In Australia, there is very little Government regulation of the martial arts industry. There is some regulation of combat sports which regulates promotions, fighters and titles; and the use and possession of some martial arts weapons is regulated. But overall the Government has very little say in what is taught to who, and when. And there is no central licensing body or authority.
Quite often you will see people advertise that they are fully ‘authorised’ or ‘accredited’ by some Government body or association.
This usually means they have done a coaching course, such as the free online coaching courses run by the Australian Institute of Sport. These courses in no way confer any authority or authorisation to do much at all. As for the associations, they relate mostly to rules and policies for sport martial arts – they do not reflect the art or the quality of the instruction.
So in short, aside from regulating things like working with children, OHS and general business practices, the government has very little to do with martial arts.
It hopefully may never. But there have been a number of incidents in the industry over the years that have led to injury due to poor coaching experience, lack of supervision due to high instructor student ratios and/or a lack of knowledge in relation to correct movement patterns over a period of time or immediately. Not to mention masking ineffective, unproven technical concepts as realistic. Check the authenticity of your instructors and be cautious about what they are teaching. Try a few schools out and see what is a good fit for you and your family.
Always check out where you are going, and who you and your kids are training with.
Sadly it continues to be a case of ‘buyer beware’.
That’s why we do our special intro pack. So you can check us out with no risk. It’s also why we offer our 30 satisfaction guarantee.
