One Of The UK's Leading Providers Of
Martial Arts Instructor Insurance
Affordable And Flexible Martial Arts Instructor Insurance Cover From A Multi-Award Winning Association.Â
Leading Martial Arts Instructor Insurance.
The British Martial Arts & Boxing Association (BMABA) is one of the UK’s leading providers of Martial Arts Instructor Insurance.
We can provide you with access to affordable, flexible cover to include Instructor Public Liability and Professional Indemnity, Personal Accident, Equipment Cover, Abuse Extensions and more.
Cover is available from our leading Group Cover Policy for more than 180 disciplines and styles. From traditional like Karate and Jujitsu through to modern such as MMA and Muay Thai; specialist like Krav Maga, Self Defence and HEMA to popular styles like Taekwondo and Judo – it’s covered. Our instructor insurance is designed to be flexible and affordable, and as a leading association for martial arts, we’ve tailored the policy to fit our instructor’s needs.
Don’t leave one of your most important professional obligations up to an insurer with no knowledge of what’s involved with the instruction of martial arts or an association with no expertise in insurance; we can provide so much more than just martial arts insurance.
Whether it’s just for you, or cover for your club, you’ll find fantastic core cover with value added extras at no extra cost; such as holiday and sickness cover, maternity and paternity, full contact training, and so much more.
Our Martial Arts Instructor Insurance At A Glance;
what makes us different
Why Use Our Association For Your Insurance?
Award Winning. Different.
We’re A Multi-Award Winning, Politics Free, Independent Association. This means no nonsense, no squabbling and no interference; and it’s been that way since 2012.
Not Just Insurance
All insurances are combined with membership, so you’ll enjoy access to leading resources, tools, guidance and features to help you grow your club. This includes courses, qualifications, governance and so much more at no extra cost.
Modern & Professional
Enjoy your membership and insurances online, via phone, desktop or tablet. Access professional support, expert guidance and no egos. A service and provider fit for the modern age.
Your Cover, Your Choice
Our insurances are combined with membership, so you can configure exactly what you need and remove what you don’t, to provide tailored, cost effective cover.
Expert Guidance Available
Whilst we can’t by law give advice on your specific arrangements, we’re experts in understanding the group cover provisions and can give you free, no obligation advice by phone or online.
Stunning Certification
Access stunning PDF insurance and membership documentation, full online portal confirmation and for selected memberships, printed copies to ensure you have everything you need to reassure students.
Price Matched Against MartialGuard*
Despite big national insurers like MartialGuard (Towergate) providing just the insurance, we’ve bench-marked our ‘all-in’ membership and insurance price to be more competitive. Not only do you have access to quality cover underwritten by AXA UK, you’ll benefit from all of the dozens of other benefits of being a member of BMABA, including our Club Management Platform, Grants Programme and expert understanding of running a club.
*Price compared and confirmed correct as of June 2024 and priced at £99.28 for Public Liability only at £5,000,000 exclusive of professional indemnity, abuse cover or any other BMABA membership benefits. This is based on our annual pricing which can be accessed here.
What's Included With BMABA Instructor Insurance?
Our association’s instructor insurance is designed to be as straight forward, flexible and affordable as possible.
Instructor Public Liability (PL) Cover
Public Liability is considered a core martial arts instructor insurance and is available at £5,000,000 or £10,000,000. In a nutshell, it provides cover for your legal liability to pay compensation to third parties for bodily injury and/or damage to property as the result of a negligent act by the Insured arising out of the instruction of martial arts. This is the most typical claim we see - usually from students who are injured whilst under your care as an instructor.
Instructor Professional Indemnity (PI) Cover
This provides cover for claims against an instructor based upon professional advice given – for example, specific guidance that leads to a financial loss, rather than injury arising from supervision of a class. This could also include unintentional infringement of intellectual property rights, loss of documents or data in your trust, unintentional defamation, libel or slander, unintentional breach of confidence, confidential duty or misuse of information or bad advice on websites & social media. £1,000,000 Professional Indemnity (PI) is included free of charge at the association’s cost for all instructors.
