I’m very pleased to announce that by the middle of next month (May 2019), Oakland Judo will have a new home! Our new location will be 1029 Macarthur Boulevard between Dutton and Estudillo, a few blocks into San Leandro.
Currently we’re in the cleaning and painting phase of getting the new space ready, and practices continue as normal at Oakland Strength Factory. As soon as we have an exact date for the move, you’ll hear about it here.
As you read this, new mats are being made at the Dollamur factory in Texas. By the time they arrive, we’ll have everything ready, including a new “Denver floating floor” system for maximum safety. Our new mats will have red competition areas printed on them, take a look!
Some features of the new space include easier access to the mats, a quieter environment, more changing rooms, two bathrooms, and more. Because we’ll be the only tenants, we may offer morning and daytime classes, and possibly even some summer camp activities for kids.
On a personal note, this is the beginning of the fulfillment of a dream for me. This dojo will be the base where we build strong and healthy people, winners on and off the mat. It wouldn’t be possible without the support and effort of all of you in the Oakland Judo family, whether you are new members or have been with us since the beginning, white belt or black belt, parents or grandparents bringing your kids to practice and tournaments, three years old or in your sixties.
I’d like to say thank you to ALL of you, but especially big thanks to the people that hosted our dojo up to this point: Jeff Bott and Polo Garcia at Oakland Strength Factory, Jose Ortega at Supreme MMA, and of course my sensei Dr. Alex Feng at The Taoist Center, where we started back in 2012. At all these locations we’ve been able to slowly and steadily build our community, add classes and expand our offerings. Without you, none of this would be possible!
So, what’s next at Oakland Strength Factory? If we’re getting new mats, what will happen with the old mats?? Maybe a little bit of this, a little bit of that… click here for a preview!
