Terms and Conditions and Code of Conduct

A.1 Objectives

Integrated Martial Arts Pty Ltd (“IMA”) has as its key objectives:

1. Providing instruction in a safe environment in Self-Defence, Mixed Martial Arts and Combat Sports.

2. Developing the mental and physical tools for improving personal safety and security.

3. Promotion of good health and vitality.

4. Development of positive self-esteem and self-confidence.

5. Development of a person as a positive role model in the community.

6. Creating expertise in confrontation management.

7. Pro-active crime prevention through increased awareness and positive attitudes.

8. Developing healthy community attitudes and values.

All persons participating in a class, course or event conducted by IMA must agree to be bound by this Code of Conduct. IMA reserves the right to make amendments or additions to this Code of Conduct at any time.

A.2 Participant Understanding

IMA teaches various forms of contact martial arts and combat sports (summarised as Mixed Martial Arts), meaning it involves physical contact with one or more other practitioners in ways designed to simulate as closely as possible the self-defence options available to a practitioner when confronted with physical aggression and/or threatening behaviour. As in any other physically demanding recreational activity, there is always a risk of injury. Any person participating in a class conducted by IMA does so with the full understanding that whilst it is the policy of IMA to minimise this risk, the nature of contact physical activity prevents its total elimination. Persons participating in a class conducted by IMA do so of their own volition and at their own risk.

A.3 Instructor Qualifications

1. All unsupervised Instructors must have current WorkCover approved Senior First Aid certification.

2. All unsupervised Instructors must have in place appropriate and separate public liability and professional indemnity insurance.

3. All unsupervised Instructors must have a Working with Children Check clearance.

4. All Instructors will be bound by this Code of Conduct.

A.4 Safety

1. Instructors will ensure that the training area is clear of any dangerous and/or sharp objects that may provide a risk of injury.

2. Instructors will have access at all times to a fully equipped first aid kit. The kit will be of the minimum standard of a St Johns Industrial First Aid Kit or equivalent.

3. Persons must not wear jewellery or watches during training.

4. All persons participating in training agree to maintain self-control at all times and maintain all care in the application of any technique.

5. Any person who, in training, exhibits behaviour that, in the judgement of the Instructor, is a danger to other participants, shall not be allowed to continue training until the Instructor determines the danger is no longer present.

A.5 Training Area Etiquette

1. Persons will bow in the appropriate manner upon entering the Training Area.

2. Shoes must be taken off before entering the training area unless the shoes are special martial arts footwear approved by the Instructor (see “Clothing” below).

3. Persons must be punctual, preferably early (early may not be appropriate during COVID-19 times), so that they are ready to train when class commences. If arriving late, a person must wait at the side of the Training Area until the Instructor indicates that a person may join the class.

4. Persons must not chew gum whilst training.

5. Food and/or drink (including water) must not be consumed whilst on the training area.

6. Mobile phones must be turned off or placed on silent during training. Mobile phones inadvertently left on during training may not be answered. Any person who is “on-call” for work may seek approval from the instructor prior to the commencement of class to leave his or her mobile phone on.

A.6 Uniforms & Training Gear

All Persons must wear the following approved clothing during all training sessions:

1. Pants: Karate: Plain black Karate Gi pants.  BJJ Gi class:  BJJ Gi pants.  BJJ No Gi class:  Grappling or MMA Shorts, compression pants can be worn underneath. You can also wear Jiujitsu pants. IMA Core/MMA: Plain black Karate or Jiujitsu pants or plain black grappling or MMA shorts. Combatives:  Plain black Karate or Jiujitsu pants or plain black grappling or MMA shorts. Kickboxing:  Muay Thai Shorts, MMA Shorts, Grappling Shorts.  Other types of long black pants may be acceptable only if approved by the instructor.  Judo:  Official White and/or Blue Gi pants.

2. Tops: Karate: Black Karate Gi must be worn.  A black Rash Shirt or plain black t-shirt is to be worn under the Gi top.  BJJ Gi class:  BJJ Gi top.  A black Rash Shirt or plain black t-shirt is to be worn under the Gi top. BJJ No Gi class, IMA Core/MMA or Kickboxing: IMA training t-shirt or club rash shirt (preferred), alternatively a plain black t-shirt. Each student should bring a change of tops to class should the first top become too wet from perspiration. Judo:  Official White and/or Blue Gi top.

