2020 has been a rough year for most of us.  With a pandemic, social isolation, financial hardships, lack of activities, and elevated depression and anxiety the year will go down in history as among the most challenging ever.  Changing over to a new year is always a time for new starts and goals, but this time is a bit more exaggerated than usual.  If there was ever a time to be focused and positive on what’s ahead...this is it!
We actually have a lot to be optimistic about with the new year.  With the COVID vaccines out now, we will all see a gradual reduction in infections as time progresses.  This will mean reduced risks for everyone including ourselves, our friends, and our families.   
As the infections go down we will also see a ‘slow roll’ back to normal in our lives.  We’ll be free to visit relatives and friends again, which is one of the most difficult consequences of the pandemic.  We’ll also be able to shop more normally, visit restaurants, resume more activities, go to see movies, and attend concerts and the like. 
At ZenQuest a return to normal will be amazing, too.  This will mean going back to unlimited class participation, partner training, and taking face-coverings off.  We have all had to adjust to some crazy modifications in training with the safety measures required by law.  There are several newer students at the gym that have never had the opportunity to train without these precautions in place.  Imagine what things will be like when they can experience ‘normal’ training!  For more experienced students this will be a much welcomed change back to the training they know and love.
Returning to normal also means resuming our amazing seminars with some of the most notorious characters in the martial arts world.  This includes people like Demian Maia, Hirokuni Yamashiro, Mark DellaGrotte, Rick Hawn, and others.  These are incredible opportunities to learn from leading authorities in Jiu-jitsu, Karate, Muay Thai, Judo, wrestling, etc.  Look for these events to start up again later this year.
Normal training will, once again, mean normal social interactions again, too. In the dojo, we’ve had to eliminate many things that we took for granted like hand shakes, fist bumps, and ’abraços’ or hugs in Jiu-jitsu.  These things may seem insignificant at first, but they go a long way towards comradery and team building among training partners.  Just being able to see people’s faces again will be nice, too!
 Of course, until it is safe to do these things we must stay vigilant and follow all of the safety precautions in place.  We are all TIRED of these things, but they are the way to stay safe until the COVID situation is under control.  We need to continue to sanitize, wear face coverings, and social distance...for now.  For anyone who travels or is exposed to someone who does so, they also need to follow guidelines for quarantining and testing before they can participate in classes again. 
So with the start of 2021, we need to stay focused and look forward to getting back to normal in the new year. Happy New Year!

​With the all of the COVID safety measures in place it is more difficult for us to remind students and parents about when their memberships are coming due.  This makes it much more important that students who choose to do incremental enrollments (monthly, quarterly, etc.) keep close track of their due dates and re-enroll on or before their due dates. 
The safety measures have only added more work to the six days each week that we are open, and this leaves little time for individual reminders.  Further, the restrictions and constraints caused by the pandemic have made the business side of running the dojo more challenging, and delays in payments only exacerbate the situation.  We try to provide lots of flexibility in tuition choices for our students.  So, please make sure to stay on top of incremental tuition payments if this is how you choose to pay for your enrollment. 
As an alternative, consider enrolling via our ‘Easy Pay’ autopayment option.  We recently changed the service used for our Easy Pay program.  This has provided several improvements for both students and ZenQuest.  Aside from the convenience and tuition discount that Easy Pay provides, it also locks the student’s tuition rate.  This means that their tuition cannot increase as long as they remain in it.  Its also perfect for students who want to commit to a longer term study of the martial arts. 
To take advantage of enrolling this way all that is needed is to fill out an Easy Pay form and submit it at the ZenQuest front desk.  Tell us which credit card account you would like to use for this and we take care of the rest.  A double payment is made on the ‘front end’ of this enrollment and that extra month can be used on the ‘back end.’
Please contact us if you have any questions on this or would like to go ahead with ZenQuest’s Easy Pay plan.