The Nederlandse Vechtsportautoriteit (Dutch Martial Arts Authority) celebrates its first anniversary

After a year of full operation, the Vechtsportautoriteit took stock together with a delegation of members of parliament and representatives of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport), NOC*NSF and the municipality of Amsterdam during GLORY 59. The authority, which was established in response to widely observed abuses in the martial arts sector, introduced a guideline prohibiting punching and kicking to the head of minors, and tightened the requirements regarding medical safety and financial integrity at martial arts events.

The Vechtsportautoriteit has also launched the digital Fightpassport. Federations, fighters and ringside physicians can make use of it. Returning to the ring at another federation a week after a knockout is now a thing of the past. Suspensions of fighters can also remain in force when they switch federations. In addition, detailed insight into a fighter's history allows for better matchmaking, which prevents excessive differences in level.

Setting up an overarching body that supervises kickboxing, Thai boxing and MMA has long been a wish of various leading figures from the martial arts world, such as Remy Bonjasky, Ernesto Hoost and Marloes Coenen. Matters accelerated when, in response to incidents at kickboxing events around 2010, an increasing number of municipalities turned their backs on the sport. Change was needed: the sector had to professionalise and remove undesirable individuals.

After one year, further important steps have been taken in addition to the measures mentioned above. An active team of auditors is out in the field around 30 times a year to visit events and check whether the stricter rules for events are actually being applied in practice.

There is a strong willingness to work together towards an even safer, healthier and better regulated martial arts sector. The sector is joining forces itself as well and is seeking cooperation, for example in improving the quality of training courses. The Vechtsportautoriteit encourages this by drawing on committees of experts from the sector, and by joining NOC*NSF as an associate member. In the coming years this should lead to well-trained sports staff, a licensing system for all trainers and staff members, and high-quality gyms. Ultimately we share the same goal: an attractive, strong martial arts sector in which we enjoy taking part and which we can all be proud of.