Standards and Conduct
Inclusion Policy, Approach to Training, & Safeguarding in Martial Arts
Please take a look at the sections below to learn more about the standards and conduct we uphold at The Order of the Blade.
Inclusion Policy
At the Order of the Blade, we do not discriminate and make every effort to be both accommodating and welcoming to both current and prospective members. We will not disallow membership based on race, religion, creed, sexuality or any other form of identification, personal, medical or otherwise.
There are only two instances in which we may prevent training with us. The first is a medical concern if you are unable to safely take part in training without undue risk to either yourself or another person. The second is if you are under a ban of suspension of training.
We operate a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination and any infringement will be dealt with directly. This applies to all attending our events, whether training or visiting.
If you have any concerns, please speak in confidence to an instructor or contact the Order directly and we will handle the issue in confidence.
Our code of conduct
(Our code of conduct can also be accessed as a PDF here)
Initial Statement
This Code of Conduct sets out the expected behaviour for this organisation and those participating in the operations hosted by the Order of the Blade. There will be four categories of persons listed in this document;
General will apply to everyone and will serve as the baseline standards. Instructors will apply to those acting in a leadership position during operations. Members will apply to those signed up to the Order of the Blade as active training participants. Visitors will apply to all those visiting from external groups, be that as active participants or as spectators or support elements.
Any issues should be raised with an Instructor or Order of the Blade Staff Member at the earliest opportunity.
Further issues and breeches of this Code of Conduct can be emailed into the following email address, in line with our Safeguarding Policy and the Order of the Blade Staff will handle the incident.
>> safeguarding@orderoftheblade.co.uk <<
These standards apply at all times, whether at Order of the Blade hosted events, or at external events.
General
It is expected of all persons to adhere to the following guidelines;
- Respect all persons, their identities and personal belongings.
- Do not discriminate or harass another person.
- Ensure that you are keeping yourself safe, and in good health.
Adhere to instructions issued by Order of the Blade staff for matters of safeguarding and welfare.
Instructors
Instructors have a duty of care over the members they are training and to any visitors to ensure that they are safe. They will adhere to the following guidelines;
- Issue all lessons and instructions in a respectful manner and ensure that all have clearly understood.
- Oversee the welfare and health of both members and visitors
- For visitors, this will be in the form of passing welfare checks.
- For members, this will in be a check on their physical condition during training, advising breaks where appropriate.
- The members mental health will be considered at the same time, advising to temporarily withdraw from training where needed, with aid offered.
- Ensure that all members are ok with the training on offer, taking feedback where appropriate.
- Overseeing all training and provide corrections to technique where necessary.
- Oversee sparring to ensure that competitors are in good mental and physical condition.
- Handle any complaint in a professional and respectful manner, offering whatever assistance they can render.
- Perform first aid as required, filling in the first aid log for follow up as required.
- Ensure that they are up-to-date on all regulations and recommendations on training and safeguarding.
Members
Members are expected to manage their own physical and mental states, safeguard other members from undue harm and ensure visitors are equally safe from training. They will adhere to the following guidelines;
- Prior to training, check in with their training partner as to their physical and mental condition, as well as performing an appropriate gear check.
- Agree prior to any training the limits of that training, i.e. No Grappling.
- Do not alter the limits of the current training without clearing it with the training partner prior.
- Clean and care for all items of equipment owned, and ensure it is utilised in training.
- Ensure that if the training partner has a kit defect, that they are made aware, and training is halted until the corrections are made.
- If at any point you feel unable to continue training, regardless of cause, you are to withdraw from training until you can rejoin it. Alert an Instructor if required.
- Adhere to the Safe Sparring Practices when engaging in competitive sparring of any level.
- If you suspect that your training partner is struggling, halt training and perform a welfare check. Alert and Instructor if you feel that there is an issue.
Visitors
Visitors are welcome to any and all training, but given the nature of the Order’s operations, we expect that they will adhere to the following guidelines;
- Ensure that the Instructors and Staff know they are a visitor and not to be included in operations.
- Refrain from interrupting ongoing training, save for instances of safeguarding and welfare.