Instructor Abuse Cover (IAC)
Abuse extension is a very specialist type of cover, and it’s only available from a very few select insurers. Abuse Extension (AE) provides cover for defence of the named instructor if there is an allegation of abuse made against them. This wouldn’t be covered under usual PL or PI, so provided an additional level of support to the instructor. We provide £500,000 cover free of charge for all instructors.
Products Liability Insurance (PLI)
The generic definition of Products Cover is "a type of insurance coverage that protects businesses from financial losses related to claims of injury or damage caused by the products they manufacture, distribute, or sell. This insurance covers legal costs and any compensation that may be awarded to claimants in the event that a product is found to be defective, harmful, or unsafe, leading to bodily injury, property damage, or other types of loss." For BMABA, this includes the serving of some food and drink, as well as selling or supplying martial arts goods and accessories.
BMABA Premium Membership & Licencing
As the instructor insurance is provided via our group cover policy, this means it must be combined with BMABA membership. This entitles you to a whole treasure-trove of resources, tools, features and assistance without any additional charge. This includes a free club website, template grading certificates, health and safety guidance, business support, networking and community, first aid training, free instructor qualifications and so much more – all included with your insurance!
Optional Extras
Instead of forcing you to take on optional extras, we provide them as exactly that – optional covers you may wish to include with your cover this year.
If you decide not to activate one of these covers today you can add it on at any point throughout the year on a pro-rata basis, so no pressure.
Instructor Personal Accident Insurance (IPA)
Personal Accident (PA) insurances provides cover as per the schedule for any injury arising from a specific event whilst participating in a BMABA club, or as a BMABA instructor where there is no negligence responsible.
This might include, for example, physiotherapy costs or loss of income, upto the benefit amount, if you as an instructor are injured whilst teaching a class.
Contents Cover
This provides cover for contents and equipment. This might be crash mats, focus mitts, specialist self defence equipment or it could cover things like the computers and tables in your gym or reception area.
FREE Club Management Software Exclusively Built By Us, Just For Our Clubs
ClubManager by BMABA is our in-house, professionally developed Club Management solution. It’s free for all of our members and comes with a tonne of essential and groundbreaking features as standard.
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Attendance & Grade Tracking
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Student Records Management
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Class Bookings & Timetables
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Flexible Payments & Memberships
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Grading Certificates Generator
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Licence Slip & Documents Generator
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Customised Branding & Functionality
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Data Freedom & Ownership
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Leads & Prospects Management
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Online Video Training Library
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1to1 Tuition Management & Billing
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Events Management & Ticketing
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Secure Safeguarding Case Management
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Manage Events & Competitions
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Student Portal & Member's Content
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Concussion & RtP Management
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Digital Incident Log Book
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Digital Risk Assessments
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Task Management
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Registrations & Waivers
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Built-In Club Community & Forums
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Manual Invoicing
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Accounting & Budgeting
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Staff Management & Staffroom
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Calendar & Scheduling
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Business Management & Planning
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Easy To Use Parent Accounts
Plus So Much More As Standard So Much More Than Just An Insurance Policy
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Instructor Certification & Licensing
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Student Insurance & Licensing
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Free Instructor Qualifications
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Safeguarding Qualifications
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Enhanced DBS Checks
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First Aid Training
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Free Club Website
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Club Management Support
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Instructor Certification & Licensing
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Logos & Accreditation Marks
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Local & National Networking
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Stock Grading Certificates
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Free Instructor Qualifications
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Template Documents & Forms
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Printing & Design
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Safeguarding Code For Martial Arts
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Best Practice Guidance
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WordPress Hosting
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a.i For Martial Arts
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Event Management Checklists
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Analytics & Tracking Tools
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Budgeting Apps
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Professional Webmail
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Clothing & Uniform
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Cyber Toolkit
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Cash Grants & Funding
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Risk Management Awards
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Concussion & Head Injury
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National Advertising
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Entrepreneur's Support
INDUSTRY FIRST
Our instructor insurance covers the delivery of online lessons – both live broadcast and pre-recorded – as standard.
Whether you’re working with clients remotely or producing online video based content to support an online community, your standard BMABA cover includes this.
INDUSTRY FIRST
We provide completely free temporary instructor cover, to help you manage sickness and holiday cover.
