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.
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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.

Hi there,

As we wrap up 2025, it is hard to overstate just how transformative this year has been for BMABA CIC. In every sense, organisationally, operationally, culturally, and technologically; we have grown at a pace few could have predicted.

It has been a year of exponential progress driven by our team, our community, and the thousands of instructors and clubs who continue to trust, support, and shape us.

A Year of Milestones

In less than twelve months, we have:

• Completed our transition to a Community Interest Company, solidifying our mission-led identity.
• Been referenced in Parliament for the first time in our history.
• Gained long-awaited acknowledgement on the Sport England website.
• Launched major national frameworks and CPD programmes including Regulation Ready, Trauma Informed Coaching, Serious Youth Violence, and Mental Health First Aid for Martial Arts.
• Matured significantly as an organisation by strengthening and revalidating all of our governance, safeguarding, and policy frameworks.
• Achieved ISO9001:2015 certification and UKAS accreditation, alongside an extensive list of additional memberships and formal recognitions.
• Appeared across national media including BBC News, ITV News, The Times on Sunday, and several other high-profile outlets.

This year also saw the introduction of the all-new MyBMABA Club Management Platform. This was a landmark addition to our digital ecosystem. Remarkably, we are introducing our third version next week, less than a year after the first launch. The pace of development reflects our commitment to providing clubs with world-class tools at accessible costs.

Perhaps, however, one of the most meaningful achievements of 2025 has been resolving what we often referred to internally as the final gap in our operational model. Customer service response times have been transformed. We now answer 98% of enquiries the same day and, in many cases, within the hour. For an organisation of our size, this has been a huge and long awaited milestone. We want to stress that we have been aware of this shortfall for a number of years, but until now have not been able to manage a big enough internal team to effectively deal with this. The space you have given us, to get this right, has been amazing and we've been running now for a number of months with rapid, up to date support. That will remain a centre-point for BMABA as we go forwards.

Why We Have Been Quiet Since November?

You may have noticed a quieter period from us over recent weeks. This was completely intentional. Behind the scenes we have been focused on a substantial programme of improvements and new releases that will begin rolling out from January. We know for many clubs the run up to Christmas is busy (socially, and away from the club) and that many of you struggle with numbers on the mats in this quarter. To avoid overwhelming you when you are no doubt in need of a much needed break, we've decided to strategically hold back some of our major updates and releases until 2026, when we hope you'll be feeling refreshed and ready to move forward with us.

Here is a preview of some of what is coming:

• A new release of the MyBMABA Club Management Platform before Christmas.
• New CPD programmes and expanded instructor training.
• A full Event Ready suite covering refereeing, grade integrity, event guidance, and club-led competition support.
• A new Cadet Programme for junior assistant instructors.
• Updated training pathways for assistant instructors.
• Strengthened governance, oversight, and internal policy structures.
• New members joining the team to provide specialist expertise.
• A new PA style assistance option for clubs.
• Additional rounds of internal club funding and grant support.
• And much more that will be revealed throughout early 2026.

Updates will be shared across our social channels throughout January, and new features will be highlighted inside MyBMABA as they go live.

We're also going to continue to work on MyBMABA. We know for those who have used MyBMABA for a number of years, no doubt you'll agree it is lightyears ahead of where it was less than twelve months ago. In fact, this time last year, we couldn't even offer the controls around adding on or renewing students and instructors. Everything had to be done via manual links! But the innovation here will continue to make it more user friendly, faster, and more useful.

Christmas Opening Hours and a Thank You

Our office will remain open until Tuesday 23 December and will reopen on 2 January.

If we do not have the opportunity to speak with you before then, thank you. This has been our biggest and most ambitious year so far, and it would not be possible without the instructors, clubs, volunteers, parents, students, partners and supporters who believe in the work BMABA CIC is doing.

We wish you a fantastic Christmas and New Year. Enjoy some well earned rest and we look forward to working with you again in 2026.

-- Giovanni and the team.

Hi there,

We’re proud to be one of only four Governing Bodies, and the only independent, self-funded organisation, directly referenced by Sport England for meeting the governance standards required to automatically award the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA). 👏

More than 1,000 BMABA-affiliated clubs are now working through, or have achieved, Bronze or higher RegulationReady™ status. However, only 115 clubs have achieved and maintained the highly coveted Club Colours™ accreditation, which includes automatic recognition from the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA) and direct access to SCiMA certification through MyBMABA.

This recognition reflects the governance and safeguarding standards within BMABA, which are independently validated to such a level that clubs obtaining our Club Colours™ licence automatically qualify for the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts without needing to apply or undergo a separate audit.