- Ensure that they are out of the way of ongoing training and do not enter active training spaces.
Visitors are welcome to ask questions of the Instructors and Staff, but they will have duties to attend to and may break off any conversation to handle any incidents that occur.
Safe Sparring Practices
Sparring is a common training tool utilised by the Order of the Blade. As such, there are rules for the conduct expected in sparring, laid out as follows;
- Discuss the primary weapon to be utilised in sparring, as well as the grade of weapon, whether Steel or Synthetic.
- Indicate any secondary weapons carried, such as daggers, axes and other ancillary weapons.
- Check over the kit and ensure it is suitable for the level of practice to be undertaken. Offer your kit up for inspection by the opponent.
- Clear any sparring rules to be observed, i.e. “No Grappling”
- Check for any current injuries to avoid in contact.
- Decide and agree on the “Mode of Sparring” to be utilised.
- Ensure that there is sufficient space for the sparring match.
- Salute to indicate you are ready to train.
- If you are about to force your training partner out of bounds, halt the spar and reset.
- If you suspect that your training partner isn’t ok, perform a welfare check at the break points.
- If an injury occurs, immediately halt sparring and call an Instructor.
- If equipment fails, immediately halt sparring and replace the equipment as required.
- If you are not able to continue the sparring match, for whatever reason, immediately withdraw.
- After the sparring match, be sure to check in with your training partners health and welfare prior to asking technical questions.
Modes of Sparring
Step-Sparring
Kit Level – Minimum Gloves and Mask
In Step-Sparring, decide who will make the first action. For each action, the opponent gets to make a single reaction, be that footwork, bladework, or a combination of both. The moves taken as a reaction must be realistic to complete within the timeframe of the initiating action.
After this, there is a pause, where combatants analyse the situation and decide if they have a viable action from this position. If you do, simply say “Yes”. If both parties say yes, discuss who has advantage in the current state of play.
Whoever has advantage and a valid action will then take the next action, while their training partner responds. This is to be done at a slower pace and serves to teach the interlink between moves in a manner that allows the brain to process the movements, which may move too fast under typical sparring conditions.
Excellent for beginners practice to ease people into combat scenarios and for analysing set-piece plays.
Variable-Speed Sparring
Kit Level – Minimum Gloves, Mask and Gorget
Agree prior to the sparring match the maximum speed at which each party will move. This is the upper threshold until further clarification, do not abuse this limit to score a quick hit.
Between passes, each sparring partner may request a change in the pace of the fight. If the speed is increasing beyond what you are comfortable with, then disengage and discuss further with the opponent.
Wear kit suitable for the speed of the contact. More kit is preferred over insufficient kit.
Competitive Sparring
Kit Level – Maximum
Fully competitive practice, to be executed at pace. Agree and adhere to a rule-set prior to practice.
Approach to Training
The Order hosts competitive training, and as such, engages actively in a dangerous environment that carries significant risks to those taking part. While every effort is made to safeguard our members in terms of equipment, a large part of the safety comes directly from those who are partaking in the training.
As such, we hold members to a higher personal standard and expect them to act with respect and care for others in the room. We foster a healthy competitive environment and will take steps to ensure that the environment remains healthy.
Those found to be operating contrary to this intent will be approached by staff to correct their training approaches accordingly.
Please refer to the blog post “Selfish Altruism” (here) to get a detailed breakdown on this approach to training.
Safeguarding in Martial Arts
The Order is working alongside BMABA to ensure we operate to the highest standards with respect to safeguarding. All protocols are made along the guidelines outlined by the BMABA, who work in conjunction with Sport England and other organisations to stay up to date with their advice and guidance.
The Order is pursuing recognition on the BMABA “Club Colours” scheme to highlight our commitment to the safeguarding of our members.
Our Safeguarding Policy
(Our policy can also be accessed as a PDF here)
Initial Statement
The Order of the Blade strives to operate to the highest standards, both in terms of professional and personal conduct. This Safeguarding Policy relies upon the Code of Conduct, which will lay out how we expect all those associated with the organisation to behave, instructors, members and visitors alike. The Safeguarding Policy lays out the lines of communication and the handling of situations to ensure that all parties involved are safe and treated with respect and dignity.