3. Shoes: No standard walking, dress or sports shoes are to be worn on the mats. Only special martial arts training footwear (example Grappling socks or Wrestling shoes) which has been approved by the instructor.

4. Belts or Patches: Graded students must wear their belt or patch (as applicable).

5. All clothing must be free of all logos or markings unless the logo is that of IMA or an approved martial arts brand of clothing logo. (no inappropriate sayings, or logos will be accepted).

6. Persons inappropriately attired may not be allowed to train. This is at the sole discretion of the supervising instructor.

7. In addition to the general uniform requirements, persons must bring a towel and filled water bottle to each training session.

A.7 Sparring requirements

1. Persons participating in sparring activity must purchase and wear an approved mouth guard and bring this mouth guard to every training session.

2. As boxing drills are a regular conditioning activity, persons are encouraged to purchase their own set of boxing mitts of an approved 14oz or 16oz size. Please check with the instructor prior to purchase.

3. In addition to their personal mouth guards, persons participating in sparring must wear full protective clothing, either their own or as supplied by IMA, comprising body guards, head guards, groin guards, shin guards and 14oz or 16oz boxing mitts (depending on the type of sparring).

4. Not all classes involves sparring and therefore sparring is not a pre-requisite for all types of training. (Please speak to the head instructor if you have any questions or concerns in relation to sparring).

A.8 Sickness or Injury

1. Persons must not train if they are suffering from the flu or other viral infection that may be passed on to other persons.

2. Persons must advise the Instructor if suffering from any injury or medical condition, either permanent or temporary, which may be adversely affected by certain types of training. Some examples of this may include blood pressure problems and cardiac disorders, neck and back injuries, diabetes and asthma.

3. If requested by the Instructor, persons with the above or like conditions must show this Code of Conduct to their physician and secure a medical certificate clearly stating that the person is able to participate in classes conducted by Integrated Martial Arts and whether there are any restrictions or conditions applicable.

A.9 COVID Safe Business & COVID-19 Safety Plan

1. To comply with Public Health Orders we are a registered COVID Safe Business and we have established a COVID-19 Safety Plan for IMA’s training centre which is intended to help keep participants, volunteers and workers safe.

2. In addition we have completed the COVID Safe Martial Arts Instructor Certification.

3. All members and persons attending the IMA training centre or any IMA event are expected to abide by our COVID-19 safety plan.

4. Persons may be expected to have a temperature check on entry to the training centre and if their temperature is over 38 degrees Celsius they must leave and seek medical advice.

5. Persons must make extra effort in relation to personal hygiene and use hand sanitiser liberally (available at various sanitation stations).

6. All persons who enter the training centre agree to have their contact details stored on a COVID-19 contact register.

7. If you are unable, or unwilling to abide my our COVID-19 safety plan please do not attend any IMA class or facility. Non-compliance puts the business and those who attend the training centre or events at unnecessary risk.

A.10 Other Health Issues

1. Persons must not attend training under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.

2. Smoking is not allowed in the Training Area or directly outside the entry area.

3. Persons training must give proper attention to personal hygiene and exhibit clean grooming (i.e. body, hands, feet and uniform/clothing); and ensure that fingernails and toenails are trimmed and clean.

4. Persons with a cut or bleeding injury must cease training immediately and receive appropriate first aid. Re-joining the training session will not be allowed until the instructor has deemed that it is safe to do so.

5. Persons administering first aid to a person suffering a cut or bleeding injury must wear protective gloves.

A.11 Training Area Ethics

1. Persons must always be courteous and helpful to each other.

2. Physical contact between persons who are training must be appropriate to the situation and necessary for the skill development of those persons.

3. Sexual harassment, defined as being where a person is subjected to unwanted or uninvited sexual behaviour, will not be tolerated.

4. Any form of discrimination based on sex, ethnic origin, language, colour, or other form of differentiation will not be tolerated.

A.12 Grading Conditions

1. Opportunity to grade under the IMA syllabus occurs up to four (4) times per calendar year (where applicable). A person may only grade at these times subject to the final determination of the instructor.

