BMABA Updates & News

Hi there,

We are very pleased to share that BMABA CIC has been formally approved as a CIMSPA Training Provider Partner, recognised by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity.

The contract has been signed, the partnership is live, and we wanted to take a moment to explain what this actually means for our members, clubs, and the wider martial arts community.

CIMSPA is the professional development body for the UK's sport and physical activity sector. It is incorporated by Royal Charter, funded in part by Sport England, and sits at the heart of how the UK develops, standards-checks, and recognises the workforce across all sport and physical activity disciplines. This is the same body that works alongside UK Coaching, Sport England, local authorities, and national governing bodies to set the standards that define what good coaching, education, and workforce development look like in this country. Until now, martial arts has sat largely outside that ecosystem. That changes today.

What does being a CIMSPA Training Provider Partner actually mean?

It means BMABA has been formally reviewed, assessed, and approved as an organisation capable of developing and delivering professional education that meets the standards expected within the UK sport and physical activity sector. Our policies, quality assurance processes, safeguarding provision, complaints procedures, equality and diversity commitments, and scheme of work were all submitted and reviewed by CIMSPA's education team before approval was granted. Nothing about this was automatic.

It is important to be transparent about one distinction. Being a CIMSPA Training Provider Partner means we are now inside the system and are recognised as a credible education provider. It does not automatically mean that every course we run is CIMSPA endorsed from day one. Endorsement is a separate, course-by-course process. Each programme we submit goes through a formal review, must map to a relevant CIMSPA professional standard, and receives written confirmation of endorsement once approved. We will be working through that process course by course, and we will announce each endorsement clearly as it happens.

What this means for our CPD and education output

For some time, we have been developing a substantial library of CPD content that has been sitting in readiness. We made a deliberate decision not to release much of it until we were inside the CIMSPA framework, precisely so that we would not have to release, withdraw, remap, and re-release it. That was the right call, and the time is now.

Over the coming months, members and clubs can expect a significant release of new CPD across a wide range of areas. This will include coaching practice and methodology, safeguarding and child protection, first aid and emergency response, professional standards and ethics, officiating and refereeing, event management, business and club development, and sector specialist topics directly relevant to martial arts. All of it will be built against CIMSPA professional standards from the ground up, and each piece will be submitted for formal endorsement as it is completed.

This is not a rush job. We have been preparing for this moment for a long time, and the content going out will reflect that.

Why this matters beyond the badge

The CIMSPA partnership does something that goes beyond any logo or marketing benefit. It formally places BMABA inside the national sport workforce development system. That matters for several reasons.

Instructors who complete BMABA CPD that carries CIMSPA endorsement will be building a professional development record that sits within a nationally recognised framework. When they are applying for roles in sport, education, community development, or public health, the organisations they are applying to will understand what CIMSPA means. That recognition does not exist in a vacuum. It is the same framework used by swimming coaches, personal trainers, football coaches, and fitness professionals across the country.

For clubs, it means the professional development of their coaches and instructors can be evidenced against recognised national standards. That has implications for funding applications, local authority relationships, school partnerships, and insurance requirements. Funders like Sport England, the DCMS, and local sports development teams understand CIMSPA fluently. It is a language they already speak.

For BMABA as an organisation, it reinforces what we have been building towards for several years. Our work on RegulationReady, our safeguarding framework, our qualifications structure, and our governance standards have all been pointing in the same direction. This partnership is a formal acknowledgement from outside the martial arts sector that what we are doing meets a serious standard.

What happens next

We are currently working to activate our CIMSPA Partner Portal, finalise our endorsement submissions for the first cohort of CPD products, and update our website and member communications to reflect the partnership correctly. The CIMSPA partner logo will be appearing across the site, and you will begin to see CPD pages updated to show which programmes are mapped to CIMSPA standards and which have been formally endorsed.

We will keep members updated as endorsements are confirmed. Each announcement will be clear about what the status of each product is, so there is never any ambiguity.

If you have questions about the partnership, what it means for your own CPD or professional development pathway, or how it affects your membership, please get in touch with the team. This is a significant moment for BMABA, and it is equally significant for every instructor and club that has been part of building what we have become.

