Coronavirus has had a devastating impact on UK martial arts clubs. Every style, every size, every type.

With a few exceptions to the rule, our team have been devastated to hear of clubs closing under the most upsetting and desperate circumstances right from the ‘get go’ back in April of this year. We’ve seen clubs that have become staple parts of the community ‘go down’ after 30 years of consistent day in and day out teaching. We’ve witnessed entrepreneurs who have built up successful empires loose everything overnight. From not for profit clubs turning away some of society’s most vulnerable because they can’t afford to pay for classes to the commercial clubs having to make their instructors redundant. It has been absolutely shocking in every respect.

We have been calling on the DCMS and Sport England to do more for the indepedent martial arts community since day one. Our constant and consistent demands have been all but ignored. Despite the likes of Gymnastics, Rugby and Polo (among countless other sports) being permitted a return to full contact training, martial arts remains locked into zero-contact classes. This is compounding an already desperate situation.

We have a thorough, comprehensive return to play policy that is comparable to that of Gymnastics ready to go. It ensures the strictest standards whilst laying out a clear path to the safe use of training aids, pads and kicking shields. The guidance goes further to set clear markers for the safe return of contact sparring and grappling, when routine testing becomes more widely available.

On Friday 16th October we have been invited to meet with an MP to voice our concerns on the way indepedent martial arts has been failed. We have the large-scale statistical information as well as the technical arguments around distancing and the safe return to martial arts. What we need more of is solid case studies. We’ve heard so many awful accounts of clubs closing causing considerable community damage because they received no financial support from Sport England or the Government.

This is your chance to share this with us, and have your story heard by Government. We will continue to collect case studies over the coming months to document the damage done to martial arts, and to chart our path to recovery. All case studies submitted before 12:00 noon on 15/10/2020 will be sent onto the initial consultation we have with a sitting MP with a view to making their way straight to the desk of the DCMS.

We are providing additional guidance and support exclusively for our members in MyBMABA. You can join us for free for 6 months if you would like to access our resources and COVID support.