As an association, we provide our clubs with free temporary instructor insurance. This allows instructors to designate stand-in instructors for emergency short term cover (to cover sickness absence etc) as well as pre-planned longer term cover for holidays, maternity and so on. This prevents clubs having to pay for a new annual policy for an instructor who may only be assisting with one or two sessions a year. You can request up to 7 days temporary cover, with longer periods available on discussion, whenever you find yourself short-staffed or unable to make a class. Basic terms apply.
INDUSTRY FIRST
Maternity Cover Package Included As Standard
We know that pregnancy can be a difficult time for many female instructors. For this reason, we provision an industry-first ‘maternity cover’ in which you can pause your instructor insurance and membership for up to 15 months to cover your time away from teaching.
During this time, you’ll remain a member and will continue to have access to our leading resources, community, app and tools. As soon as you’re ready to return to teaching you can simply ‘switch back on’ your remaining cover and membership. For larger clubs, if one of your team should enter maternity leave, you can also assign a stand-in instructor for the remainder of their membership if you don’t want to leave the maternity provision in place.
INDUSTRY FIRST
Paternity Cover Also Inclusive
Dads and life partners should be able to step off the mats for a period after the arrival of a newborn to spend time at home bonding, and supporting Mum. That’s why we now also provide paternity cover as standard.
This allows Father’s and Life Partners up to 6 weeks free of charge membership and insurance extensions to help ensure you’re not out of pocket from the arrival of a newborn (more than you already will be!). Alternatively, we’ll support an 8 week period of temporary membership and insurance if you would prefer to parachute in a relief instructor instead.
INDUSTRY FIRST
Free Cover For Birthday Parties!
We know that more now than ever, clubs are having to be inventive about how to bring funds in. That’s why we’ll endorse Birthday Parties, free of charge.
Provided you’re only providing martial arts orientated games, and there’s no projectiles or inflatables, you can use your BMABA instructor insurance which is provided with membership to cover your delivery of birthday parties.
Abuse Cover As Standard
If you’re falsely or wrongly accused of a safeguarding failure, you’ll often be shocked to find your instructor insurance provides no cover. That’s why we provide £500,000 Abuse Cover as standard, without any extra cost, to help instructors wrongly accused clear their name and defend their club.
INDUSTRY FIRST
Serving Food, Holiday Camps & Products Liability
We’ve worked with our insurer to specifically craft a definition that means our instructors can serve non-cooked food – such as light refreshments, packed lunch boxes, tea and coffee, and so on – all as part of their core cover.
This sits alongside our already existing products liability cover, that provides cover for goods sold or supplied – such as martial arts uniform or equipment.
Flexible Cover Crafted By Martial Arts Experts
In our opinion, too much of the martial arts insurance world is designed by massive global corporations that don’t really understand what martial arts is, or what it’s like to teach. We do. It’s a cliche, we know, but we’re by martial artists, for martial artists. And it shows in our understanding of cover requirements and flexibility to support all club sizes and styles.
For Martial Arts Instructors, Not Shareholders
- Often More Affordable Than Most Standalone Insurers
- Experts In Cover Requirements & Policy Interpretation
- A Specialist Martial Arts Body for Martial Arts Clubs
Clubs Supported
Events Licenced
Instructors
Members
What does your documentation say to parents and students?
We’ve seen some of the documentation provided to clubs by association’s when activating group cover policy and it isn’t always pretty or clear. Our documentation is renowned. Stunning, professional and super-clear.
Disciplines Covered.
We can provide cover for more than 180 disciplines and styles, and this list can be revised with our insurer on request where-ever a genuine discipline or style requires endorsing.