Hi there,

Every year we sit down with our broker and underwriter and ask the same question: how do we make this better for the clubs we serve?

This year, we think we've got some genuinely good answers. Here's what's changing from 4 April 2026, and why we think it matters.

Named Instructor Insurance Just Got Better. You Don't Have to Do Anything.

If you hold Named instructor insurance through BMABA, your policy is improving automatically from 4 April. No upgrade to buy, nothing to apply for, no extra cost.

From this year, worldwide cover (excluding USA and Canada) is explicitly confirmed as standard, so whether you're teaching abroad, attending an international seminar, or travelling with students, you're covered. Products Liability at £5,000,000 is now confirmed as a standard inclusion alongside the £5,000,000 Public Liability, £1,000,000 Professional Indemnity, and £500,000 Abuse Extension that you've always had.

All martial arts teaching activities remain covered, including contact and weapons disciplines, classes, seminars, and gradings, underwritten by AXA XL via Lloyd's. It just gets better from here.

We also want to make sure you actually know everything your Named policy already includes, because some of these are genuinely useful and not everyone realises they're there:

➡️ Worldwide cover (exc. USA and Canada)
➡️ Free event cover for sanctioned events with active student licensing
➡️ Free online lesson cover, live and pre-recorded

➡️ Free temporary instructor cover for sickness and holidays

➡️ Maternity and paternity cover package

➡️ Birthday party cover Holiday camp and food preparation cover

These aren't add-ons. They're already part of your Named policy, and they have been. If you've never used them, it's worth knowing they're there.

Open Allocation policies continue to provide the same excellent core cover as before, and remain the flexible choice for clubs that need to assign and reassign policies across their team throughout the year.

Club Cover: We'll Pay the £169.99 Bill if You're Set Up the Right Way

This one we're particularly pleased about. If you hold a Regulation Ready Bronze score or above, and you have both your instructor insurance and your student licensing in place through BMABA, we will cover the full cost of your Club Cover, all £169.99 of it, completely free.

Club Cover protects your club as a legal entity, whether you're a CIC, a Limited Company, or a similar structure, with £5,000,000 Company Public Liability, £1,000,000 Professional Indemnity, and £500,000 Abuse Cover included.

We want to be honest about the scope here. BMABA has never offered premises insurance and won't be doing so. Different sized dojos present different risks and attract different prices, and we want smaller dojos to maintain excellent rates - but that requires a direct to insurer quote. Employer's Liability is also no longer part of the Club Cover product. We know that's the right decision, because premises risks and employer risks are genuinely complex and specific to each club's situation, and a one-size product wouldn't serve you properly. Instead, we've set up a referral process to connect clubs with specialist brokers who can look at the unique factors of your venue and workforce and make sure you're actually properly protected.

Event Cover: Free, As Long As Everyone Attending is BMABA Registered

If all competitors and participants attending an event hold a valid BMABA licence, your sanctioned event is covered at no charge. Up to 500 participants, up to 250 students, and full contact events are explicitly within scope.

The key thing to understand here is that BMABA licences are completely transferrable nationally. Your competitors don't all have to be members of your club. As long as every attending competitor holds BMABA cover somewhere in the UK, through any BMABA-affiliated club, they're covered. There's no per-event fee and no limit on how many events you run across the year.

We've also built a dedicated event licensing and management platform so you can licence and insure events on your own schedule, as and when you need to, with everything in one place. No chasing paperwork, no delays.

The only cost is for non-BMABA registered students, which is a flat £2.50 per event, per student. You can mitigate this by registering them to your club - as named or open students - and avoiding this charge completely.

Student Insurance: We've Put the Member-to-Member Question to Bed

There's been a misconception doing the rounds in the martial arts world about whether Public Liability covers participant-to-participant incidents. We went straight to AXA XL and got explicit written confirmation: our named student policy covers member-to-member incidents. That question is now answered, clearly and in writing, so you can reassure your students and your club with confidence.

