Still using tatami to fall on? Hmmm: tough and/or brave bunch
We have a nice mat designed to absorb a lot of the force of the throw. But then we emphasize the importance of solid falling technique from Day 1.
While we practice some very dangerous techniques, I haven't seen any injuries happen in our hapkido dojang from either throwing or grappling techniques, except for one strained hamstring during a throw. I've seen MORE hamstrings injured during kicking that throwing.
I think the problem with Judo is (this opinion was voiced to be directly from the mouth of Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, btw) that during competition, people squirm every which way to NOT fall in a good falling position because if they DO, their opponent gets an Ippon and they lose the match.
So competitive judo, yea: dangerous (and in Wallace's words, "a stupid sport.")
But as far as training throws? Potential for injury, sure — but if you take it seriously and realize that falling correctly is YOUR responsibility, then it is safer than competitive grappling, IMO, where egos may keep people from tapping out when they should.
And when we do randori in class, if we know we are going to be thrown, we stop resisting and just fall: safety over ego.
We have a saying in the hapkido dojang: Falling has to be your favorite thing.