First of all, we want to thank you again for your continued support. Despite the confinement, many customers are still carrying on with their planned purchase, and it is what keeps us alive. Thank you very much.
Another month of confinement has passed for the world. Most countries are starting to consider the next step or preparing for unconfinement, but for us, Budoka, it seems that the day we will be able to get back to the Dojos is still quite far away.

Budo is about collaboration and mutual growth, it is what the Japanese call a "ningen keisei no michi", a path for the betterment of human beings. Today, the scientific consensus suggests that the best we can do to stick with this overarching goal was, a little ironically, to refrain from doing what we love: meeting, sweating, and practicing together on the tatami. There is maybe no precedent in the history of Aikido of a situation where to adhere to the altruistic and universalist principles of Ueshiba Morihei, one had to refrain from practicing his art the way he formalized it. We hope to be up to the challenge. I hope that you are all staying safe and adequately confined, and I look forward to seeing you all again on the tatami soon!

Guillaume Erard

Indeed, most specialists advise a suspension of all indoor and all contact sports until at least next September. From the business perspective, the next months are going to be really tough for our staff. We are holding, and we are preparing to see our income significantly lowered until September, but as Budoka, we can only approve the decision of refraining from practicing. We therefore stand with those who made the decision to suspend all practice until next September.

In this brave new world, we are adapting week after week, with no long-term plans. Amidst the significant drop in orders, we have noticed a slight increase in orders for swords pieces and maintenance items. And because confinement also means DIY time, we've decided to offer 10% discount on all swords pieces and maintenance products. We hope it will help those who have decided to spend time on their weapons!

April Report:

- We've started to produce some masks that we put in customer packages. We do not have enough for all orders, but we're making as much as possible. They are produced by one of our seamstresses living at a walking distance of our office and who can come to work without taking any risks, following the government instructions.

- On the Youtube side, we published our last "Samurai History" video: the history of the Byakkotai Samurai Unit.
We also published some more videos from the last 43rd Kobudo Embu Taikai 2020.

- To all Budoka concerned by climate change and by their ecological impact, DHL has made available a report for our Go Green program (CO2 offset program) for 2019. As usual, 100% of CO2 emission related to Seido's DHL shipment has been compensated. 

That's all for this month. Enjoy our discounts and contents, stay safe and see you soon on SeidoShop.com!