat too! We're really excited to have her part of our team.

Here's a little bit more about Rachel:

It's been a long Covid year, and with that we weren't able to test and promote everyone as regularly as we liked. But we had a group of super troopers who through it all continued training and earned their next Krav Rank! Congrats to our youngest Kravers on their accomplishments.

K1: Amelie, Rylan

Y1: Tristan, Lucas, Liana, Lexi

Y2: Keira

Y3: Adriaan, Jeroen, Evie, Joanna

J1: Jiya, Joshua

J2: Myles, Wyatt

T1: Eisha, Faith, Maria, Gianna, Anwita

T2: Chloe, Evan

It's that time of year again, SUMMER! With that comes Josh's hiatus from Krav Maga. He's pursuing a summer job that conflicts with teaching and training at FDKM through the summer months. Hopefully, if his school schedule allows, we'll see him back in the fall.

Have a great summer Josh!!!! Everyone will miss you! Especially Jeroen :-)