Freedom of Study

Section 1 – Membership Members and applicants for membership will not be rejected solely based upon their participation or interest in other martial arts, organizations, or activities, except in the case where those organizations and activities violate the law, or violate any non-discrimination policies HEMAA may adopt.

Section 2 – Standards To the extent that HEMAA develops standards and codes for martial practice, safety, and personal conduct, those standards will not be binding for regular, individual members except at events and within forums that are functions of HEMAA, or when those members reference HEMAA by their words or conduct. Leadership may be required to accept some higher standards as prerequisite to their offices, and clubs may associate in such a way as to accept additional organization standards for their members.

Section 3 – Intellectual Property HEMAA will respect the intellectual property of others and of its members. The Membership Contract will include clauses clarifying that innovations and significant interpretations originated by members, and willingly shared with the Corporation, will be used with proper credit and non-exclusively, without any other concession of rights of authorship.

Section 4 – Secret Knowledge HEMAA will not promote the concept of secret knowledge. While members may keep some interpretations private, the goal should be to publish discoveries once the developers deem them ready.

Section 5 – Certification HEMAA will have a system for certifying instructors in historical martial arts and knowledge. However, HEMAA will not attempt to restrict certified or uncertified instructors from teaching privately or through other organizations. Those doing so are responsible for insuring that any curriculum they use is either their own, in the public domain, or used with permission of the authors. They must also be responsible to avoid any ambiguity where the imprimatur of the Corporation is likely to be assumed.