Create an account and join IMAF

1. Open Create Account, complete the registration form, and follow any confirmation instructions. Existing members can use Sign In.
2. To join IMAF as an individual member, open Join IMAF and choose Start Individual Membership — $75/year. Annual dues support IMAF’s work to preserve and share Modern Arnis. Follow the enrollment steps and review the annual renewal terms before confirming. You do not need school approval to join IMAF as an individual member.
3. To join an existing school, open Member Dashboard → My Rank & School, choose an active school, and click Request to join. You can request to join a school before enrolling in individual IMAF membership.
4. Your school owner reviews the request under Students → Pending requests. Until acceptance, your dashboard shows Awaiting school approval. Your school owner must accept the request before your school affiliation is confirmed.
5. After acceptance, your school appears under School affiliation. Your rank remains unchanged. The owner assigns or corrects rank through the student’s Manage control.

Already affiliated elsewhere? Use My Rank & School → Change school → Request transfer. Your current school remains until the new owner accepts. Do not submit an ordinary join request. Duplicate requests are rejected. School owners cannot join their own school; ownership already provides the school relationship.

Apply to register a school

1. Sign in and open Member Dashboard → Apply to Register a School. Enter the school name, instructor, training address, city, region, country, phone, and school email. Class schedule, school description, and website are optional.
2. Click Submit school application. The application becomes Pending Approval. There is no charge. School ownership is granted after IMAF approval.
3. IMAF reviews the application in IMAF Admin → Pending School Applications. Approval changes it to Approved / Awaiting Membership; an approval email links back to your application. You can also check the status in your dashboard.
4. Once your school application is approved, select Complete School Membership — $150/year to activate your school. Existing individual subscribers use Upgrade to School Membership and review Stripe’s proration. IMAF approval makes you the School Owner. Successful School Membership payment activates the school and allows it to accept students.
5. An active school appears in the school directory and can accept students. One account manages one school; each school has one owner. Students have one managing school.

A pending or declined application does not grant ownership. Contact IMAF if you need clarification. Existing owners renew through Membership & Billing; they do not need to reapply. Lapsed school membership pauses acceptance, promotions, and advanced training eligibility while preserving records.

School Owner tasks

• Member Dashboard → Students → Pending requests: verify the name, then choose Accept request or Decline request.
• Students → Roster → Manage: choose rank, effective date, and a reason, then Save rank. Promotions require active student membership and an active school. Corrections and lowering ranks are recorded.
• Manage Member → Remove from school: provide a reason. Removal preserves rank and history.
• Member Dashboard → Manage My School: update your existing school information form. Use School Owner Help for the detailed owner guide.
• Contact IMAF for ownership changes, school retirement, or exceptional transfers. These are handled in IMAF Admin and recorded in history.

Why is a training level locked?

Signed-in users can access terminology and Level 2. Protected advanced syllabus and videos require active paid membership, an eligible rank, and an active accepted school relationship. Approved independent black belts are the existing exception to the school requirement.

• Membership inactive or expired: check Membership & Billing. A selected plan, pending checkout, trial, or role label alone does not prove paid access.
• Recently joined or waiting for acceptance: open My Rank & School. A pending school request does not provide accepted affiliation.
• Rank missing or lower than expected: ask your School Owner or IMAF Admin to review your recorded rank. Paying does not automatically change rank.
• School membership lapsed: the owner needs to renew the school membership. Your individual payment does not renew the school.
• Payment succeeded but access is wrong: refresh My Rank & School, check billing, and contact IMAF with your account email, payment date, and the affected level. Do not pay a second time to troubleshoot. Never send your password or card details.
• Access after a transfer or removal: rank and history stay with you. Access is recalculated from current membership and affiliation.

Paid eligible No Rank / Yellow members get through Level 3; subsequent ranks get through the next level, capped at Level 11. Eligible 1st Degree Black Belt and above receive all syllabus levels.

Account, profile, and email help

Use Sign In → Forgot your password? to request a reset; check spam and use the email registered to your account. Use the dashboard’s Edit My Profile and Account Settings links to update personal information, photo, password, or directory privacy. School listing fields remain under Manage My School. If a photo upload fails, try a smaller JPG or PNG and contact IMAF if it continues.

No request or approval email? Check spam and your account email. The saved dashboard state is authoritative; an email does not approve a request. Contact IMAF through Contact IMAF in the main menu when a payment or account needs review.

Open Member Dashboard · Join IMAF · IMAF Schools