Worldwide Travel Insurance: Coming in April 2026

We're expecting to launch a dedicated worldwide travel insurance product from April 2026. This is separate from the international territorial cover already within your instructor and student liability policies.

This will be a proper travel product covering injury, medical expenses, missed flights, cancellations, and travel disruption, with martial arts participation and teaching baked in as a covered activity rather than excluded, which is the frustrating norm with standard travel policies. We'll confirm full details ahead of launch.

Referee and Officials Insurance: Now Available

For clubs running competitions, fights, and tournaments, referee and officials insurance is now available. It covers referees, judges, and ring officials, and it costs less per month than a Starbucks coffee. We didn't think that was an unreasonable ask. There will be a CPD requirement (a new free referee CPD is on its way) but otherwise, it's available and flexible and ready to go.

Live Blade Cover: Cheaper, Fully Online, Documentation on Demand

Live blade cover for instructors and students is reducing in price this year, and for the first time it's fully activatable online. Border Force letters and certification are available on demand through MyBMABA, so you're never waiting on us when you need documentation at short notice.

Personal Accident: Bronze, Silver, and Gold Tiers

Personal Accident cover is now available at three levels for both instructors and students. Bronze is the same level of cover you've had before at the same price. Silver and Gold offer enhanced benefits, including loss of income protection up to £200 per week, for those who want to go further. You choose what's right for you. Its still optional.

We're Taking the Hit on Price Increases So You Don't Have To

We want to be straight with you about this. Our total policy spend for 2026/27 is expected to be close to a quarter of a million pounds. The market has moved, costs have gone up, and we're facing higher premiums this year. We made the decision to absorb the majority of that increase rather than pass it on to clubs. That's what a not-for-profit association should do, and it's what we're doing.

Club Colours: 5% Off Everything, for Clubs Doing Things the Right Way

If you hold BMABA Club Colours, you'll receive a 5% "above and beyond" discount across every membership tier and every insurance product we offer, no exceptions, no small print.

Club Colours are awarded free following our Regulation Ready assessment. Reach 76% or above and you'll be able to apply for your colours. Do that, insure your instructors and students through us, and you'll also get that free £169.99 Club Cover on top of your 5% discount.

We set these incentives up deliberately. We think clubs that are operating to a high standard, investing in their members, and taking safeguarding and compliance seriously should pay less, not more. That's the direction we want to keep travelling in together.

If you have any questions about any of these changes, drop us a message at customerservices@bmaba.org.uk or reach out through MyBMABA.

We're always happy to talk through what's right for your club, although remember we can't give advice when it comes to insurance as it's a regulated service.

You don't need to take any action for the new benefits - they'll be waiting for you either at renewal, or within MyBMABA, with the named instructor cover benefits live automatically on 4th April.

Here's to a great 2026/27!

Hi there,

We have just launched something we have been building for a long time, and we are genuinely proud of it.

Dojo Manager is your personal curriculum workspace inside MyBMABA. It gives you everything you need to build, manage and share your club's grading syllabus, all in one place, completely free with your membership.

Here is what you get from today:

A full syllabus builder with a drag-and-drop Kanban board, grade structure editor, and belt progression visualiser. A personal technique library you can populate from scratch or import from 416 pre-designed techniques across 19 martial art styles. A drill bank for your warm-ups, session drills, games, cool-downs and conditioning exercises. A pedagogy graph for mapping how your techniques connect and progress. Real-time collaboration so you can build syllabi with co-instructors. And a built-in AI assistant scoped specifically to dojo management and curriculum planning.

There are no licence fees, no approval processes, and no external body deciding what you should or should not teach. Your curriculum belongs to you.

You'll find the Dojo Manager here; https://mybmaba.org.uk/dojo-manager/

Hi there,

Your 2026-27 Insurance Cover: What's Coming

From 1st April 2026, BMABA members will benefit from an updated and significantly expanded insurance provision, and we're pleased to be able to share a first look at what's on the horizon.

Full details, pricing, and formal terms will be published in the BMABA Handbook very shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary of the key areas we'll be updating.