| Aiki JuJitsu |
| Aikido |
| Aiuchi Ju Jitsu |
| Aiwakai Karate Do |
| Ashihara Karate |
| American Kempo |
| Angampora |
| Arnis |
| Atemi |
| Ba Ji Quan and Tai Chi |
| Baguazhang |
| Bajiquan |
| Bajutsu |
| Bando |
| Bartitsu |
| Bataireacht (Irish Stick Fighting) |
| BMABA Approved Disciplines & Styles |
| Bojitsu |
| Bojuka |
| Bojutsu |
| Bokator |
| Bokh (Mongolian Wrestling) |
| Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ) |
| British Combat Judo |
| British Folkstyle Wrestling |
| Budokon |
| Bujinkan Budo |
| Bujinkan Budo Tai Jutsu |
| Bujutsu |
| Bushi Kempo |
| Bushido |
| Butthan |
| Canne de Combat |
| Capoeira |
| Catch Wrestling |
| Ch`uan Fa |
| Ch`uan Shu |
| Chambarra |
| Cheibi Gad-Ga |
| Chi Gong |
| Chinese Kickboxing |
| Choy Li Fut |
| Choi Kwang Do |
| Close Protection Training |
| Close Quarter Combat (CQB) |
| Combat Hapkido |
| Combat Hopak |
| Combat Sambo |
| Conflict Management |
| Coreeda |
| Cuong Nhu |
| Dacayana Eskrima |
| Daido Juku Kudo |
| Daito-ryu |
| Daito-ryu Aiki Jujitsu |
| Dambe |
| Danzan Ryu |
| Drunken Fist (Zui Quan) |
| Dumog |
| Eagle Claw Kung Fu |
| Enshin Kaikan |
| Escrima |
| Fencing |
| Feng Shou |
| Filipino Martial Arts |
| Fitness Orientated Kickboxing |
| Folkstyle Wrestling |
| Freestyle Jujitsu |
| Freestyle Karate |
| Freestyle Karate Jutsu |
| Freestyle Kung Fu |
| Freestyle Kickboxing |
| Freestyle Taekwondo |
| Fu Jow Pai |
| Gatka |
| Glima |
| Goju Kai Karate Do |
| Goju Ryu Karate |
| Gongkwon Yusul |
| Goshin Jutsu |
| Goshin Ryu Kempo Jujitsu |
| Haidong Gumdo |
| Hakuda |
| Han Mu Do |
| Hanbojutsu |
| Hapkido |
| Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) |
| Historical Fencing |
| Hojojitsu |
| Hsing-i |
| Hsing-yi |
| Hung Ga |
| Huyen Langlon |
| Hwa Rang Do |
| Hwarang-do |
| Iaido |
| Iaijutsu |
| Icho-Ryu |
| Iinkai Judo |
| Isshin-Ryu Karate |
| Itto-Ryu |
| Jado Kuin Do |
| Japanese Shotokan Karate |
| Jeet Kune Do |
| Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido |
| Jojutsu |
| Judo |
| Jujitsu |
| Jun Fan Gung Fu |
| Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do |
| Jutsu |
| Kaiai Jitsu |
| Kajukenbo |
| Kalaripayattu |
| Kali |
| Kali Silat |
| KAPAP |
| Karate |
| Karate Jutsu |
| Karate-Do |
| Karate-Jitsu |
| Kaze Arashi Ryu |
| Kempo |
| Kempo Jujitsu |
| Kempo Ryu |
| Ken Fat |
| Kendo |
| Kenjutsu |
| Kenpo |
| Kenshin Karate |
| Keysi |
| Ki Aikido |
| Kick Boxing |
| Ko Budo |
| Kobudo |
| Kokondo |
| Korean Kickboxing |
| Koryu Uchinadi |
| Krabi-Krabong |
| Krav Maga |
| Kuk Sool Won |
| Kumdo |
| Kung Fu |
| Kung Fu To’a |
| Kyokushinkai Karate |
| Kyudo |
| Lathi Khela |
| Lau Gar |
| Lau Gar Kickboxing |
| Lau Gar Kung Fu |
| Lee Style Tai Chi |
| Leopard Kung Fu (Bao Quan) |
| Lerdrit |
| Maarlisk |
| Malla Yuddha |
| Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) |
| Martial Arts Based Fitness |
| Martial Arts Wrestling |
| Military Martial Arts |
| Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) |
| Monkey Kung Fu (Hou Quan) |
| Muay Boran |
| Muay Thai |
| Nearu Martial Art |
| Nihon Goshin Ju Jitsu |
| Ninjitsu |
| Ninpo Taijutsu |
| Ninjutsu |
| Niten Ichi-Ryu |
| North West Chinese Kickboxing |
| Okichitaw |
| Pa Kua |
| Pa Qua |
| Panantukan |
| Pankration |
| Personal Protection |
| Physical Intervention |
| Pradal Serey |
| Qi Kwan Do |
| Qwan Ki Do |
| Quan Fa |
| Reality Based Martial Arts |
| Russian Martial Arts |
| Sanjuro Martial Arts |
| Sankukai Karate |
| Sanshou |
| Sarak |
| Sarit |
| Savate |
