AEGIS Leeds East Earns BMABA Bronze Award

Recognising Our Commitment to Safe, Professional & Responsible Martial Arts in Leeds

The whole team is delighted to share the news that our martial arts academy in Leeds East has achieved the BMABA RegulationReady Bronze Award.

The award was presented in July 2026 for our “Commitment to Governance in Martial Arts”. That may sound rather formal, but it recognises something we all care deeply about: making sure every student who joins us can train in a safe, welcoming and professionally managed environment.

As the lead instructor, my responsibilities extend well beyond teaching martial arts techniques. I’m also responsible for helping to protect our students, supporting our instructors and ensuring our policies, checks and procedures are properly maintained.

For our students and their families, this award provides further reassurance that AEGIS Leeds East is committed to delivering the highest standards of martial arts classes while maintaining the practices expected from a responsible modern martial arts academy.

What Is the BMABA RegulationReady Bronze Award?

BMABA is the British Martial Arts & Boxing Association, an independent martial arts association and governing body supporting clubs, instructors and students across the UK.

Its RegulationReady programme helps martial arts academies like ours demonstrate they meet important standards relating to safeguarding, insurance, compliance and responsible management.

A Bronze Award requires a RegulationReady score of at least 76% and the assessment considers areas including:

• Safeguarding policies and procedures

• Appropriate martial arts insurance

• Instructor and team-member verification

• DBS checks where required

• First-aid and safeguarding training

• Codes of conduct

• Health and safety procedures

• Complaints and incident-management processes

• Legal and operational responsibilities

Achieving the award involved more than completing a form or displaying a new badge on our website. We had to demonstrate that the systems supporting our martial arts academy are in place, properly documented and actively managed.

The records are managed through a live system, so RegulationReady is intended to reflect an academy’s current position rather than being a certificate that is awarded once and then forgotten.

You can read more about the BMABA RegulationReady framework on the association’s website.

What Does Good Governance Mean in Martial Arts?

Governance might sound like something involving boardrooms, ties and a heroic quantity of paperwork. In practice, it means ensuring that our martial arts academy is managed safely, responsibly and transparently.

For me, good governance means knowing exactly who is responsible for safeguarding, how concerns should be reported, which checks our instructors need and what steps we must take if an incident occurs.

It also means maintaining appropriate insurance, keeping policies current, managing risks and ensuring that everyone working with our students understands their responsibilities.

Most of our students never see this work. They’ll see their instructor, their classmates and the training mats. However, the policies, checks and procedures operating behind the scenes help create the safe environment in which those classes can happen.

Good governance means our students can focus on learning, improving their fitness and building confidence. It also gives parents greater reassurance when choosing a martial arts academy for their child.

Why Independent Standards Matter in Martial Arts

Martial arts in the UK does not have one statutory regulator responsible for overseeing every club, academy, instructor or style.

This makes voluntary independent frameworks especially valuable. They allow professionally run martial arts academies like AEGIS Leeds East to demonstrate that their standards have been reviewed rather than simply asking families to take their word for it.

I believe parents have every right to ask questions about safeguarding, instructor checks, insurance and academy procedures. These subjects are every bit as important as asking what style of martial arts their child will learn or how the grading system works.

The RegulationReady Bronze Award does not decide which martial arts style is best or guarantee the quality of every individual class. It demonstrates that AEGIS Leeds East has submitted to checks covering important areas of safeguarding, compliance and academy management.

Sport England also operates the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts. This covers areas including safeguarding policies, reporting procedures, staff recruitment, codes of conduct and instructor education. You can read more about Sport England's martial arts safeguarding standards here.

What Our Bronze Award Means for Students and Parents

Choosing the right martial arts academy can be difficult, especially when a parent is looking for their child’s first class.

Qualifications, facilities and teaching style all matter. Parents should also feel comfortable asking who oversees safeguarding, whether instructors have been appropriately checked and what happens if someone raises a concern.

As lead instructor and Designated Safeguarding Lead, these are responsibilities I take personally. I want parents to know who they can speak to, how concerns will be handled and what we do to protect the people training with us.

Greater confidence when choosing an academy

The certification provides independent evidence that important areas of our martial arts academy’s management have been considered, documented and submitted for verification.

A clear commitment to safeguarding

Safeguarding is not simply a policy sitting in a folder. It affects how we teach, communicate, manage concerns and support children, young people and vulnerable students.

I’m the Designated Safeguarding Lead at AEGIS Leeds East. Full contact information and details of our procedures can be found on our martial arts safeguarding page.

Properly supported instructors

Responsible governance includes ensuring that relevant instructor records, qualifications, insurance and checks are maintained.

It also means supporting instructors so they understand their responsibilities and can concentrate on providing structured, enjoyable and appropriate martial arts training. That's very much in line with my own journey in martial arts, which you can read more about here.

Clear policies and responsibilities

Students and parents should know that procedures exist for managing concerns, incidents and complaints. Clear responsibilities help us handle any issues consistently and appropriately.

Standards that continue to be reviewed

RegulationReady is a live framework. It encourages participating martial arts academies to maintain their records and continue improving rather than treating accreditation as a finished job.

My Continuing Commitment to AEGIS Leeds East

I’m extremely proud that our martial arts academy has achieved Bronze status, but I don’t see it as the end of the process. It’s recognition of the work we’ve already done and it's also encouragement to keep strengthening our standards.

My commitment is to continue reviewing our policies, supporting my fellow instructors and improving the systems that help protect our students. I want AEGIS Leeds East to be known not only for the quality of its martial arts teaching, but also for the care, professionalism and responsibility behind every class.

A great deal of this work happens away from the training mats. It includes maintaining records, updating procedures, managing risks and ensuring that everyone understands their role.

And believe me, nobody has ever rushed home excitedly announcing that they’ve witnessed a particularly impressive risk assessment. However, these less glamorous responsibilities are essential to running a martial arts academy properly.

Every student who walks through the doors at AEGIS Leeds East should feel welcome, respected and supported. Whether they’re three years old, starting martial arts as an adult or returning after years away from the dojo, they deserve a safe environment in which they can build confidence and progress.

Looking for a Martial Arts Academy in Leeds?

AEGIS Leeds East provides martial arts classes for children, teenagers, adults and families at our academy in Killingbeck.

I know walking into a martial arts academy for the first time can feel intimidating. I remember how I felt myself. But please don’t worry. We welcome complete beginners, people returning to martial arts and experienced students looking for a change of scene.

Our classes and system combines elements of karate, kickboxing, ju jitsu, taekwondo and krav maga within a carefully structured modern martial arts system.

Students can improve their fitness, coordination, confidence, discipline and practical self-defence skills while progressing at a pace appropriate to them.

As such, we welcome students from Killingbeck, Seacroft, Cross Gates, Roundhay, Garforth and across East Leeds.

So if you’re looking for a friendly, professionally managed martial arts academy in Leeds, I speak for the whole team when I say we'd love to welcome you to AEGIS Leeds East.

Explore our martial arts classes, arrange a visit or contact us to ask about your first class.