PEABODY — With businesses large and small shut down due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, some places have had to adapt to the new reality they’re facing in order to survive.
One such place is Bruce McCorry’s Martial Arts Academy in Peabody, which has unveiled a new series of online classes to keep its members in shape and in touch with each other.
“I had been trying to get them to do things online for a while, but after the pandemic shut things down it became a necessity,” said Mike Fulcher, who has been handling McCorry’s website and marketing for the past 10 years. “We had to close the doors at the studio, but we didn’t want to lose the members. We came to the decision that doing these online classes was a great way to keep everyone engaged.”
Fulcher quickly went to work setting up a private Facebook group for the membership. That group exploded in popularity once the shutdown took effect, gaining 118 members in the first 30 days.
The group, which is open to all members at McCorry’s, posts online video classes for children and adults every day. Students are required to wear their uniform for every class and must send in videos of them completing the drills in order to get credit for the classes. All classes are taught by the academy’s owners, Master Bruce McCorry and Master Sandra LaRosa.
“It’s been really neat watching all the reaction and the engagement on the site,” Fulcher, who acts as the group’s administrator, said. “The greatest thing about it for me is seeing all the kids enjoy and participate in their classes. They’re still allowed to go up in belts and move up in their journey as long as they’re completing the classes, so they have a great incentive to keep participating.”
The online lessons being inclusive in nature, they are making it possible for all members of a family — from the preschoolers enrolled in the Little Ninjas program to older members in the junior, teen/adult and senior martial arts programs — to find the joy of participating in something larger than a homebound life. For those members who live alone, the lessons offer an opportunity to feel connected to a part of the community. The online lessons also help the learners to safeguard their physical and emotional health from being affected by the inactivity and turmoil imposed upon them by the times.
It’s been a mutually beneficial system, as all of the posts from group members to the Facebook page have inspired others in the community to join in on the fun.
“It’s been great to see the group grow so much in such a short time,” Fulcher said. “Obviously it’s an unfortunate situation with us all stuck inside, but at least the members are able to keep active and remain engaged in the community through the group. It’s a way to make light out of a tough situation for a lot of people.”
Established in Peabody in 1978, Bruce McCorry’s Martial Arts is an academy dedicated to promoting and heralding the teachings and benefits of the martial arts world by bringing to the general knowledge a variety of martial arts including Cardio Kickboxing, World Taekwondo Federation (W.T.F.), Taekwondo, Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, MMA, Tai-Chi, and Yoga.