| Seiki Juku Karate |
| Self Defence |
| Self Protection |
| Shaolin Kempo Karate |
| Shaolin Kung Fu |
| Shaolin-Tsu Kempo |
| Shintaido |
| Shito-Ryu Karate |
| Shindo Jinen Ryu |
| Shorinji Kempo |
| Shorin-Ryu Karate |
| Shotokan Goju Ryu |
| Shotokan Karate |
| Shuai Chiao |
| Shuai Jiao |
| Shukokai |
| Shukokai Karate |
| Shuri-Ryu |
| Sibpalki |
| Sikaran |
| Silambam |
| Silat |
| Sokudo |
| Soo Bahk Do |
| Sport Boxing (Martial Arts Based) |
| Sport Karate |
| Sport Sambo |
| Ssireum |
| Submission Wrestling |
| Sumai |
| Sumo |
| Sulkido |
| Systema |
| Taekkyeon |
| Taekwondo |
| Tai Chi |
| Tai Chi Chuan |
| Tai Jutsu |
| Taido |
| Taijutsu |
| Tang Soo Do |
| Thai Boxing |
| Thang-ta |
| Tiger Claw Kung Fu (Fu Jow Pai) |
| Tora Kai |
| Traditional Aikido |
| Traditional Italian Martial Arts |
| Traditional Karate |
| Traditional Wado Ryu |
| Unarmed Combat |
| Viet Vo Dao |
| Wado Ryu Karate |
| Wing Chun |
| Wing Chun Kung Fu |
| Wing Tsun |
| World Tang Soo Do |
| Wushu |
| Yoseikan Budo |
| Zen Shin Karate |
Weapons Included
You won’t pay a penny more for including up to nearly 100 training weapons and aids. We can also provide standalone live blade insurance, should you need it for test cutting and demonstrations.
| 3 Section Staff |
| 6″ Staff |
| Bamboo Sword |
| Baton |
| Blunted Metal Sabre |
| Bo |
| Bo Staff |
| Bokken |
| Bow & Arrow** |
| Broadsword (Blunted) |
| Broadsword (Wooden) |
| Butterfly Knives (No Live Blades) |
| Cane |
| Chain |
| Chain Whip |
| Clubs |
| Clubs (Wooden) |
| Cosh (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Dagger (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Dan Bong (Short Sticks) |
| Dummy Weapons |
| Escrima |
| Escrima Sticks |
| Fan |
| Foam Batons |
| Foam Weapons |
| Focus Mitts |
| Guns (Plastic) |
| Habo Staffs |
| Hanbo |
| Iaito (Practice Only) |
| Janbo |
| Jo |
| Jo Staff |
| Jutte/Jitte |
| Kali Sticks |
| Kama (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Katana (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Kendo Shinai |
| Kenpo Sticks |
| Knives (Blunted Metal) |
| Knives (Plastic) |
| Knives (Rubber) |
| Knives (Wooden) |
| Kubotan |
| Kunai (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Leather Whip |
| Naginta (Blunted Blade) |
| Nawa |
| Nunchaku |
| Padded Sticks |
| Padded Weapons |
| Plastic Bottle |
| Plastic Weapons (No Live Blades) |
| Pole |
| Practice Sword (No Live Blades) |
| Qiang |
| Rice Flail |
| Rokushaku Bo (Japanese Staff) |
| Rope |
| Rubber Sticks |
| Rubber Weapons |
| Safety Weapons |
| Sai |
| Shaolin Staff |
| Shields |
| Shinai (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Shoriken |
| Shuko (Demonstration Only) |
| Spear |
| Staff |
| Sticks |
| Swords (Blunted Metal) |
| Swords (Plastic) |
| Swords (Rubber) |
| Swords (Wooden) |
| Tai Chi Sword (Blunted Blade Only) |
| Tambo |
| Tanto |
| Tessen |
| Tiger Fork |
| Togakure Bokken |
| Tonfa |
| Training Knife (No Live Blades) |
| Training Swords (No Live Blades) |
| Training Weapons (No Live Blades) |
| Wing Chun Pole |
| Wooden Shou |
| Wooden Weapons (No Live Blades) |
Led By The Multi-Award Winning Social Entrepreneur & Men's Health Coach Of The Year
We were set up in 2020 by Giovanni Soffietto – a then unknown twenty year old who had grown up in poverty. Armed with just £20 of ‘start up capital’ but a life-time of passion for martial arts, BMABA has today become the multi-award winning organisation renowned for professionalism and for being a major industry disruptor.
