Rank Registration

Rank certificates are available to all martial artists that wish to register their rank or be evaluated and are approved for promotion by the SMAA.

The SMAA policy for registering an existing rank is:

A martial artist seeking possible rank registration through the SMAA must have sufficient time in grade.  PLEASE NOTE: meeting the time in grade requirement does not automatically qualify you for promotion to a given rank.

We do not wish to circumvent the traditional teacher/student relationship in any way. If an individual is currently under the guidance of an instructor, the SMAA will only work with that individual once we have the express consent and blessing of his/her instructor. This is in line with proper martial arts protocol, respect for the chain of command, and is in fact, simply common courtesy.

The SMAA encourages the highest level of loyalty to one's instructor and seniors. Please don't ask us to undermine this loyalty by going behind your instructor's back to explore possible rank evaluation, promotion and certification - we will never knowingly work with another instructor's students unless given permission to do so by that instructor. Have your current instructor contact us for more info.

Please contact SMAA Executive Director Mr. Donn Schucker for more information.