2021 was a challenging year for Polaris Fellowship. It brought many changes to our school, but also presented new opportunities for learning. We’re taking a look at our year in review as a chance to celebrate what we were able to accomplish, and look forward to what we can do in 2022!
2021 – Still The Pandemic
We started the year still holding remote classes. In June of 2021, after 14 months of remote classes, we were able to start holding in person classes in the park again.
Exciting though it was, Polaris remained cautious and has been using new safety precautions including wearing masks throughout our time meeting in person.
We were also able to hold a Weekend event, focusing on Sword and Buckler techniques. Though we didn’t have our full Summer Weapons Retreat, the weapons weekend was an intensive study of sword and buckler.
A Year in Review – Continued Study
Polaris expanded our areas of study during 2021.
Our main focus of curriculum development was on our Sword and Buckler material. Our instructors have been working on this material for a few years. This year we were able to work with our students in Sword and Buckler and clear most of them to spar with it.
We began doing martial arts book reviews on our blog. Not only was this a fun project for our instructors to read new books, but it allowed us to analyse the strengths and limitations of each source.
Changing Locations
For the past 6 years, Polaris has rented an indoor location in Farmington. Unfortunately, when it came time to move inside in the fall, we learned that our indoor location was closing permanently.
We are still looking for a winter location, and have moved to a private residence as we continue to search.
A Year in Review & Looking Ahead
We’re looking forward to new things in 2022!
We will be continuing our regular Wednesday classes indoors through the winter. We look forward to moving back outside to Shiawassee Park in Farmington in April.
2022 will also herald the return of our Summer Weapons Retreat! Our Summer Weapons Retreat 12 will be held June 8th-12th at the Emrich Center in Brighton Michigan. We ‘re excited to be able to hold a full camp again in 2022!
If you’re interested in joining us to learn in 2022, please contact us!