Event Cover

If you're running, hosting, or attending a BMABA-licenced event anywhere in the UK, event cover is set to become completely free. Any BMABA student, instructor, or club will be automatically covered, including those registered under our partner organisations and NGBs, with licences fully transferable across clubs and organisations. We'll also be introducing a straightforward option to cover non-BMABA participants on a nominal per-head basis. Full details and the licencing tools to go alongside this will be available through MyBMABA from 1st April.

Referee Insurance

We're introducing dedicated referee insurance for the first time, making BMABA one of the only organisations in the UK to offer this type of cover. If you officiate at BMABA events, this is something you'll want to know about. There will be a modest additional premium and a CPD requirement, and we'll be sharing the full detail very soon.

Live Blades

Live blades cover has been available through BMABA since 2020, but has historically sat under a separate arrangement. From April, we're bringing this under the same policy as your standard instructor cover, making things simpler and more joined up. Student cover will also be available. Pricing is to be confirmed, but we expect it to be competitive.

Club Cover

We're working towards including standard club cover as part of your membership at no additional cost, for clubs who are fully licencing their instructors and students with us. If confirmed, this could represent a saving of more than £180 per year. We'll have more to say on this very shortly.

Core Cover

Your essential cover remains in place. BMABA instructors will continue to benefit from £5 million public liability, £1 million professional indemnity, and £500,000 abuse cover as standard. We're also reviewing personal accident provision to see whether we can offer improved terms.

For the full headline update and to ask any questions, head over to the Regulations group in MyBMABA. Formal confirmation and handbook updates will follow in the coming days.

Not yet a member? This is the kind of provision that sets BMABA apart. Find out more at bmaba.org.uk.

Join the Regulations group to learn more from here.

Hi there,

We wanted to share a brief but important update with our community.

Our work around event governance continues to evolve. Over the past year, we have strengthened the frameworks that sit behind sanctioned events, organiser accountability, safeguarding expectations, and risk management standards. The next phase is already in motion, including a new CPD development specifically focused on event leadership and safety. We are finalising details and will share full information with members very shortly.

Tomorrow, we are meeting with AXA PLC in London to conclude discussions around our 2026–27 group cover renewal. A key feature of the upcoming cycle will be a significantly enhanced event provision. This includes more inclusive, wraparound cover for events, clearer protection for participants, dedicated referee insurance, and strengthened structural clarity around sanctioned activity. Our aim is simple: clubs and organisers should feel protected, supported, and confident when delivering events under BMABA governance.

Alongside this, our Concussion and Head Injury Management Policy continues to underpin our wider safety framework. The policy has been independently reviewed by Professor Mike Loosemore MBE, Lead Consultant Sports Physician at the UK Sports Institute and Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at University College London’s Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health. He confirmed he was happy to approve the policy and considered it capable of withstanding scrutiny from a panel of his peers.

Governance is not static. It requires investment, partnership, and continuous improvement. We remain committed to building systems that protect participants, support instructors, and strengthen the credibility of independent martial arts across the UK.

Learn more from here.

Hi there,

We're excited to announce the launch of The Hub, a unified digital toolkit built exclusively for martial arts clubs, now live in MyBMABA.

The Hub brings together everything your club needs to operate, grow, and save money: website builders, professional email, club management, design tools, SEO dashboards, analytics, AI-powered planning, marketing toolkits, and much more. All included with membership. No hidden fees, no upsells, just powerful tools funded by our not-for-profit mission.

Our vision is simple. By consolidating the tech, tools, and resources clubs already need into one unified platform, we believe members can save hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds every year.

Introducing Flo by BMABA

This week, we're launching what we believe will be one of the most significant additions to our membership offering: Flo by BMABA.

Flo is a code-free, fully-featured website builder and link-in-bio platform designed specifically for martial arts clubs. It lets anyone create a professional, modern club website in minutes, with no developers, no plugins, and no ongoing hosting costs.

Pre-built pages. Beautiful templates. Lead capture forms. Class schedules. Blogs. Mailing list tools. Full design control. Your own domain or a free .bmaba.app address. Everything a club needs to look credible and capture new members online.

