A qualified Designated Safeguarding Lead you can actually speak to, one to one guidance while a concern is live, liaison with statutory partners where it is needed, and a compliance system that shows you where your club stands before anyone asks.
Almost every instructor gets that moment right in spirit and wrong in process. They reassure when they should record, investigate when they should refer, or sit on it overnight hoping it resolves. What makes the difference is not a thicker policy. It is having trained for it, and having someone experienced to phone while it is still happening.
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is a qualified, full-time member of staff in a UK office, supported by a deputy. If a disclosure lands in your club on a Tuesday evening, you are not filling in a web form and waiting a fortnight. You speak to someone who has handled it before, and who will stay with the case rather than passing you along.
That is the single most important thing we provide, and it is the part clubs almost never think to ask about until the night they need it.
Our DSL qualification is examined rather than simply completed, and it is available to your own lead instructor too.
Most clubs have never had to do this, which is exactly why the process needs to be clear before it is needed. We do not hand you a policy and wish you luck.
Phone, email or through the safeguarding reporting tool. You do not need the full picture, the right terminology or a decision already made. Half of what we do at this stage is help an instructor work out what they are actually worried about.
Our team applies recognised safeguarding thresholds rather than instinct, and tells you plainly whether this is a club matter, a referral, or something requiring immediate action. The reasoning is explained, not just the conclusion.
Where a referral is warranted, we work alongside the local authority designated officer, children’s social care or the police, and we can make or support that referral directly. You are not left trying to explain martial arts training to a duty social worker on your own.
Suspensions, membership and licensing implications, communications with parents, insurer notification and record keeping. Getting the aftermath wrong causes almost as much damage as getting the concern wrong.
Every case is documented under our ISO 27001:2022 certified information security controls, with defined retention. If anyone ever asks what your club did and when, the answer exists in writing.
Anyone can report a BMABA club or instructor to us, and we investigate. Membership can be suspended or withdrawn, and we notify the relevant authorities where the threshold is met. A governing body that never removes anyone is not governing.
The hardest part of safeguarding for a busy club is not caring about it. It is knowing, on any given evening, whether every single person on your mat is currently vetted, trained and insured. Most clubs genuinely cannot answer that question quickly, and the gaps are almost always accidental.
RegulationReady checks your club continuously against your own live data and puts the answer on one screen. Who is missing a DBS. Whose safeguarding certificate lapses next month. Which assistant has never completed their induction. Where you meet the standard, the mark issues automatically.
Most of the sector treats trauma-informed coaching as an advanced module for specialists. We think that is the wrong way round. In a martial arts club the trauma response arrives whether or not anyone in the room has been trained to recognise it, usually presenting as the child who will not partner up, the one who flinches, or the one who is labelled disruptive and quietly stops attending.
Our position is that this belongs in mainstream instructor development, not in a specialism. It is why we built two full levels rather than a single awareness session, why Level 1 reaches assistant instructors as standard, and why we teach it against the specific conditions of a dojo rather than adapting material written for a classroom.
Ours is a setting built on physical contact, adrenaline, authority and loud noise. For a child carrying adverse childhood experiences, that is a room full of triggers, and the behaviour it produces is very easily mistaken for defiance. Two levels, both written for this environment rather than adapted from generic sport.
What adverse childhood experiences do to a developing nervous system, how that presents in a class, and why the standard instructional response often makes it worse. The single most useful course we run for changing how a coach reads a room.
Silver & Gold, plus assistant instructors
Moving from awareness to embedded practice: session structure, language, physical contact, discipline and grading, all reconsidered so the club works for a child who arrives already dysregulated.
Included with Silver & GoldAn instructor who lets a concussed twelve year old carry on sparring has not made a medical error. They have failed to protect a child. Framing it that way changes who is responsible, how seriously it is taken, and where it sits in a club’s structure.
So CHIMA is not filed under injuries. It sits alongside safeguarding, it is free at affiliate level in exactly the way SEND Level 1 is, and the tooling that supports it lives in the same place as your safeguarding reporting. Head injuries are recorded, graduated return to play is tracked against the individual student, and the record persists rather than living in someone’s memory of last Tuesday.
Our Concussion Approach
All CPD accredited, all written for martial arts, all delivered and certificated through MyBMABA. Coaching courses never expire. Most other awards refresh on a two-year cycle so your knowledge stays current.
Course access sits with the person, not the club, so your assistants and volunteers hold their own qualifications in their own names. Everything appears automatically in MyBMABA. There are no access codes and no redemption step.
“Organisations such as the British Martial Arts and Boxing Association support unaffiliated martial arts providers to adopt the safeguarding code… Providers with recognition under the code can display a logo on their promotional materials to show participants that their safety measures have been vetted.”
BMABA CIC has been recognised at the highest levels of Government for our commitment to safeguarding in martial arts. During a House of Commons debate on combat sport safety, the Minister for Sport, Stephanie Peacock MP, highlighted the British Martial Arts & Boxing Association by name for our work in supporting independent and unaffiliated clubs to adopt the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts. This direct mention in Parliament demonstrates that our efforts to raise standards and protect participants are shaping the national conversation on safety in combat sports.
Following that debate, the Minister for Sport wrote formally to commend BMABA’s work, praising our role in raising safeguarding standards across the independent martial arts sector. She described our contribution as “extremely useful” to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s ongoing policy development, and thanked us for our ongoing efforts to make martial arts safer for children. This recognition reflects the trust placed in BMABA to help Government address urgent safeguarding challenges highlighted by recent tragedies within combat sports.
