The Fighting Chance Scholarship Programme
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty - One Student at a Time
Born From Experience. Built for Impact.
The Fighting Chance Scholarship Programme is BMABA’s flagship legacy initiative: a national movement aimed at tackling childhood poverty through the transformative power of martial arts.
For us, this isn’t just a project. It’s personal. Our founder and CEO, Giovanni, grew up in poverty. He knows firsthand the weight of food insecurity, housing stress, and the invisible burden of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). It’s this lived experience that fuels our mission: to ensure no child is excluded from martial arts because of their financial circumstances.
As members of the End Child Poverty Group, we stand with the thousands of organisations fighting to change a sobering reality: 1 in 3 children in parts of the UK are growing up in poverty. It’s a crisis that shapes health, opportunity and identity. Children raised in poverty are significantly more likely to experience poor mental health, physical illness, exclusion from enrichment activities, and long-term disadvantage.
Our own national survey supports this: those who grew up in poverty are disproportionately more likely to report struggles with mental wellbeing, isolation, and lack of access to sport. Yet many also credit martial arts with offering structure, purpose and healing.
That’s where Fighting Chance steps in.
No Child Should Miss Out On Martial Arts Because of Cost
The BMABA Fighting Chance Scholarship Programme exists to ensure that every child, regardless of background, hardship or circumstance, has the opportunity to benefit from the structure, confidence and connection that martial arts can provide.
Through our national network of verified, trauma-informed clubs, we remove the financial barriers by funding equipment, uniforms, insurance and registration, while participating clubs generously waive their training fees. Between us, young people gain life-changing access to mentorship, movement and meaning, at no cost to their families.
HOW IT WORKS
Creating A Pathway From Crisis To Confidence, Through Martial Arts
The BMABA Fighting Chance Scholarship exists to give young people growing up in poverty what martial arts gave our founder: structure, belonging, and a way out. The programme is designed to remove every barrier between a child and the mats, from the cost of a place through to uniforms, equipment and travel, and to walk alongside them all the way to adulthood.
At its heart is the Fighting Chance Pledge. Participating clubs complete our Youth Violence and ACEs training, building a genuine understanding of childhood poverty and its impact, and commit to holding a free place for a young person who couldn’t otherwise afford to train. It’s a promise made club by club, community by community, and it means a child in need is never more than one conversation away from a place to belong. We back every pledged club with the training, materials and safeguarding support to do it properly.
And the pathway doesn’t end at the mats. Scholarship students who grow into leadership are backed all the way: free access to our Assistant Instructor Training Programme as they develop, and fully funded professional licensing and insurance once they turn 18. The next generation of martial arts leaders should come from the communities they serve, carrying forward what the programme gave them.
The scholarship is deliberately built in stages, so that it grows on solid ground. We’re currently rolling out the pledge network nationally, with direct funding of uniforms, equipment, travel and fees scaling as the programme does. Donations and sponsorship accelerate exactly that: every pound takes us closer to a UK where no child misses out on martial arts because of what’s in their parents’ pockets.
Get Involved
If you’re a martial arts club that believes in the power of sport to change lives, we invite you to join BMABA and become part of the Fighting Chance Scholarship Programme. By becoming a verified member, you’ll gain access to the support, tools, and safeguards needed to welcome scholarship students into your club with confidence, helping ensure that no child is excluded from martial arts due to cost.
For individuals, organisations, or funders who share our vision, we’re always grateful for donations or sponsorship that can help us expand the programme, provide more equipment and insurance, and reach even more young people in need.
Every placement is a team effort and with your help, we can continue building a future where martial arts is a force for good in every community.
