Martial Arts Risk Assessments

[Tez3]

As some will know we run our martial arts club from MOD property in an Army barracks. We've had to move from one barracks to another because the building we were in is being demolished so the Scots Guards are very kindly taking us in ( yes they wear the bearskins and the red jackets but not all the time lol). Their QM is happy with all our insurances etc but wants risk assessments from us, it is common policy in the MOD, you should see our work ones! It's the big Health & Safety thing. The problem is I've never done risk assessments for martial arts and need help from anyone who perhaps has done them before?
The forms I have list Potential hazard, who is at risk, existing control measures, risk rating, preventative measures and responsiblities.
I can think of strained and pulled muscles, all at risk, adequate warm ups and for the kids sparring - best protective equiment possible but am really stuck with the rest. there must be more but I can't think of what to put down.
Any help much appreciated!

 

[Seth T.]

Do students sign a waiver of some kind when they take classes? My instructor has one that absolves him from lawsuit if we knock each other around too much.

Anything called out specifically on there would be good to include in your risk assessment. So maybe look at broken fingers/toes, bruises and abrasions, stiff joints from falling etc.

 

[Tez3]

Sounds good, thanks! Risk assesments are a pain in the proverbial lol, in offices they are easy enough ie falling over stuff left on floor, trailing wires, electrocution etc etc but in something like martial arts it's hard to think of what to write! I don't know if anyone else has this thing of having to write them but in the Civil Service it's endemic.

 

[Brian King]

Tez3
Many also look at blood born pathogens. Also if I remember correctly your club does not ever train witth weapons but if you do or are going to in the future there are some risks associated with training with weapons even mere training weapons.


Regards
Brian King

 

[Kneevsface]

All u need is insurance =). An to let them no yes this is martial arts an some times injurys do happen. If ppl are afraid to get a bump or bruse sometime they shouldent do it lol =)

 

[Tez3]

All u need is insurance =). An to let them no yes this is martial arts an some times injurys do happen. If ppl are afraid to get a bump or bruse sometime they shouldent do it lol =)

We have loads of insurance and it's not the students that are worried, it's standard for the Ministry of Defence to carry out risk assessments on every activity performed by any member of staf including the military. If you are the nominated assessor (and there's no qualifications lol) you have to look around your workplace or place of activity and find everything that could cause an accident, you write it down then say whether it's a big risk or a small one, then you write down what steps you have taken to avoid an accident.

I went online to see if I could get some help and this boggled my mind lol!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_assessment


It's the martial arts bit that is befuddling me.
Brian, that helps, the risk is in using weapons, the answer is to have strict supervision, adult use only and qualified instructors....I think that sounds right? I can always find out what the range wardens use on theirs lol, yep even the firing ranges have to have risk assessments.

This the government agency responsible for all this, the have different examples but nothing on martial arts where we set out to hurt people!
http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/riskassess.htm

 

[Kneevsface]

Well it sounds like ure in for alot of fun then lol. U might have to do exacly wat ure saying then lol. It will be time consuming an very frustrateing but worth it in the long run. An keep an eye out 4 the slightest deatails. Even a tiny bit of riped carpet could be deadly. Some one could catch the toe on it an not only break it but they could continue to fall an shatter there hip. Even a wobly fan could fall one day. So keep that in mind =)

 

[Tez3]

Well it sounds like ure in for alot of fun then lol. U might have to do exacly wat ure saying then lol. It will be time consuming an very frustrateing but worth it in the long run. An keep an eye out 4 the slightest deatails. Even a tiny bit of riped carpet could be deadly. Some one could catch the toe on it an not only break it but they could continue to fall an shatter there hip. Even a wobly fan could fall one day. So keep that in mind =)

Oh I have lol! We have a frayed piece of carpet in our rest room that that had to be taped off with yellow and black warning tape lol!

I came up with one thing, that children could be scalded by the hot water in sinks of the toilets, its a low risk I think and it's remedied by an adult keeping an eye on them when they wash their hands. Actually i'd have an eye on them to make sure they didn't flood the place but I can't put that down lol!

A risk assessment can be useful, doing one at home when you have young children for instance but as you pointed out it can also get nit picking and silly but ....sigh...it has to be done to keep the powers that be happy.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Imo the best thing to do is to pull up the statistics for the art your practise (MMA in this case) and build up a document with references, indicating what the major and minor risks are.

That should give them something to chew over, and you should be able to do this with relatively little effort.

 

[Brian King]

Tez3 wrote:

“the risk is in using weapons, the answer is to have strict supervision, adult use only and qualified instructors....I think that sounds right?”

Sounds about right although depending on the art there are some weapons that minors should be able to learn about and practice with. You might also want to consider safety equipment such as eye protection if using air-soft, paintball or simunition firearms work (for those doing the work as well as anyone in the immediate area) and perhaps for blade work.

Hydration and heat exhaustion might also be considerations as well as frost bite and hyperthermia depending on where and how you train. Proper supervision and making the students aware of the risks and symptoms and prevention could be the answer.

For blood born pathogens I have seen schools that have made a blood born pathogen awareness and prevention as part of their waiver signing. Basically blood can carry communicable contagions. Diseases and viruses (think AIDS and various Hepatitis and others.) The answer being that students monitor themselves and the other students, when one starts to bleed they excuse themselves from the drill/exercise and clean themselves up and stop the bleeding, they also clean the training area of any blood trails and splatter. I have seen places that use hydrogen peroxide on the mats as well as others that use medical and ‘green’ sanitizers. Others just rub dirt in the wounds and rub out the spillage on the ground. Your group sounds like mostly soldiers and law enforcement types that if like their American counterparts get their blood tested regularly, so this might not be as much as a issue although they do travel to foreign lands and/or ‘deal with’ a wide mix of people and possibly pick up all kinds of bugs and itches.

For soldiers and law enforcement types (everyone really but I am trying to address Tez3’s situation) time away from the job due to injuries is a hazard and risk. Again the answer is in supervision and perhaps some kind of graduated increase of risks corresponding to increase of skills and knowledge…no leg locks until a certain level achieved something along those lines.

I am thinking how detailed you wish to get with the assessment might depend on how much you or those that are forcing you to do it, believe in the methodology. If they are not fanatical about it, keeping it simple seems like the more workable and usable model. You might want to run the finished assessment by your instructor(s) as they will be held to the standards set in the document as these things are usually CYA for management and bureaucrats.

Good luck Tez3
Brian King

 

[Brian King]

Tez3 wrote

“I came up with one thing, that children could be scalded by the hot water in sinks of the toilets, its a low risk I think and it's remedied by an adult keeping an eye on them when they wash their hands.”

　
Often here in the U.S. water heaters can be moderated so children cannot be scalded, something recommended both for energy savings as well as safety for small children and babies. They also I think sell governors that can regulate the water temperature at individual locations.

Brian

 

[Jenny_in_Chico]

Be sure to carefully describe the levels of sparring that participants would engage in, and list the sparring gear you use.

Sparring level 1: No contact
Risk of getting knocked in the melon: slight
Safety gear: chi emenations

Sparring level 4: Hard contact
Risk of getting knocked in the melon: 100%
Safety gear: mouth guard, head guard, chest protector, blah blah blah