For our members and the wider martial arts community, this recognition underlines BMABA’s credibility as a leading voice for independent martial arts in the UK. It demonstrates that our grassroots-driven mission, to promote safe, inclusive, and properly governed martial arts for all, is influencing national policy and gaining ministerial support. Being referenced in Parliament and commended in writing by the Minister for Sport reinforces that BMABA is not just a governing body, but a sector-shaping organisation working to protect participants and secure the future of martial arts.
“I appreciate your ongoing efforts to make martial arts safer for children.”
Well I was with another organisation for 4 years and came across these guys. They have great vetting, were really helpful at every stage of my application, the actual app is amazing with training opportunities for members, also student membership. All round 10 out of 10.Facebook recommendation
Been a member for a number of years and they go above and beyond to support their members. Everything from safeguarding and legalities to certified courses, websites, club manager software, just to name a few of the benefits.Google review
A huge resource of helpful information and support for those setting up or running a martial arts club. Well put together coaching courses and great safeguarding advice and policies. Really pleased to have access to this exemplary organisation to help me with my new kickboxing club.Google review
Simply amazing. BMABA are more than just a governing body for martial arts, they are a team of incredible people, always willing to go the extra mile to make sure you feel supported. Incredible customer service, amazing response time, and an honour to be governed by.Google review
Previously searched for similar organisations but after speaking to Giovanni over the phone I knew that BMABA was the right one for me. He was very informative, patient and had a lot of time to answer any questions. Extremely reassuring and helpful. Their website and documentation are also very professional and high quality.Google review
Having been a part of BMABA for a short while, I can say that already they have been far more helpful than any other association I have been involved in. After 10 years of martial arts, I hope to continue instructing under BMABA for many years.Google review
Great people to work with.Facebook recommendation
Having left my previous association in November, and being very daunted by the prospect of being responsible for all my own compliance and everything else I can honestly say BMABA have made the whole thing possible and even pleasant. The training resources are great, it's been fantastic for me to be able to quickly up skill my team, the insurance is really easy to sort out, the team are super friendly and helpful, the perks on Gold membership are also fantastic.Member review
I have been a customer of BMABA for two years now, and I am extremely impressed with their services. First and foremost, the customer service provided by BMABA is exceptional. Their team is responsive, professional, and genuinely dedicated to ensuring that our needs are met. Whenever we had a query or require assistance, they responded rapidly and effectively.Member review
Found these guys in Martial Arts Illustrated doing a piece on professionalism in martial arts and thought, as an instructor, they might be worth looking at further. Really impressed from the moment I hit their website through to now, 3 months on as a member. Great staff, Giovanni is rediculously knowledgable and our club is now growing under the banner of what has got to be the best martial arts org in the UK.Member review
The BMABA are unlike any other org I've come across in this industry. Their honest, professional, politics free and most importantly, they know what they're doing. Website is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest, insurance is comprehensive and their overall customer service is just unlike anything else I've had in 25 years of martial arts. Amazing through and through. Would definitely recommend.Member review
I joined the BMABA right in its infancy (I believe I was their second member!). Giovanni is the most helpful, respectful and genuine person who has turned the possibility of a non-political, highly respected and supportive Martial Arts Association into a reality. I could bang on for hours about the BMABA but don't take my word for it – go and visit the BMABA website and see for yourself.Member review
As we all know 2020 has been the year from hell for martial arts. One thing that has come out of that is BMABA have done everything in their power to keep clubs like mine up to date with what's happening and tried to push the government to notice us. Couldn't wish for a better association to be a part of. Once again big THANK YOU to you guys for all the help. 💙🐺👊Member review
As i'm heading into the brave world of starting up my own small self defence club in our village, i can say with complete honesty and satisfaction that BMABA have been the most supportive and upfront association i have come across. i have seen and had first hand experience with the Mcdojo's offering you the greatest adventures of a life time. but these guys are the real deal… i hold my head high, and say with great pride "i am a BMABA member"Facebook
As someone with 22 years of experience in martial arts, who saw enough big egos and leaders who only look after their own benefits… I am highly IMPRESSED by the BMABA. I wanted to make sure they don't just promise the world but actually deliver. They support us all the way and constantly look for new ways of making our whole industry better for ALL of us. THANK YOU!!Facebook
Always quick to respond and thoughtful. Great service delivered at a very reasonable price and very supportive of the community. Been a member for a couple of years now and recommend highlyMember review
Simply the best organisation I have ever worked with. Everything is so stress free and I am definitely sticking with them for the rest of my career.Facebook
Join free, take the safeguarding training, and put our team to the test with a question you have been sitting on. That is a considerably better measure of an association than anything we could write on this page.
A regulated, multi-award winning not-for-profit, certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022 under UKAS accreditation, and built from the ground up since 2012.
Underwritten by AXA XL Insurance Company UK Limited, accessed through our FCA-authorised broker.
CPD Built To National StandardsBMABA CIC is a CIMSPA Training Provider Partner. Our courses are developed in line with CIMSPA professional standards, with programmes submitted for formal endorsement and confirmed course by course as approvals are granted.Explore The Course Library →Award winning, completely free, with no per-student fees. Not now, not ever.
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