2. Grading fees must be paid prior to grading day.

3. In assessing a person’s readiness to grade, the Instructor takes into consideration such factors as consistency of attendance, attitude, focus and attention during training sessions, as much as a person’s knowledge of the IMA syllabus to the point he or she wishes to grade.

4. To secure grading under the IMA syllabus a person must be a current financial member of IMA.

5. Membership of IMA requires a person to agree to be bound by this Code of Conduct.

6. IMA reserves the right to revoke the membership and/or the grading of any person who breaches this Code of Conduct.

A.13 Record of Criminal History

1. IMA may (interpret, is likely to) refuse membership or refuse to teach certain types of classes to a person who has a criminal record or comes under criminal investigation at some point in the future.

2. People who have a past or present criminal record are expected to privately disclose this to the head instructor. This information will be kept private.

3. The decision of whether a person can join or remain a member of the club is at the sole discretion of the head instructor.

4. Please note that if you have been convicted of a serious crime involving acts of violence, intimidation, assault harassment of a minor or similar, you will not be allowed to join or train with IMA.

5. If it comes to the attention of the head instructor that you have a criminal record and have not disclosed it voluntarily, you may be asked to leave immediately and not return.

A.14 Weekly Membership Subscription

1. When you signup to a Membership Subscription plan you are committing yourself (or family members) to an ongoing subscription, charged on a weekly basis.  This charge is via a credit or debit card and is electronically charged via our online membership and billing system.  Please note:  You will be charged on a weekly basis whether you attend or not.  There will be no refunds for weeks that you do not attend.  We encourage all members to commit to their training. If you envisage you are going to be away for an extended period of time (for example more than 2 weeks), then please contact us in advance (a minimum of 2 working days prior to your next scheduled billing date is required) to pause your subscription. support@integratedmartialarts.com.au or 0400491848.

A.15 Billing / Charges

1. Membership subscription billing is charged weekly with a minimum commitment of 1 week of billing.  For example: At our highest level of billing for an individual adult (at the time of writing) is equivalent to $35 (for 1 week of an unlimited membership subscription). The card processor will either be via Stripe, PayPal or Square integrated into our online billing system, or via the Square Reader device for in-person purchases.

A.16 Temporarily Pausing Membership

1. If you need to pause your membership subscription as you are going away on a family holiday for  say 4 weeks for example, or prior to school holidays and your children won’t be training during the holidays.  Please contact us and we can arrange to pause your membership.  Please contact us in advance (a minimum of 2 working days prior to your next scheduled billing date is required) to pause your subscription. support@integratedmartialarts.com.au or 0400491848.  Please note:  We do not offer the ability to skip the charges on single classes that you are unable to attend, or offer refunds for classes not attended.  We also appreciate those members who may choose to keep their membership subscription going through the holiday period, as this helps support the running of the club. We continue to operate throughout most school holidays and will advise if we are planning on closing for a break.  Our annual shutdown period is usually the Christmas & early New Year period.

A.16 Cancellation of Membership Subscription

1. We understand that circumstances and interests change over time.  Should you wish to cancel your membership subscription please email support@integratedmartialarts.com.au and we can arrange this for you.   Please note: A minimum of 2 working days prior to your next scheduled billing date is required to action your request.

A.17 Forced facility closures / shutdowns / lockdowns

1. If we have to shut down the training centre due to government requirements such as COVID-19 restrictions, we will offer online training via Zoom meeting for those that are interested and we will also provide training via our online membership portal via recorded videos.  During a shutdown like this, we will give all members 3 choices.  

A. Keep my Membership Subscription going throughout the lockdown period.  You will have access to the online training noted above.

B. Pause my membership subscription until you physically reopen.  You will not have access to the online training noted above.

C. Reduce my membership subscription fee to the online only fee.  You will have access to the online training noted above.

You will make an election and then we will notify you once the training facility is open again and your pre-lockdown/pre-closure membership subscription will resume to the pre-lockdown level, unless you notify us differently.

Last Updated Sunday 19 September 2021.

The most recent version of this document will be found at: https://integratedmartialarts.com.au/terms-and-conditions-and-code-of-conduct/