We genuinely believe Flo is going to become a favourite among our clubs. It removes the barriers that have stopped so many instructors from getting online properly, and it does so without compromise on quality or functionality.

For Members

Log into MyBMABA, head to The Hub, and explore Flo by BMABA today. We'll be spotlighting a new platform from The Hub every week, so there's plenty more to come.
​

Access Flo in MyBMABA →

Not Yet A Member?

The Hub is just one part of what BMABA membership offers. If you're curious about what else is included, or how our unified platform could help your club save money and operate more professionally, we'd love to hear from you.

Learn More About Membership →

Hi there,

BMABA has completed a full relaunch of its physical credentials and licence products, introducing a new standard of quality, security and presentation.

What’s included

Upgraded certifications produced on cotton-certified paper with UV security dyes, holographic elements and hold-to-light watermarks.

New-generation instructor and student licence books redesigned to passport-style specifications, with premium faux-leather covers, silver and gold foil blocking, and full-colour interiors.

Enhanced photo identification, including new photographic licence slips and standalone instructor ID cards.

Embedded Regulation Ready and Club Colours holographic identifiers, making compliance and status instantly visible.

A limited-edition range of bespoke, made-to-order BMABA merchandise, exclusive to members.

Access and redemption

Members can redeem items via
https://mybmaba.org.uk/redeem

The complete physical range can be viewed at
https://mybmaba.org.uk/shop/

This relaunch supports BMABA’s focus on credible, verifiable standards that reflect the responsibility held by instructors and clubs.

Hi there,

We’re pleased to introduce Helen, who joined BMABA CIC in January and will be a key part of our work over the coming months and years.

Helen has joined the organisation to lead our Safeguarding and Governance Unit - an area that has seen significant development and strengthening within BMABA CIC over recent years. Her role will be to build on that foundation, helping us further embed robust, high-quality safeguarding, compliance, and governance practice across the organisation and our member base.

Helen joins us following nearly two decades as a highly respected Head Teacher across two schools. Alongside her senior leadership experience, she brings specialist expertise in safeguarding and SEND, with a strong background in both strategic oversight and real-world case management.

Within BMABA CIC, Helen will be supporting the practical handling of safeguarding matters, while also working closely with Giovanni and the wider team to review and refresh our policy frameworks, support ISO audit activity, and strengthen governance systems across the organisation. A key focus of her work will also be the training, guidance, and ongoing support of BMABA member Designated Safeguarding Leads, ensuring they are well-equipped, confident, and supported in their roles.

You’ll begin to see and hear more from Helen through email, chat, and within the #RegulationReady MyBMABA group over the coming weeks. We’re confident that her depth of experience and knowledge in safeguarding, compliance, and governance will be a major asset to BMABA CIC and to the wider martial arts community we serve.

Hi there,

Your route to Dan grade progression is back – rebuilt from the ground up.

We're pleased to announce that both our Time-Served and Vocational Dan Grading pathways are now fully operational, following an extended development period to ensure we got this right.

Why the delay?

When we temporarily closed applications in July, we anticipated reopening in November. That timeline extended as we committed to building something properly – not just a quick fix, but a robust, scalable system that maintains the high standards BMABA is known for.

Our reputation in martial arts rests on not handing out grades to anyone who asks. We've always placed stringent requirements on both time-served and vocational gradings, and we weren't prepared to compromise that by rushing a half-finished system out the door.

The new platform handles high-volume applications, integrates with our quality management framework, and ensures every grading receives the rigorous attention it deserves.

What's available?

Time-Served Dan Gradings – For senior practitioners (4th Dan+) who have dedicated years to their art but lack access to traditional grading pathways. No technical examination – instead, your continued contribution and community support speaks for your progression.

Apply for Time-Served Grading →

Vocational Dan Gradings – Merit-based video assessments for those facing geographical, financial, or political barriers to in-person gradings. Reviewed by independent examiner panels with full anonymity protocols.

Apply for Vocational Grading →

What to expect

We're anticipating high demand, particularly for time-served gradings. The new system is built to handle this, but please allow reasonable processing times as our Executive Committee and Board of Trustees review applications bi-weekly.

