Accreditation
The Australian Coaching Council introduced the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) to regulate instructors /coaches of sporting bodies. The Kung Fu Wushu Australia (KWA) is a provider of Instructor Accreditation courses under the NCAS for Kung Fu, of which Tai Chi is a part.
The NCAS is a regulatory program which provides regulated instructors, to ensure professional updating, client -safe environments and 'classes' that were conducted ethically, lawfully and with respect to best business practice.
The Accreditation Course covers coaching/teaching /instructing (all interchangeable) methods, business considerations and risk management processes with a Chinese WuShu (martial Arts- including Tai Chi) emphasis. The Course includes satisfactory completion of a workbook on coaching methods/processes and also requires submission of a video of your class in progress.
The pre-requisite for course entry is 5 years of Tai Chi study under suitably qualified instructor/s who vouch/s that you have obtained the necessary skill for teaching purposes. Where there is no teacher to sign off the Sports Specific (Tai Chi ) component for you, you would need to submit that you were the most senior (experienced) in your group with support evidence of the forms you've learned, the amount of training you have had and the teachers who have provided this. A minimum of 1 year teaching experience as an assistant is also necessary and can be undertaken within the 5 year period or after the accreditation course, but the certificate would be withheld until both requirements are finalised.
NCAS Accreditation needs updating every 4 years and insurance is increasingly dependant on currency of accreditation, which is invalidated if membership with KWA lapses. ALL TCAA members are associate members of KWA and do not need to take out separate memberships in order to undertake NCAS accreditation. Updating consists of attending the workshop as previously, to pick up any newly available information.
Risk minimisation strategies are the current focus. You can access KWA website for further info.
Various health and fitness schools and organisation provide accreditation for the teaching of their specific health and fitness program. These accreditations do not provide NCAS Government recognition and are not usually for the martial art; they are for qualification of teachers within their specific systems.