- 5
- 6,500
Trauma-Informed Coaching Award & ACEs for Martial Arts
The Trauma-Informed Coaching Award & ACEs for Martial Arts equips instructors with the knowledge and strategies to understand trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and their impact on student behaviour, development, and well-being. Through psychology, safeguarding, and coaching practice, this course empowers instructors to create inclusive, safe, and supportive training environments that foster resilience and growth.
What's This Course About?
This advanced course is designed to equip martial arts instructors with a deep understanding of trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and the ways in which childhood development influences behaviour, emotional regulation, and adult trauma responses. The course also explores how to apply trauma-informed principles to coaching, ensuring a safe, inclusive, and supportive training environment for all students.
This course is specifically created with our Charitable Foundation work in mind, especially our Scholarship Programme for children living in poverty, #PunchLikeAGirl for women and girls at risk of violence, and MANTRA for male mental health intervention. However, it has broad application across all clubs and styles, and even further afield in everyday life.
Training You Can Trust
Every BMABA course is delivered under the credibility of BMABA CIC — a nationally recognised, not-for-profit Community Interest Company. As an ISO9001:2015 certified, CPD Accredited, and UKRLP registered provider, we’re committed to raising standards in martial arts through quality, compliance, and genuine social impact.
Course Content
This award can be accessed online. Each lesson or module typically contains specialist text-based content and can also include videography, imagery or other exclusive content.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, participants will:
Understand trauma, how it develops, and its physiological and psychological effects.
Gain knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their long-term impact.
Recognise how childhood trauma shapes the brain and contributes to emotional and behavioural responses in adulthood.
Learn practical strategies to create a trauma-informed coaching environment.
Identify and respond appropriately to students who may be affected by trauma.
Understand safeguarding, mental health support, and referral pathways.
Module 1: Introduction to Trauma & ACEs
Lesson 1: Understanding Trauma – Definition of trauma (acute, chronic, complex), types of trauma, and the role of stress and the nervous system.
Lesson 2: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) & Trauma – Understanding ACEs, their categories, impact on brain development, and key ACEs study findings.
Lesson 3: The Link Between Childhood and Trauma Responses in Adults – How adversity shapes neurological pathways, emotional regulation, and trauma in adulthood.
Module 2: The Physiology & Psychology of Trauma
Lesson 4: Trauma & the Brain – Triune Brain model, amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and impacts on memory, decision-making, and control.
Lesson 5: The Body’s Response to Trauma – Fight, flight, freeze, fawn; cortisol and adrenaline; how trauma is stored in the body.
Lesson 6: Trauma & the Martial Arts Space – Recognising trauma in students, martial arts as trigger or regulator, trauma-sensitive coaching.
Module 3: Trauma-Informed Coaching Strategies
Lesson 7: Core Principles of Trauma-Informed Coaching – Safety, trust, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, cultural awareness.
Lesson 8: Recognising & Responding to Trauma in Students – Identifying behaviours, responding with sensitivity, de-escalation strategies.
Lesson 9: Regulation & Grounding Techniques for Coaching – Self-regulation, breathwork, grounding exercises, martial arts as a regulation tool.
Module 4: Safeguarding & Mental Health in a Martial Arts Setting
Lesson 10: Instructor’s Role in Trauma Support – Professional boundaries, when to support, when to refer.
Lesson 11: Safeguarding & Duty of Care – Trauma-related safeguarding concerns, mandatory reporting, trauma-sensitive policy building.
Lesson 12: Mental Health & Trauma Recovery – Mental health conditions linked to trauma, martial arts for well-being, building resilience.
Module 5: Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices in Martial Arts
Lesson 13: Adjusting Coaching Methods – Student-led approaches, avoiding triggers, balancing structure with sensitivity.
Lesson 14: Language & Communication – Empowering language, body language, encouraging autonomy.
Lesson 15: Policies & Procedures – Embedding trauma-informed practices into club culture, inclusivity, professional development.
ELEVATE YOUR CLUB
Access this course, alongside dozens more. All in one membership.
A Clean, Modern Classroom You Can Access 24/7, When Your Schedule Allows
Our courses are accessible 24/7 via our MyBMABA website or app, so you can login and do what you can, when you can. Your progress is saved, and on completion you’ll be able to instantly access verified certification.
Upskill You & Your Team With Industry Leading Qualifications & Courses
From essentials like coaching qualifications, safeguarding and first aid through to specialist such as SENCO and Trauma informed, through to club management, finance and marketing. Access a growing library of expertly written, award-winning content.
Train Anywhere, Anytime
Our online qualifications and awards can be completed entirely online — whether at home, at your club, or on the move. Access the courses via our website or mobile app, with the option to learn in flexible blocks that fit around your schedule.
Dozens of Specialists Courses. One Low Membership Price.
We don't make our instructors spend a small fortune on a fluffed up course to raise revenue. Instead we invest in expert courses created by some of the best minds in martial arts, and we make them accessible to instructors, assistants and volunteers inclusive with memberships wherever possible.
Completed Courses
Questions & Answers
About Our Courses & Qualifications
All Silver and Gold members receive completely free access to all current and future courses. If you’re a Bronze member, we’ll provide free access to our SENCO, Induction, Level 1 and Level 1 instructor qualifications. We also make a range of qualifications inclusive in assistant and volunteer memberships.
The ambition is to make content and qualifications available at no extra cost. If you opt for our only membership not to include all courses as standard (Bronze) you can access any course on a pay as you go basis for the low fee of typically £9.99.
All of our courses and delivered 100% online. Many include several hours of videography – be it webinars or video lessons, and all also include comprehensive text. There’s no requirement to travel anywhere to conduct courses.
Our ever-growing catalogue of qualifications covers everything from Instructor Qualification to SEN, First aid to Safeguarding, Club Management to Web Design and so much more.
We often work with specialist partners to gain topic-specific knowledge. This could be leading charities or other companies.
The rest of our content is produced in house our team of industry experts. From our dedicated safeguarding team to our own industry insurance experts – we’ll share as much specialist insight as we can with our clubs.
It depends what you mean by recognised. BMABA is a household name in martial arts, and our courses are served not just through BMABA memberships but also via exclusive partner relationships with NGBs given the level of engagement and quality content. We then have other courses recognised by specialist in-sector charities or bodies, and our Club Colours award is recognised by Sport England’s Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA).
We also work to structure courses for CPD approval, have all core qualifications approved by our insurer and to date aren’t aware of any external provider turning down our awards.
We’ve even had our Safer Recruitment Training accepted by OFSTED inspectors!
Led By Industry GIANTS
We regularly bring in experts like our own CEO & Founder, Giovanni (Men’s Health Coach of the Year and Multi-Award Winning Social Entrepreneur) as just one example among many as to how we build qualifications and trainings founded upon credible, industry-leading insights and expertise.
100% Online. 100% At Your Ready.
Long before it ever became acceptable to complete online training (namely during COVID!) we were pioneering making courses and qualifications as accessible to all via our exclusive MyBMABA. Take all of our courses and qualifications with you, and complete them – even on the commute, if needs be.
Take Your Club To The Next Level
It’s not just CPD and qualifications you’ll find with BMABA CIC. It’s dozens of resources, cutting edge technology, a free club website and club management platform, leading governance, and more.
