BMABA Club Colours
The Gold-Standard in Martial Arts Governance, Safeguarding & Community Trust
Recognised
What is BMABA Club Colours?
Club Colours is the UK’s most rigorous, fully audited accreditation for martial arts clubs, created to set a clear, gold-standard benchmark for safeguarding, governance, and professional conduct. As a not-for-profit, independently regulated body holding ISO 9001:2015 UKAS certification, BMABA developed Club Colours over more than a year of consultation, testing, and refinement. In September 2025, the framework was revised further to directly align with the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA) — a scheme funded and supported by Sport England. This alignment allows BMABA to directly issue SCiMA certification and pass marks from within the MyBMABA instructor hub, seamlessly embedded into our Regulation Ready programme and supported by our leading digital infrastructure.
This makes BMABA uniquely placed in the martial arts sector. There is no other independent martial arts association, and only one Sport England-recognised NGB, able to award SCiMA standards automatically — and BMABA is the only organisation capable of doing so at scale through integrated technology. Clubs achieving Club Colours don’t just gain a badge; they unlock automatic recognition under SCiMA, alongside the credibility of a system built on governance excellence, digital verification, and public transparency.
Multi-Award Winning & Nationally Recognised
Why Club Colours Matters
If your club is committed to operating with integrity, safety, and professional excellence—Club Colours is your mark of distinction. Recognised by Sport England’s Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts and built on ISO-certified governance, and granted by a trusted not-for-profit association, it’s the standard by which martial arts clubs should be judged.
Built on Audit-Proven Quality
Club Colours sits atop BMABA’s ISO 9001:2015-certified structure—ensuring every part of your club’s governance is transparent, repeatable, and independently verified
Live Verification Registry
Your instructor credentials, safeguarding checks, and licence status are instantly viewable via a live, public-facing register—instilling confidence in parents, schools, and partners.
Credibility and Visibility
Earn a visible “School of Excellence” certification, SCiMA logo access, and public recognition that positions your club above unregulated or less-complete offerings.
Instant SCiMA Accreditation
Designed in collaboration with Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts and the safeguarding sector, Club Colours automatically qualifies your club for the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts—no separate application necessary.
Free Club Colours Qualification
Your lead instructor earns a no-cost qualification spanning safeguarding, club operations, documentation, and marketing tools—packaged with essential templates to streamline the process.
Access to Elite Benefits
Enjoy exclusive discounts on insurance, enroll in funded programs via Fighting Chance Foundation, and tap into resources reserved for top-tier BMABA clubs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who endorses Club Colours?
How much does it cost to apply for Club Colours?
Who can apply for Club Colours?
What does the accreditation process involve?
How does the Club Colours system make compliance easier?
How does Club Colours link to SCiMA (Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts)?
What is the role of Regulation Ready in Club Colours?
Is Club Colours recognised outside of BMABA?
What are the benefits for my club?
What's Involved?
Club Colours is an ongoing accreditation process, awarded only once a club has been fully vetted against our gold-standard safeguarding and governance checks. Open to all styles and clubs of every size, it provides a clear pathway to recognition and trust.
What Club Colours Unlocks for Your Club 🚀
Automatic SCiMA Award
Achieving Club Colours gives your club automatic certification under the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA) — Sport England’s answer to safeguarding across the martial arts sector. No extra forms, no repeat process — just one streamlined pathway to nationally recognised safeguarding status.
Digital Compliance Suite
Your club’s governance, safeguarding and compliance are backed by a cutting-edge digital dashboard. Instantly download pass marks, safeguarding certificates, Club Colours badges, and accreditation documents — all in one place, always up to date.
National Club Finder Listing
With Club Colours, your club appears on the SCiMA national club finder — the official public map parents and schools use to check if a martial arts club meets safeguarding standards. It’s a visible sign of trust that places your club alongside NGB-affiliated providers.
Approved by the Safeguarding Code. Commended by Government.
Our Club Colours standard, built upon the Regulation Ready framework, is formally approved by the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA). By direct extension, this places BMABA on Sport England’s own safeguarding pages, which publicly reference our Club Colours programme as meeting the Code’s requirements.
This recognition affirms that BMABA clubs adhering to Club Colours are operating at the highest safeguarding standards expected across the martial arts sector. Further to this, we’ve also received acknowledgment from Government.
In August 2025, the Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth, Stephanie Peacock MP, wrote directly to BMABA to commend the “hard work that is taking place” to ensure safeguarding standards and procedures are met across the independent martial arts sector. She described BMABA’s role in “ensuring strong standards are met” as “extremely useful” to DCMS as they consider improvements across martial arts safety.
