SAULT STE. MARIE -- A Sault-based karate instructor is taking his classes to the park, in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the weather got hot, sensei Chris Troch took his classes outside to Bellevue Park, as a way to practice the martial art in person once again.
"The kids, they love the fresh air and open space," said Troch.
"It's certainly less of a distraction than being at home, and it's nice to just be back together."
Troch says he's been taking his special needs class outdoors for the past three years and used that as a model to transition his other classes to the park.
"It's obviously a little different, social distancing and all, but it's worked out really well as an alternative," he said.
Troch's regular classes run throughout the week, while he takes his special needs class to the park on weekends.
"My son absolutely loves doing this activity," said Tina Niemi.
"Nothing was clicking for him before this, but he's really focused on Karate and has been going strong for three years now."
With the province now in stage three of reopening, Troch's Dojo is now back open, with restrictions still in place.
However, Troch says he intends to keep his classes outdoors for as long as possible.
"There's no reason to be inside when you've got beautiful weather like this."
