Safeguarding isn’t a module.
It’s the mission.
Expert-led safeguarding training built specifically for martial arts, from foundational qualifications for every instructor to advanced Designated Safeguarding Lead training, delivered digitally, mapped to CIMSPA professional standards, and woven into everything we govern.
Upskilling A Whole Sector, One Instructor At A Time
Our mission is simple and unapologetically ambitious: to make independent martial arts the safest place in UK sport for a child to train. That means safeguarding training that’s genuinely built for the mats, not repurposed from classrooms, and it means making that training accessible to every instructor, assistant and volunteer in the country. Safeguarding qualifications sit at the heart of Club Colours and RegulationReady, they underpin our recognition under the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts, and they’re the reason the Minister for Sport commended our work protecting children in martial arts. Two courses carry that mission: one for everyone, and one for the person who leads it.
Foundational, For Everyone
Child Safeguarding In Martial Arts
The foundational safeguarding qualification for instructors, assistants and volunteers, teaching you to recognise abuse, read the signs, respond to concerns properly, and build a culture where safeguarding is second nature on the mats.
What You’ll Study
- Introduction
- What Safeguarding Is and Why It Matters
- The Safeguarding Landscape
- The DSL and You
- Types of Abuse
- Signs, Indicators, and Behaviours
- Contextual Safeguarding
- What to Do When a Concern Arises
- Safe Practice in the Dojo
- Creating a Safeguarding Culture
- Final Examination
Advanced, For Your Lead
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) In Martial Arts
Advanced training for the person who carries safeguarding responsibility in your club, covering the statutory framework, the full referral process, adults at risk under the Care Act 2014, safer recruitment, and leading through disclosures and crisis.
What You’ll Study
- Introduction to the DSL Award
- What the DSL Role Means
- The Legislative and Statutory Framework
- BMABA’s Safeguarding Governance
- Child Abuse in Depth, DSL-Level Understanding
- Receiving, Recording, and Referring: The Full Referral Process
- Managing Concerns About Adults in the Club
- Who Is an Adult at Risk: The Care Act 2014 Framework
- Types of Abuse Affecting Adults at Risk
- Adult Safeguarding Referrals and Making Safeguarding Personal
- Building a Safeguarding Culture: Safer Recruitment, DBS, and Club Policy
- Responding to Disclosures and Crisis Situations
- Continuous Improvement and Staying Current
- Final Examination
The Credibility Behind The Certificate
The Backbone Of Club Colours, Recognised With Sport England
These qualifications aren’t standalone courses: they’re the safeguarding backbone of our Club Colours award, the accreditation formally approved under the Sport England-funded Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts, which places BMABA on Sport England’s own safeguarding pages. Train here and your learning feeds directly into nationally recognised club accreditation. Better still, most of our workforce receive this training free with their membership: see exactly what’s included for each membership and role in our handbook.
Immersive Learning, Built With Cutting-Edge Technology
Safeguarding training only protects children if it actually sticks. That’s why our courses run on our own digital learning platform with cutting-edge technology throughout: AI-assisted tutoring support for every learner, accessibility tools built in as standard, scenario-led content written specifically for the mats, integrated assessment, and instant digital certification the moment you pass. It’s designed as an immersive transfer of knowledge you’ll use on a Tuesday night in a village hall, not a compliance chore to click through.
- AI-assisted tutoring & accessibility support
- Scenario-led, martial arts-specific content
- Study anywhere, on any device, at your pace
Your Free CRM Puts Safeguarding Into Practice
Knowledge needs infrastructure, so our free Club Management Platform brings your safeguarding data together in one place. Free, secure safeguarding reporting tools let you log concerns properly the moment they arise, flags surface safeguarding considerations right across your register, and complete student records, from medical notes to consents and next of kin, sit alongside a digital incident book and risk assessment tools. Training tells you what to do; the platform makes it easy to actually do it.
