COBRA MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

The CMAA are fully committed to the continued improvement of the training and instruction it offers to its Members and Associates. Should you wish to make a complaint about any of its Assessors, Verifiers, Instructors or any Association Member the procedure is outlined below.

Any complaint you feel that you may have should be discussed between you and your club’s Senior Instructor. If you feel that there are mitigating circumstances as to why this cannot be done then you can forward your complaint in writing to:

Andrew Morrell Cobra Martial Arts Association President and Founder.

Complaints will only be received relating to activity within a CMAA club or event. Any issues outside of this are beyond our remit as per the statement on the CMAA website. 

Once you have made your complaint, you will receive written confirmation that your complaint has been received.

Your Instructor or the CMAA President will then consider your complaint and the appropriate action they think is necessary will be carried out within 14 days. You have the right to attend any relevant meeting concerning your complaint should you wish to do so.

You will be notified verbally and in writing of the outcome of your complaint and the decision that has been reached usually within 28 days of the complaint being received.

Cobra Martial Arts Association

PO Box 188, Manchester M34 0BU

Tel: 07909 673894 E-mail: cmaauk@hotmail.com Website: www.cmaa.co.uk

INTRODUCTION
The GMSTKD will not get involved in any situation, dispute or argument which takes place OUTSIDE of a GMSTKD club  this includes all social media. Complaints will only be accepted relating to activity within a GMSTKD club and only if taken place DURING a lesson or event. 

It is not our concern what members do in their own time, we do not employ instructors,they are volunteers and cannot be considered as employees, servants, representatives or agents and as such the GMSTKD will not be held vicariously liable for their actions either directly or indirectly. We are a service provider and us taking action, giving warnings - revoking membership etc would not stop that persons behaviour if they are intent. They would simply join another group or go on their own and carry on.
To summarise if a situation happens IN a GMSTKD club or AT a GMSTKD event then we can and will act but only if the situation occurred DURING the actual lesson/event. To make a comparison big supermarkets can't control their customers when they're not in the store, martial arts groups are no different. The head instructor reserves the right to make decisions including who may take belt graduations/gradings and when. 

MAKING A COMPLAINT
While initial complaints may be sent via email/text/telephone/social media no action will be taken until a written statement has been received, signed by the person making the complaint, with a full return postal address and backed up with factual evidence. The reason being that for a complaint to have any legal standing we must be able to prove who sent it in, this is difficult to do without a signature and return postal address.

MISUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Our social media policy offers advice and guidance on the use of social media and other platforms, no other advise is or will be given. The social media policy can be downloaded from the Instructor Area on this website and is also available by email upon request.
Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. The right to freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). However we all have a duty to be mindful of what we say or type in order that we do not cause offence to another which could then results in Police or Civil action. In these cases the 'author' only has themselves to hold accountable including for any damage they cause to THEIR OWN reputation with or without Police or Civil action.
This does not mean that we won't take action should a prosecution ensue as in theses cases, once evidence has been received,  through CMAA involvement that persons CMAA membership may well be revoked due to the conviction being most likely harassment* which also invalidates insurance cover for that person as this is on the list of convictions the companies won't offer cover to.
*Unwanted communication (direct or indirect), passing derogatory comments about another person on social media, internet pages or other forms of media on 2 or more occasions is a criminal offence under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997 (updated in 2012 to include 'Stalking').

THE ACTION WE WILL TAKE ONCE A COMPLAINT HAS BEEN RECEIVED
When complaints are received relating to a situation within GMSTKD or  at a GMSTKD event it will be passed to CMAA the following will take place dependant on the nature of the complaint.
1. Civil Complaints:
In general terms, a civil complaint is a process through which a person can seek to hold another liable for some type of wrong doing which does not involve any sort of criminal activity. In these cases statements will be gathered from all persons present at the time of the alleged incident and a decision will then be made based on the evidence presented.
2. Criminal Complaints:
Criminal complaints are not for GMSTKD or CMAA to investigate and in these cases the Police must be involved in the first instance. We will require the Police log number along with the name and contact details of the investigating officer. Once these details have been received and verified the personal CMAA membership, of the person concerned, may be suspended dependant on the nature of the allegation(s) against them and a decision will then be made based on action taken by the Police.
Important Note: With regards to both civil and criminal complaints posting about them on social media could weaken any case so it is strongly advised that this does not happen as it could be seen as 'trial by social media' and could also result in harassment charges being brought by return.