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In the Liberation Martial Arts approach, diversity means safety. At the LMA Learning Lab, we foster an environment where practitioners can train with each other safely without hesitation because we safeguard one another. Safety is communal, not individual.
You can't have diverse people and movements without safety. Diversity in movement and people go hand in hand because everyone will move differently, and imposing rigid demands on movements excludes people. You can claim to be inclusive by simply having people outside your norms present, but that doesn't mean they can actively participate. If they're doing something different from the main program, they're excluded from the main program. They're included but isolated rather than integrated into the main program. Having a main program, system, and style will always be limiting and exclusive. Even "self-defense" is constraining.
The interplay between diversity, safety, and learning
You can only have a diversity of people if they feel safe to be there and move there. You also can only explore diverse movement options if you're safe.
When it comes to physical activity, rather than thinking about diversity only applying to people and not movements, think about people and movements. Not only does everyone move differently, but movement is also informed by disability, culture, family, ancestry, environment, experiences, and material conditions. Movement is a form of life. How people move is also who they are. They can't be separated.
Rather than thinking just about the gate and who you let in, also think about the environment they are being let into. Is the environment rigid or open? Is it a prison or an anti-colonial space?
In the LMA Learning Lab, we don't have a main program, system, movement style, or techniques. Instead, we have safety rules, game rules, and care-informed principles. People are then empowered to find their Way. This affords infinite movement options, allowing more people and bodies to play in our games.
Practitioners sometimes have differences exceeding 200 pounds in weight, over a foot in height, and age gaps of 40 years or more. Regardless of gender, everyone can play together. Diverse play also includes adults because adults should also be allowed to play.
Some practitioners have disabilities and chronic pain, some are neurodivergent, some have trauma, and for them, the LMA approach is liberating. We mask to keep our comrades with preexisting health conditions safe.
Diversity, safety, and learning are not isolated ideas but interrelated. Experience improves practitioners, and experiential learning thrives on diversity rather than repetitive experiences. Safety, in turn, ensures diversity.
Diversity is not independent from or a hindrance to learning; it is learning. Diversity is not independent from well-being; it is critical to well-being. Well-being is not independent from learning; learning is a necessary form of well-being. Coloniality individualizes the interrelated, but Liberation Martial Arts restores them at the joints. Our rapid improvement as movers isn't driven by top-down instruction and repetition; it blossoms from an environment of safety and care.
To access the Liberation Martial Arts curriculum and contribute to the sustainability of this project as my family and I navigate some recent health and financial challenges, consider upgrading your membership. If you've been putting it off, now would be a great time to sign up. Find other ways to support us here. – Sam
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(I write daily about martial arts and other topics from a liberatory perspective. If you like my work, upgrade your subscription. You can also support me on Patreon or make a one-time donation on Ko-fi. Find Southpaw at its website. Get the swag on Spring. Also check out Liberation Martial Arts Online.)
LMA Approach to Diversity, Safety, and Learning