Let's Roll
The Welcome Mat
The Welcome Mat was started to help more people access the benefits of martial arts — discipline, confidence, community, character — regardless of their financial situation.
We partner with gyms to sponsor training for those who might not otherwise have the chance to step on the mat.
It's also how a gym shows its community — out loud, not just in a mission statement — that queer folks, women, and people of color are safe and welcome there.
The Welcome Mat exists so money is never what decides who gets a place on the mat. We cover tuition and tournament entry fees and partner with local gyms so that once someone's in the door, they're a teammate, not a guest.
Cost is the most obvious barrier, but it isn't the only one. Martial arts has a long history of not making room for everyone who wanted in: women, queer people, and people of color have had to fight for space on mats that should have been open to them from the start. We're not interested in pretending that history away. Part of what a partner gym signs up for is the harder, less measurable work — making sure someone new actually feels like they belong once they're through the door, not just that they were let in. That commitment is spelled out in our Code of Conduct.
That's the whole model: a gym opens a spot, we cover it, the athlete trains like everyone else. No separate track, no asterisk on the roster.
If you run a gym and want to partner with us, or you know someone who could use a sponsored spot, reach out. If you'd rather fund a spot directly, you can donate below.