ASA Certifications

No regulatory body oversees the martial arts industry, which results in diverse performance levels between martial arts schools. We address this problem by setting high standards for our ASA member schools in the categories of safety, cleanliness, skills in teaching kids and families, and professionalism.

ASA offers a number of certifications that provide evidence that a martial arts school meets ASA’s demanding standards.

Here are the current certifications our members can obtain from the American Sabumnim Association.

Development and Maintenance of a Safe Environment for Children

  • Employee hiring process
  • Background checks
  • Policies and procedures
  • Physical security
  • Staff training
  • Emergency preparedness (e.g., active shooter)
  • Hazard prevention and control
  • Incident reporting and follow-up

First Responder Medical Care: First Aid, CPR, and Defibrillation

  • Care for cuts, scrapes, stings, splinters, sprains, and strains
  • ABC’s of cardiac arrest and use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED)
  • Onsite access to an automatic external defibrillator
  • Concussion response protocol
  • Incident reporting and follow-up

Principles of Effectively Teaching Children to Maintain Self Esteem and Maximize Performance

  • Insights into peak performance through modern-day science
  • Curriculum by a clinical and sports psychologist who has worked in the field of sports psychology since 2001

In addition, our members can become authorized to teach specialized curriculum within their schools, on such topics as:

  • Anti-bullying
  • Child and family safety
  • Women’s self-defense
  • Realistic self-defense

The curriculum for these programs have been developed by world-renowned experts in their respective fields.

In addition to the above, all ASA certified schools are required to do 20 hours per year of professional development training in the areas of safety, teaching methods, and martial arts.