"Building a better tomorrow, By starting today"

EXECUTIVE CHIEF INSTRUCTOR

Grand Master Ken Craig,
KCTO, TOMS, ECSM, DCSM, PMA

Triangle Martial Arts Association, Inc. is a community benefit non-profit organization whose primary goals are:

• To empower LGBTQQ, senior, youth, low income, and disabled community members and their allies in fighting prejudice both physically and mentally;
• To reduce violence, persecution, and ignorance by creating opportunities and educating youths, adults, and our seniors in an environment supportive of equality and diversity in all of its forms;
• To foster self-confidence, promote physically and mentally healthy lifestyles, and encourage leadership and mentorship within our target communities;
• To provide affordable, quality, and meaningful services by diversifying our funding sources, our staffing sources, and our client sources; and, 
• To support other community benefit organizations that are providing services and benefit to the LGBTQQ, senior, disabled, and youth community members we serve.

We achieve this through a number of programs which are supported by foundation grants, individual donors, volunteer instructor and officer time, as well as student and seminar tuition fees. These activities are supported and governed by our Instructors Council which is led by Executive Chief Instructor, Grand Master Ken Craig.

1. MARTIAL ARTS PROGRAM (MAP)

The MAP is our primary vehicle at TMAA for changing peoples' lives and environments through:

1. Seeking out and encouraging qualified black belt instructors to lead or establish clubs and programs in their own martial discipline within their city, region, or nation;
2. The provision of pecuniary, organizational, strategic, advertising, and cooperative support to Triangle clubs and affiliated clubs;
3. The establishment of warm, welcoming, supportive, diverse, equality-based martial arts programs wherever possible; and,
4. The continued development and certification of Triangle instructors within our Instructor Training and Certification Program (ITCP).
   

The MAP is unique in that we seek instructors from all martial arts disciplines and encourage them to work cooperatively for the advantage of all concerned. The MAP actively tries to bring together various martial arts disciplines to allow the benefits of each to be enjoyed by everyone.

2. COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM (CAT)

As well as developing our own non-profit, community benefit message, we firmly believe that we should not only support but actively participate in supporting other community groups and efforts that benefit the community in general, or our target groups in particular. As such TMAA seeks relationships, affiliations, and collaboration with other like-minded organizations with a view to developing strong, long lasting, and mutually beneficial ties.

As a brief example, we have:

• Conducted volunteer training for the members of the Castro Community on Patrol (CCOP) and we presently serve on the Board of Directors of CCOP with responsibility for volunteer training.
• Participated in, and raised money for, a variety of other foundations including AIDS Walks, Wellness Groups etc.
• We support other community non-profit groups in their primary functions, such as handing out flyers and rasiing funds
• We engage in joint efforts with other community non-profits such as our quarterly Community Self Defense Seminars etc.

3. COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM (COP)

Although one of our primary aims will be to encourage participation in a regular program of martial arts training and instruction among the communities we specifically target, we realize that many people will, for a variety of reasons, be unable to commit to regular training and classes.  As such, TMAA will establish a variety of outreach programs to make individuals within and outside of our specifically targeted communities aware of TMAA and our association's goals and objectives.

Community outreach program events that will be supported by TMAA include:

• Self Defense Seminars
• Demonstrations
• Community Parade Participation
• Community Fair Participation

4. INSTRUCTOR TRAINING & CERTIFICATION PROGRAM (ITCP)

     
As an organization of experienced and qualified martial artists, we recognize that there is a significant lack of quality training, instruction, information, and credible certification for martial arts instructors.  TMAA's instructor training and certification program resolves this by providing a certification curriculum and examination course for all TMAA instructors. 

This course will also be made available to non-TMAA members who wish to obtain TMAA instructor certification. TMAA instructor certification also involves automatic enrollment in our Instructor Continuing Education Program (ICEP) which offers qualified instructors opportunities to maintain or further their certification levels throughout the year.

5. YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SERVICES (YES)

One of TMAA's primary goals is to reduce violence towards our target groups, increase knowledge and compassion between our target groups and the general community, provide positive role models to our target groups' youth as well as the general community's youth, and to offer gang aversion strategies to all.

Working with other community partners such as school administrations, Gay Straight Alliance groups, PLFAG etc., our YES program targets middle school to college age youth and provides training and information with a view to reducing the acceptability of homophobic or bias-based verbal and physical assaults within our educational institutions.

We achieve this through a number of projects including:

• After school martial arts programs
• Safe And Fair Education (SAFE) initiatives
• Self-defense seminars specifically designed for middle school and high school youth
• Youth Empowerment Programs (YEP)
• Cooperation with Gay Straight Alliance groups and similar entities

6. Tournament Operations & Procedures (TOP)

In meeting our goals to provide quality, educational, safe, equitable, and diversity empowering opportunities for all, Triangle not only support like-minded martial arts organziations with trained officials and support, we have also developed our own Tournament concept and provide assistance and advice in establishing and running tournaments throughout the country.

We can provide the following support to Triangle or freindly clubs interested in our unique tournament format:

• Full documentation on TMAA Tournament Rules and Procedures
• Documentation on "How To Run A Successful Tournament"
• Planning, scheduling, and logistics support and advice
• Provide officials to help conduct your tournaments

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If you prefer, you may still mail your check to our regional or national headquarters, or mail it to our International Headquarters at:

Po Box 111, 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA

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