Together, these public and parliamentary endorsements demonstrate not only that our safeguarding frameworks meet national standards, but that BMABA is actively helping to shape the future of safe practice across the wider sector. BMABA are also ISO9001:2015 UKAS accredited via the British Assessment Bureau and audited, and our CC Framework is a core part of the Quality Management Standard.
The Cutting Edge of Club Governance & Safeguarding
See the live Club Colours system in action — a fully digital, automated platform that makes governance simple, safeguarding transparent, and compliance effortless for every club.
Suitability Vetting
Our Club Colours system goes beyond simple checks. It provides nuanced suitability vetting, clearly showing whether each instructor, assistant, or volunteer is eligible to work with children, at-risk adults, or adults only. The dynamic dashboard makes it easy to see who’s cleared, who needs action, and where your safeguarding responsibilities lie — all in real time.
Verification & Regulation Ready
At the heart of Club Colours is our Regulation Ready framework — the most advanced governance model in martial arts. Every qualification, DBS, safeguarding certificate, and policy is verified and logged, giving you a transparent compliance record backed by ISO 9001:2015 assurance. This isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about ensuring your club is always audit-ready, always trusted, and always ahead of national expectations.
Safeguarding Code & Club Colours
Already certified under the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA)? Our system is designed to work seamlessly with existing recognition. You’ll remain fully listed and validated while you bring your governance up to the gold-standard framework set by BMABA.
Once your Club Colours accreditation is live, your SCiMA certification is automatically merged into the BMABA standard — giving your club a single, unified accreditation that combines the national credibility of SCiMA with the enhanced governance and compliance of Club Colours.
This ensures your safeguarding recognition is never interrupted, while providing you with a transparent, ISO 9001:2015-backed governance record that goes further than any other scheme in martial arts.
Join Club Colours Today
Enrolling in Club Colours is completely free for all BMABA members — even affiliate memberships. There are no hidden costs, no extra applications, and no barriers. Just a clear, supportive pathway to the UK’s gold-standard safeguarding and governance accreditation.
Why Club Colours?
BMABA CIC exists to level the playing field. Too often, independent martial arts clubs have been left behind when it comes to governance, safeguarding, and recognition.
Large, well-funded national governing bodies have dominated the landscape, but their reach doesn’t extend to the thousands of grassroots clubs working tirelessly in communities across the country. We believe those clubs deserve the same credibility, protection, and opportunity.
That’s why we built Club Colours. We’ve had no external funding to make it happen. Every aspect of the framework — from the technology powering it, to the governance standards underpinning it — has been built in-house, self-funded, and delivered at no extra cost to our members. Even affiliate members, who join for free, can access the same gold-standard accreditation. Because for us, safeguarding and governance are not optional extras — they’re the foundation of a safe and trusted sport.
As a not-for-profit, our focus is not on revenue or prestige, but on raising standards for everyone. Club Colours is our way of ensuring independent clubs can show the same — or higher — levels of accountability as any Sport England-recognised NGB. It’s about giving parents confidence, giving instructors clarity, and giving grassroots martial arts the recognition it deserves.
A Commitment That Can’t Be Undone
In March 2025, we voluntarily converted from private ownership to a Community Interest Company (CIC) — permanently locking in more than £1.6 million in assets for the sole benefit of our community. That means every resource, every innovation, and every penny of value we create is safeguarded for the sector we serve — not shareholders or executives.
From a £20 Start-Up to a Nationally Recognised Powerhouse — Built From Scratch, Driven By Purpose, that's BMABA CIC.
We’re not here because of government grants, NGB status, or Sport England funding — we’re here because thousands of instructors and clubs believed in a better way. BMABA CIC is entirely independent, self-funded, and not-for-profit. We’ve never taken shortcuts or silver spoons — but we’ve earned recognition at the highest levels of UK sport, including Sport England, DCMS, and national media, purely on merit. Every pound we generate — more than £2,100,000 to date — is reinvested directly into the UK martial arts community.
No gimmicks. No politics. No hidden shareholders.
We’ve built one of the UK’s most trusted martial arts ecosystems from the ground up. That means a comprehensive, style-agnostic governance system. Sector-leading vetting, safeguarding and compliance. Affordable insurance. Free club management software. Dozens of tools, licences, guidance and expert support — all included, all in one place.
We didn’t inherit a legacy. We forged one.
Whether you’re stepping out for the first time or have always been proudly independent, this is your home. To high places by narrow roads isn’t just a slogan — it’s how we got here.
CLUB MANAGEMENT & BILLING
A completely free, easy-to-use club management system that makes running your club simple.
ClubManager by BMABA is our comprehensive, all-in-one club management platform — built exclusively for our members and completely free to use. It handles everything from student records, grading, billing, and attendance through to safeguarding, compliance, finances, budgeting, communications, and so much more — all under one simple, intuitive system.
