Sport slides comfortably into a world of physical exclusion very, very easily. Even within Paralympic environments, we can see non-inclusive behaviours.

We're seeing wheelchair users, doing marathons in the sprint, and it is amazing and wonderful. But they're not the same wheelchair user as the man who lives down my road, who can only get out if someone comes to help him.

A lot of people don't have that opportunity, and where are we giving those people those opportunities, and where are we actively looking to involve everyone in everything that we do?

So first, you've got to ask the question, “Are we inclusive?”

Then you've got to say, “We're not inclusive.”

I'm not inclusive enough. I'm probably the most inclusive martial arts school, and I’m definitely nowhere near where I could be. There's a long way to go.

The next is to address your behaviours within that space. Are you using gendered language? Are you prioritising certain groups within that space? Are you making sure that everyone is welcome from that very first moment?

Or are you making an environment which excludes some people?

You’ve got to address your language, you've got to address the language of other people in that space, you've got to know your policy.

If you join my class, I ask your pronouns. I ask if you've got a disabilities. When you come to my class, you know you’re coming into an inclusive space.

[As told to Ragi Gupta — continued]