Accreditation is a standard which is set by a particular industry to regulate the quality of work performed by that industry. Previously there has been no accreditaton standards within the Australian martial arts industry.
The Australian Kung Fu and Wu Shu Federation (AKWF), in association with the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS), have recently developed an accreditation scheme to maintain safe and reliable teaching standards within martial arts schools of Australia.
Becoming an accredited martial arts instructor involves the demonstration of both practical and theoretical components of safe teaching methods. This includes:
the submission of a one-hour demonstration video of a standard class session;
attending a one-day seminar, followed by the submission of a Martial Arts Accreditation Workbook which included principals on ethics, planning, teaching methods, communication, safety, responsibilities of an instructor, anatomy, occupational health and safety and sexual discrimination and harassment;
the acquisition of current first aid and resucitation certificates.
Other requirements included a high level grading (usually black belt or higher) and sufficient time spent training in the style to be able to teach (usually several years training), and also having the capabilities to become an effective instructor.
The principal instructor of the school needs to become accredited before any of their staff are able to apply for accreditation. They must observe and grade style-specific components of the practical standards of the applicant.
All instructors of Black Crane martial arts schools are fully accredited, or are in the final processes of achieving their accreditation.
It is expected that all martial arts schools must have accreditation standards, much like a building licence, to prevent unqualified and unsafe teaching methods being used.
For more information on accreditation visit Australia Kung Fu and Wu Shu federation or Martial arts Institute of Australia