Should any element of this policy not work in any particular incident, or you are uncomfortable with any given aspect, please contact us at the following email address to raise your concerns there. This email is limited to the Welfare and Inclusivity Co-ordinators and the Directors of the Order of the Blade, and each case will be handled directly and discretely.
Situation Handling Policy
Instructors are empowered by the Order of the Blade HQ to ensure that their training environments are safe for all members involved. All instructions issued on matters of safeguarding are to be followed by all members and visitors. Instructors are further empowered by Order of the Blade HQ to request any members cease training and leave the venue should they pose a risk to safeguarding.
Any issue raised with the Order of the Blade will be invited to go through the safeguarding@orderoftheblade.co.uk email to be logged as a formal issue. Issues that cannot be resolved in the moment will be logged as a formal issue via the email system. If the issue results in expulsion, the issue will be logged as a formal issue via the email system.
All formal issues will be studied on a case-by-case basis by Order of the Blade Staff, interviews with the involved parties will be conducted to ensure all elements are accurate and a resolution will be reached depending on the information gathered. Resolutions to all issues will be made known to those involved and held in sealed files.
Instructor Training and Qualifications
Instructors will be given training to facilitate their role to conduct sessions in a safe and meaningful manner. This training will be two-fold, with external training supplied by BMABA, and internal training organised by Order of the Blade HQ. External training will cover elements such as first aid qualifications and welfare standards, as advised by BMABA and their links with larger bodies. Internal training will cover the training standards expected of Instructors, course material training as well as incident management.
All instructors will have an Enhanced DBS check, conducted via the BMABA and logged in their system. All instructors will have an up-to-date first aid certificate, and supplied with a First Aid kit to manage situations as they occur. First Aid will cover mental health situations and further concussion prevention and management training, to account for the risks inherent within operations.
Discrimination and Harassment Policy
The Order of the Blade will under no circumstances accept discrimination on any grounds, including but not limited to; Race, Creed, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender, Personal beliefs. Harassment of any kind is strictly prohibited, and any instance will be dealt with by Order of the Blade HQ
Anyone found acting in a discriminatory manner, or engaging in harassment, whether at Order of the Blade operations, or externally, will be challenged on the issue and may face expulsion for the Order of the Blade and any of our events.
Each incident will be reviewed by Order of the Blade HQ, with relevant parties included. Should the incident be deemed significant for further action, the Order will maintain records of the incident and co-ordinate with other bodies should the need arise.
LGBTQIA+ and Under-represented Gender Policy
The Order of the Blade aims to be a safe-space for all. We actively welcome members from the LGBTQIA+ communities and work with our instructors to ensure the training spaces we offer are the safe and welcoming environment we aim to provide. We will come down on any instance of discrimination or harassment with regards to LGTBQIA+ or gender issues.
Junior Members Policy
As part of our operations, we actively welcome young adults to engage with the training we offer. The benefits of such training can be extremely beneficial to both mental and physical health, as well as the confidence of the Junior Member as they learn to engage with training on their own terms and develop as a combatant.
Junior Members are those who wish to train with us and are not yet over the age of 18. We ask that those looking to join the Order of the Blade as Junior Members are over the age of 14 and accept they are joining an adult training environment.
We do remind both the Junior Member and their legal guardians that the training and events on offer are designed for adult audiences, and as such, we expect that any Junior Member joining us is able to operate in that environment. While the Instructors at sessions will attempt to be accommodating, as we would with any other issue, there will be some instances that may not be suitable for younger persons.
Legal guardians of the Junior Member are welcome to sit in any session they wish and oversee training given to their ward. Questions to Instructors on matters of safeguarding for the Junior Member are always welcome and our Instructors will seek contact on a semi-regular basis with both the Junior Member and their legal guardian to ensure they are happy with the training on offer and feel it is appropriate to continue with training.
Legal guardians will be given direct contact details for the Head Instructor so they can communicate any issues they may have in private.
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