The UK's Leading Independent Martial Arts Association 

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National Martial Arts Register

Search for an instructor by first name or surname.

Verify an Instructor

Search by name to check membership status and qualifications

ISO 9001:2015 UKAS Accredited
Sector Leaders Safeguarding in Martial Arts
Trusted National Body For Professional Instructors
Finding the right instructor?

Always do your own due diligence. Ask instructors about their teaching background and safeguarding procedures. We can help you understand what to look for and ask the right questions.

Read our Parents' Guide to Safeguarding

Suitability Vetting - What Does It Mean?

Martial arts in the UK is not a regulated industry. Instructors and clubs self-declare their teaching audience and vetting status. BMABA provides robust tools to help clubs validate and verify their compliance — but we cannot force instructors to verify through us, and some may hold valid checks obtained elsewhere. The statuses below reflect what the instructor or their club has declared to us.

✓ Children, At-Risk & Adults

This instructor has declared they teach all audiences including children and vulnerable adults. To hold this status, they must have an Enhanced DBS check, safeguarding training, first aid, insurance, and identity verification. These checks may have been verified directly through BMABA, or obtained independently. We provide clear tools to help clubs confirm and evidence their compliance.

• Adults Only

This instructor has declared they teach non-vulnerable adults only. They are expected to hold first aid, insurance, and identity verification as a minimum. Enhanced DBS and safeguarding checks are not required for this audience. These checks may have been verified through BMABA or obtained independently. They should not be teaching children or at-risk individuals under this status.

— Not Teaching

This instructor has declared they are not currently delivering classes or training. They may be retired, on hiatus, or working in a non-teaching capacity. No compliance checks are required while in this declared status.

! Pending

This instructor has not yet declared their teaching status. Until they confirm their audience and vetting position, we cannot display their compliance information. We encourage all instructors to declare promptly — exercise caution until this is resolved.

Please bear in mind that verifying criteria and checks with us, whilst strongly recommended, is not necessarily compulsory so Non-Verified on our system may simply mean the instructor is yet to have verified their details with us fully. If in doubt, please raise the concern and we can ensure any missing evidence is promptly reviewed.

The BMABA National Martial Arts Instructor Register provides a real-time way to check the registration details, grades, styles and other professional standards of more than 6,500 instructors from right across the UK.

The records will allow you to verify insurance, DBS, safeguarding, first aid, official notes, grades held, styles taught and other key information for every single instructor on the BMABA’s books currently teaching.

This is the first and only kind of national multi-style register in existence in the UK and we hope it will allow schools, councils, parents and students more information 24/7 to make a better informed decision on the suitability of an instructor or club.

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