Triangle Sword Guild Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Swords Don’t Discriminate and Neither Do We
Triangle Sword Guild is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness, where our members can feel safe to engage with their whole selves. What we do requires trust in our instructors and training partners to keep and maintain a physically and psychologically safe training environment, based in communication, mutual respect, and consent.
We also believe that we are enriched, as a whole, by our differences. The broad variety of experiences and perspectives that comes from having members of diverse backgrounds allows us to better understand the texts and sparring contexts in ways that would not be possible in a monoculture. We endeavour to create a training environment that embraces the uniqueness of our members and promotes their growth as martial artists.
TSG has a zero-tolerance policy for members who express prejudice or harassment based on race, age, nationality, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Any violations of this policy may be reported to any instructor or member of the board for prompt examination.
To study martial arts is to embark on a journey of continual self-improvement. With each drill, each sparring bout, and each class, we confront our own limitations, and work together to overcome them. In the same way, as a martial arts organization, we are committed to a culture of reflection, growth, and improvement. This process includes acknowledging and confronting our own biases in whatever forms they present themselves.
As such, we are pursuing initiatives to further implement these principles, including:
Registering Triangle Sword Guild as a Safe Space with a designated point of contact to report any diversity or inclusion related issues or concerns.
Training all our instructors on the principles of safe space following the SafeSport training defined by https://athletesafety.org/
We are committed to better ourselves as individuals and as a club. We recognize that we are not perfect, but we recognize both the opportunity and responsibility to learn and grow. We look to all our members to help make and keep this vision a reality for the Triangle Sword Guild.