Both pathways are delivered within our ISO 9001:2015 UKAS-accredited Quality Management System, ensuring nationally recognised, quality-assured certification.

For senior grades: Become an examiner

We're also recruiting examiners for our vocational grading panels. Earn £25 per grading credited to your myBMABA wallet while supporting politics-free grade progression. You can apply to adjudicate any grading for which your grade is either a direct match, or a familial match.

Register as an Examiner →

Hi there,

Over Christmas and the New Year period, while most of the sector slowed down, a small group of us this end did the opposite.

We have completely rebuilt MyBMABA.

More than 160,000 lines of code have been rewritten, re crafted, or reshaped. Not patched. Not layered on top. Rebuilt with purpose. The result, we believe, is nothing short of transformational and it is now live, ready for 2026. Over the past 12 months, we have listened closely to feedback from across the BMABA community.

The previous version of MyBMABA was already a huge step forward from the manual, non intuitive, and largely non interactive system many will remember from 2024. But 2025 became a deliberate window to go deeper to identify pain points, recurring frustrations, and long standing wish list items.

This release is the result of that work.

Three core priorities

Our rebuild focused on three non negotiables.

Security first

Every part of the system has been audited and reviewed. We have strengthened defences, updated safeguards, and ensured MyBMABA continues to meet modern expectations around data protection and platform resilience. Security is not visible, but it is foundational. We couldn't identify any immediate concerns during the rebuild, but doubling up on 'data slippage' and ensuring there is no instances of accidental data bleeds is a huge priority, and that's been done.
​

Performance that you can feel

We redesigned how and when MyBMABA communicates with the central platform via API calls, introduced smarter caching, and refined performance logic throughout.

The outcome is that the new system runs more than three times faster than before. Navigation is smoother, page loads are quicker, and moving between areas feels noticeably lighter and more responsive. This was a central request; speed things up! We were somewhat hemmed in last year, unable to cut down the API requests as the system was a little more 'dumb' in terms of not retaining data to process requests without going off to fetch it. The equivalent of a digital bleep test! We've now sorted this, so whilst not every update is going to be completely automatic (it may take a few minutes for new data to pull through) you will find it feels so, so much faster.
​

A pragmatic, logical user interface

We have completely redesigned the interface with a mobile first approach.

You will see a new responsive menu that forms the foundation of the next MyBMABA app release. It uses a clean, Windows inspired metro grid layout designed to help you find what you need quickly, without hunting or cognitive overload. You'll also find the yourBMABA menu, which is our absolute favourite. This Windows inspired start-menu type navigation lets you set your own preferred default and favourite tiles. It lets you see everything on offer, without some huge mega menu.

Designed for real people, not power users only

We know big systems can feel overwhelming. So we have introduced Simple Mode, a stripped back version of MyBMABA for those who want to focus on the essentials without distraction. This can be switched on and off for a simplified navigation at any time. It doesn't impact data or performance, so you're safe to jump in and out as needed.

We have also expanded custom colour selection, accessibility tools, and optional sub headings which can be hidden to reduce visual clutter. You stay in control of how MyBMABA looks and feels.

Everything else has been uplifted too

This was not just a visual refresh.

• The entire portal and dashboard have been redesigned.
• Club Colours and Regulation Ready are now more intuitive and task focused.
• The community is brought forward, not buried.
• A new yourBMABA menu lets you see everything BMABA offers and customise your own shortcuts and go to links.
• Our AI Lesson Planner, template document creator, digital risk assessments, and syllabus management tools have all been modernised and improved.

Behind the scenes, more than 520 functions, procedures, and user flows have been reviewed and refined. Alongside the big visible changes, you will also notice lots of smaller, granular improvements that simply make things work better.

This is just the beginning

We hope you enjoy using the new MyBMABA.

This is not a launch and leave moment. Throughout January and February we will continue rolling out significant innovation and refinement, so you will see steady improvements each time you return. Keep an eye on the yourBMABA menu for updates and new tools as they land.

And by the way, v3 of BMABA CRM (Club Management Platform) has just dropped too!

Welcome to the new MyBMABA.