The future of martial arts is inclusive.
The Aikido IDEA Project seeks to engage martial arts practitioners in critical thinking around inclusivity, diversity, equity, and access, to nourish a self-aware and actively anti-racist community. By creating a culture of felt and actual belonging, the future will be, and must be, inclusive.
Cultivating Inclusivity On and Off the Mat
Currently under revision
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of this online course. Please think of this offering as an introduction to the principles that inform this initiative: inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility. It goes over how these are relevant to Aikido and how you can work to make your Aikido community more inclusive.
Inclusivity
The act of creating an environment in which any individual or group will be welcomed, respected, supported, and valued as a fully participating member. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces and respects differences.Diversity
Socially, it refers to the wide range of identities. It broadly includes race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, veteran status, physical appearance, etc. It also involves different ideas, perspectives, and values.Equity
The fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that prevent the full participation of some groups. The principle of equity acknowledges that there are populations that have been and continue to be systematically oppressed and that fairness regarding these unbalanced conditions is necessary to provide equal opportunities to all groups.Accessibility
Not only the opportunity to engage in the desired activity or learning, access includes the support and structure for that participation to be a viable, sustainable, and generative endeavor for marginalized communities to be included in all programs and activities.Sources: University of Washington and Indiana Arts Commission.
How many People of Color do you see on your mat?
“We are asking people to honor that this work requires consistent intention and practice. We all must create space to grow individually and collectively, both on and off the mat. I deeply believe that this project will nourish that evolution.”
Sam Taitel (they/them)
“We’ve grown up on the mat, we love Aikido, and we need it to change. I’ve been training for more than 20 years now: 90% of that time I have been the only POC on the mat. It’s exhausting. As members of the new generation of serious practitioners, we need the Aikido community to invest more into the above values.”
César San Miguel (he/him)
The video that started this all:
If you believe that the future of Aikido is inclusive but don’t know what you can do to accelerate the process, one thing you can do is donate to help us achieve this goal. Thank you so much for your contribution and commitment to Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility.
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any thoughts, ideas, and questions. We’d love to hear from you.
Email
info@aikidoideaproject.com