- Secure safeguarding reporting, built in and free
- Flags across your whole student register
- Incident logging, risk assessment & complete records
Practical Ways We Can Help Your Club With Safeguarding
Train Your Whole Team
Foundational safeguarding for every instructor, assistant and volunteer, with the advanced DSL award for the person who leads it.
Appoint & Support Your DSL
Your Designated Safeguarding Lead is tracked on the RegulationReady leadership register, with guidance and our expert team behind them.
Adopt Ready-Made Frameworks
Seventeen managed policies, model documents and templates, maintained centrally so your club is never working from stale paperwork.
Report, Respond & Get Backed Up
Secure reporting tools, a digital incident book, and a professional safeguarding team on hand when something genuinely difficult happens.
Training That Doesn’t Stop At The Certificate
Most providers hand you a PDF and wish you luck. Here, your safeguarding qualification plugs into a living national system.
Verified On The Register
Your qualification joins your live, publicly verifiable record, and your DSL is tracked on the RegulationReady leadership register.
Counts Toward Club Colours
Safeguarding training is a pillar of the Club Colours award and your route to recognition under the Sport England-funded Safeguarding Code.
Backed By Real Frameworks
Seventeen managed policies, model documents, reporting tools and expert guidance stand behind what you learn, so training becomes practice.
Ministerial Commendation And Parliamentary Recognition
“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.”
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ISO 9001:2015 Certified
The world's most recognised quality management standard. Our processes, governance and conduct are independently audited every year under UKAS accreditation, the same benchmark used for hospitals, universities, and major corporations.
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ISO 27001:2022 Certified
The international standard for information security, held alongside ISO 9001 as a UK martial arts first. Your club's data, your members' details and our digital infrastructure sit inside an independently audited security management system.
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Regulated Community Interest Company
We're overseen by the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies, with a legal asset lock that means our income must serve our community purpose forever. Not-for-profit as a legal structure, not a slogan.
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Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts
The Sport England-approved national safeguarding standard. We hold organisational certification and are the only independent martial arts body authorised to issue SCiMA certification to clubs in-house, through our free Club Colours programme.
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CIMSPA Training Provider Partner
Recognised by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity. Our CPD and qualifications are developed to CIMSPA's national professional standards, with programmes submitted for formal endorsement, confirmed course by course.
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Cyber Essentials Certified
A UK Government-backed scheme confirming we hold essential security controls to protect our systems, data, and users from common cyber threats. A key mark of trust when handling sensitive safeguarding and membership data.
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Certified Social Enterprise
Independently certified by Social Enterprise UK as a genuine business for good. Our income is reinvested into grassroots martial arts, youth projects, and instructor support, not shareholders or private interests.
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UK Register of Learning Providers
A recognised organisation on the UK Government's official Register of Learning Providers (UKRLP), affirming our legitimacy as an education and training provider able to work credibly with funding bodies, employers, and public agencies.
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Registered With The ICO
Legally registered under UK data protection law, meeting our obligations under the Data Protection Act and UK GDPR. Together with ISO 27001, it protects the personal data of every member, club, and partner we work with.
Multi-Award Winning & Nationally Recognised
What Do Our Members Say?
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Matthew Johnson Can't Rate Them Highly EnoughHaving 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.
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John Tomsett Outstanding Club Association and Insurance ProviderI 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.
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Georgina E Really impressive, 21st century MA organisation. 10/10Found 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.
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Michael Willington Definately recommended. Unbelievable Association.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.
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Jonathan D BMABA – the Martial Arts Association you NEEDI 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.
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Fabian Burdett 2020 This team deserves a MedalAs 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. 💙🐺👊
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Matthew Robert Cooling-Stones These guys are the real dealAs 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"
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Anna Martensson Highly IMPRESSED by the BMABAAs 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!!
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Adrian Jackson Always quick to respond and thoughtfulAlways 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 highly
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Daniel Leaver Simply the best organisation I have ever worked withSimply 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.
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Train The Standard. Lead The Standard.
Safeguarding training built for martial arts, feeding a live national framework, and included free for most of our workforce through membership. Start with Child Safeguarding, appoint your DSL, and raise the bar for every student you teach.
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