meet the team
Powered by our people
niki
Catherine
AIMEE
JOE
KIRSTY
CHRIS
anna
CHRISTINA
JARED
THARSH
CHARISSA
JACK
Club Management Software Included Free
We provide all of our members with free access to Club Manager by BMABA – a completely bespoke club management system for martial arts clubs, built by BMABA, the martial arts experts.Â
From online payments and attendance tracking to belts, gradings, a website and club shop – it’s included as part of the price.
Everything Your Club Will Ever Need To Grow, All Inclusive
From template documents like assumption of risk forms and safeguarding policies, to SEO platforms, AI and Budgeting apps. Safeguarding advice to qualifications, concussion training through to First Aid awards. There’s so much more included at no extra cost with your BMABA membership, served in-conjunction with your instructor insurance.
Constantly rated 5 stars by our members.
Your Documents, Available 24/7
All of your BMABA instructor documentation – insurance, membership, DBS and so on – are available 24/7 via the MyBMABA instructor app, and via the website meaning you’ll never need to worry about forgetting a piece of paperwork again.
Expert Help Is Readily Available
We’re not a small association run from a kitchen table. We have exclusive offices and a dedicated staff alongside a committed voluntary committee. Our policy expert comes from an insurance broking background and is also a lifelong martial artist from both a traditional and modern background – so we can provide assistance understanding the technical aspects of insurance alongside the practical implications for teaching.
Your questions answered
Common questions & answers
Are there any policy requirements?
Like most insurance, there is a few key requirements set by the insurer.
As we vet all applicants to our association, your proof of grade or qualification is verified when you apply. Further to this the insurer will expect you to hold a valid first aid qualification (we can help with this if you don’t have it already) and, if working with adults at risk or children (anyone under the age of 18) you’ll need a safeguarding qualification and an enhanced DBS check.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise – it’s basic stuff. You’ll also need to be following best practice guidance which includes having basic health and safety checks in place like limits on numbers, risk assessments and so on. We can and do provide you with all the guidance you need to ensure you meet the required standard.
There’s also a 28 day grace period on the policy, so you can sign up and get started with us even if you don’t yet have everything in place.
Who underwrites the policy?
Our specialist group cover policy is underwritten by a ‘syndicate’ of different insurers, as the policy provides access to a number of different types of insurance. We (the association) are the policy holder and you are assigned to the policy with membership.
You can read the full policy wording, as well as the exclusions and limitations below and we would strongly recommend that you do. Personal Accident benefit amounts are shown below too.
If there’s anything else you’d like to see or feel is needed to make an informed decision about the policy’s suitability, please get in touch before joining.
I need immediate cover - can you help?
Everybody who joins must present proof of grade before we’ll assign any cover or issue any membership. This is a compulsory regulation that every BMABA instructor has already followed.
We can put you ‘on-risk’ immediately, but you’ll need to be able to move fast in terms of providing us with your proof of grade. You can upload this on the back-end of our system as soon as you’ve applied for membership with insurance.
Please jump onto web chat after applying if you need cover activating immediately.
Can I see the policy wording and conditions?
Absolutely. We’re very open about the policy you’re assuming cover under, for obvious reasons. You can view the policy wording below, along with the full ‘handbook’ article we provide to instructors which breaks down what cover is for, how it works, what conditions are in place and so on.
Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions. We strongly recommend you read all documents fully and ask questions before proceeding with cover if you are at all unclear.