If your club already holds Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts (SCiMA) certification, first of all, well done! If you’d like to combine that certification with your BMABA membership to simplify renewals and avoid separate SCiMA audits, contact our team and we’ll be happy to help arrange it.

Check this out for yourself, from the SportEngland website;

https://www.sportengland.org/guidance-and-support/safeguarding/safeguarding-martial-arts

Hi there,

We’re delighted to confirm that BMABA CIC will be launching both Vocational and Time-Served Grading Pathways nationally from mid-November 2025 — around a month earlier than expected. This marks the culmination of more than a year’s work developing a transparent, nationally respected, and fully quality-assured system for senior grade advancement.

The project set out to answer one of the most important questions in our sector: how can experienced instructors continue to progress through legitimate, externally validated channels — without resorting to self-issued or purchased grades, and without lowering standards?

Both new grading routes are now fully digitalised and aligned with ISO 9001:2015 standards, ensuring every award is traceable, auditable, and nationally consistent.

Vocational Gradings

The Vocational Grading Pathway is designed for instructors from 2nd Dan to 8th Dan+ who may not have access to a traditional in-person panel. It is not a shortcut — those who piloted the system over the past two years described it as more demanding and professionally scrutinised than most physical gradings.

Each application undergoes an eligibility review to assess the robustness of the syllabus and the candidate’s pedagogical foundation. From there, three independent senior examiners from BMABA’s network of over 6,500 instructors are appointed to review grading footage and materials. The process is entirely anonymous, removing bias and politics, with each examiner assessing purely on technical merit and instructional quality.

Candidates receive a detailed feedback report once grading is complete, showing examiner names, grades, and comments, all logged within a transparent audit trail. Examiners receive a £25 honorarium per grading, recognising their professional input and helping clubs offset membership and insurance costs while contributing to national standards.

Time-Served Gradings

For 5th Dan and above, the Time-Served Pathway recognises long-term contribution, leadership, and community service as the basis for advancement where technical demonstration is no longer representative. Instructors formally petition for promotion, supported by endorsements from peers, students, and senior colleagues, providing verifiable evidence of ongoing engagement and professionalism.

Every petition is reviewed under BMABA’s UKAS-accredited ISO 9001:2015 quality framework, ensuring objectivity, consistency, and accountability. High-grade awards remain rare — only 30 have been issued in the past 12 years — and that same rigour will continue under the digitalised process.

Upholding Standards, Advancing the Profession

BMABA has never pursued grades for the sake of status. These pathways are about maintaining professional integrity while giving genuine instructors a route to progress within a fair, modern, and nationally recognised framework. By formalising both Vocational and Time-Served options, we aim to remove the politics from senior grading and reinforce public confidence in the legitimacy of rank across martial arts.

The pathways open mid-November 2025. Instructors planning to apply should begin preparing their syllabus documentation, grading footage, or club endorsements now.

👉 Read the full article

Hi there,

We’re proud to share that the British Martial Arts & Boxing Association (BMABA) was recently referenced in Parliament during a debate on safeguarding in combat sports for children.

MPs highlighted BMABA’s role in setting high safeguarding standards across the independent martial arts sector. This recognition was later reinforced in a letter from Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth, who confirmed that the Government values the Association’s contribution in shaping future safeguarding frameworks for martial arts.

“I appreciate [BMABA's] ongoing efforts to make martial arts safer for children.” — Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth

At the same time, we are taking proactive steps to further strengthen protection for students at every level. This month we are rolling out a completely free Participant Advocate and Safe Adult (PASA) Award to all members — including instructors, assistant instructors, volunteers and even free affiliates.

Developed from our research into recurring failures in event supervision, the PASA initiative recognises that many serious injuries and safeguarding lapses happen because responsibility for participant welfare is not always clearly defined between instructors, organisers and parents.

The PASA CPD and framework will empower clubs to send students to third-party events knowing there is a trained safe adult present. Every PASA will be equipped to spot the signs of concussion, raise concerns where welfare may be at risk, and advocate for children and adults at risk who might otherwise be overlooked. This creates a clear, accountable link in the chain of command, ensuring no student is left without a voice.

This initiative forms part of a much broader package of support being launched this month to help clubs both navigate third-party events safely and host their own competitions with confidence. By combining national recognition of our safeguarding leadership with practical, on-the-ground tools like the PASA Award, BMABA is reinforcing its commitment to raising standards, protecting participants, and ensuring independent martial arts can continue to thrive safely.

Join the conversation in our Regulation Ready space here.