{"id":2920,"date":"2019-08-10T18:38:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T18:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bmaba.org.uk\/clubs\/?page_id=2920"},"modified":"2026-08-05T20:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:09:09","slug":"martial-arts-professional-guidance-regulation-best-practice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bmaba.org.uk\/clubs\/uk-martial-arts-association-governing-body-instructor-membership\/martial-arts-professional-guidance-regulation-best-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Martial Arts Professional Guidance, Regulation & Best Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tProfessional Guidance, Regulation & Best Practice<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

An unregulated sector.
A regulated association.<\/em><\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

UK martial arts has no statutory regulator: anyone can open a club tomorrow. That’s exactly why we built one of the most rigorously governed membership bodies in British sport, and why we hold ourselves to standards long before we ask them of anyone else.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoin The Standard<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow it works →<\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/header>\n\n\t\t\t
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Regulation Nobody Required. Standards Everybody Benefits From.<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t

The absence of a statutory regulator doesn’t mean the absence of responsibility: it means responsibility falls to whoever is willing to carry it. For more than a decade we’ve carried it voluntarily, building the governance, safeguarding frameworks, examination standards and professional guidance that a properly regulated sector would demand, and submitting ourselves to the external audits that prove it’s real. Parents, schools, venues and insurers can’t rely on the law to distinguish a professional club from a liability. They can rely on this.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tFirst, Ourselves<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t

How We Regulate Our Own House<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t
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01<\/span>

Independently Audited, Twice Over<\/h3>

Our management systems are certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022 under UKAS accreditation, externally audited, with more than one hundred controlled documents governing how we operate day to day.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

02<\/span>

A Locked Not-For-Profit<\/h3>

As a Community Interest Company our assets are legally locked to the mission. There are no shareholders to please and no incentive to lower a standard for revenue, ever.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

03<\/span>

Professional Financial Conduct<\/h3>

Insurance is arranged through FCA-regulated channels with an A-rated insurer, and our own operations run to the documented, traceable standards our auditors inspect.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

04<\/span>

Accountable In Public<\/h3>

Our policies live openly in our handbook, our safeguarding record is engaged with by government, and the Minister for Sport has commended our work in writing. Scrutiny is the point.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/section>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tThen, The Sector<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t

The Frameworks We Give Every Club<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t
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Membership brings the full regulatory architecture: RegulationReady, the live governance framework verifying safeguarding, vetting, insurance and leadership across every role in your club; NGIES, our National Grading Integrity & Examination Standards protecting the worth of every grade; and Club Colours, the accreditation recognised under the Sport England-funded Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Behind those sit seventeen managed policies, the national safeguarding operation and its professional casework, the workforce registers, the CPD and qualification pathways mapped to CIMSPA professional standards, and insurance minimums that make basic protection non-negotiable. Together they do for our members what statute never has: define what good looks like, and verify it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/section>\n\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tBest Practice, Published Openly<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Handbook: Our Standards, In The Open<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t

We don’t keep our standards behind a login. The BMABA handbook publishes our policies, frameworks, guidance articles and best-practice resources openly, from safeguarding and grading integrity to vetting, insurance and club operations, so members can implement with confidence and anyone can hold us to what we’ve written. It’s the sector’s most comprehensive professional reference, and it’s free to read.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tExplore The Handbook<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tThe National Conversation<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t

Where The Sector’s Standards Are Being Written<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t
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The future of martial arts regulation is being shaped now, and independent clubs deserve a voice in it. We’re in active engagement with DCMS and Sport England on event safety, safeguarding and the direction of workforce registration, we hold a seat on the Martial Arts Safeguarding Group, and we work with CIMSPA on professional standards for the independent workforce.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Every club that joins strengthens that voice. When we argue that independent martial arts can regulate itself to a standard worth recognising, our evidence is you: thousands of clubs, verifiably governed, choosing standards nobody forced on them.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tAdd Your Club To The Evidence<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/section>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\tA Voice For Independent Martial Arts<\/span>\n\t\t\t

Ministerial Commendation And Parliamentary Recognition<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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“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.”<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t
Stephanie Peacock MP, House of Commons Debate on Combat Sport Safety<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t
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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.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

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.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

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.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t