The Vetting Process Explained

First things first, a big thank you for joining us. On this page we’ll briefly outline the vetting process and why it’s important. We also hope to be able to set your mind at ease.

The association you’re about to join enjoys one of the best reputations in the industry. This reputation allows us a great deal of power with the likes of major insurers and governing bodies when it comes to partnerships, policies and agreements that make your life as an instructor easier. In order to keep this great brand name protected we take the vetting of our instructors very seriously indeed.

As a key part of the membership process we’ll undertake background checks on all applicants. Please be assured that this relates simply to your position within the martial arts industry and DOES NOT involve any kind of Disclosure Barring Service or Credit Checks etc. We are NOT investigating you or your personal life – just running a few checks on the documentation you’ve provided and, if visible online, your club.

What Checks Do We Run?

Your Documentation & Evidence

We’ll take the time to look properly at the certification and supporting evidence uploaded as proof of grade, to make sure everything looks in order and is acceptable. This also includes making sure we have the documentation required for each discipline listed.

Your Past Awarding Governing Bodies

If all of your documentation is in order we’ll look at the governing body or association that issued that documentation. We have an extensive and constantly updated list of barred, referred and accepted sources and we check all documentation against a list of local clubs, instructors and national / international organisations to ensure we’re able to ratify their documents. This is usually no issue, but occasionally where ‘cash for grades’ or other such practices are in place – or where we don’t know anything about the organisation and can’t make contact, we might need further information.

Community Reputation

The internet is a powerful tool, and there are hundreds of thousands of forum threads, posts and articles on schools, organisations and individual instructors. Our team will look for serious concerns – such as news articles relating to any awarding governing bodies, or substantial community unrest regarding a school or instructor. Usually there’s absolutely no problems.

Your School & Online Presence

We’ll take a look at your club website, social media channels and anything else available to us. We’re just doing this to make sure there is nothing of critical concern – such as offensive content, hateful remarks or dangerous training practices. Again, this is rarely ever an issue and helps us better understand your club.

Why Is This Important?

We’ve been vetting instructors for years and have extensive experience spanning thousands of applications. Our experience tells us that the above checks are likely to throw up any concerns or fraudulent applications before they receive our prestigious association membership and access to our resources / documentation. This helps to keep honest instructors like you shielded from the negative and damaging impact dishonest and poor quality instructors may bring upon our name.

Should I Be Concerned?

Absolutely not. This is a routine check and no personal information is shared with third parties at any point. We will not contact any previous organisations or schools without contacting you in advance and this is not a personal background check, so we’re not checking anything other than the martial arts criteria provided.