Membership Rules

Lions Martial Arts Foundation (LMAF)

1. The mission of the LMAF is to enable member schools to create a family friendly, injury free environment where people can learn practical martial arts skills while bettering themselves in mind, body, and spirit.
   
   
2. Curriculums of member schools of the LMAF must choose to have either a sports/competition focus in the curriculum, or a self-defense focus.  They cannot have both, as these are opposites, and a school that claims to have a single curriculum that does both will be deemed by the LMAF as not mature enough to understand the differences, and therefore not qualified for membership in the LMAF.
   
   
3. Member schools must emphasize little to no risk of injury in their programs.  We will not tolerate competitions where the participants are actively trying to hurt each other.
   
   
4. The formal uniform of any LMAF school is the classic black karate uniform.  An informal uniform is a black t-shirt and black pants that are either stretchy or gusseted to allow wide range of motion.   No additional patches, advertising, or writing can be on either the formal or the informal uniform unless it advertises or promotes DCCS/LDCJC activities, values, or organizations.   Any LMAF school must be willing to accept any uniform that complies with these bylaw requirements.  
   
   
5. Belt awards for students of LMAF schools must be based on that school's judgement of Attitude, Behavior, Responsibility, Commitment, and Skill of the student, rather than the length of time the student has held that belt rank.

   
   
6. LMAF schools must not charge for belt tests.  The LMAF would like belt ranks to be transferrable between LMAF schools, but since that requirement is not practical, we believe the best way to approximate it is if schools do not charge for belt tests.  This should result in the transferring student more rapidly finding or migrating to their qualified rank in the LMAF school they are transferring to.