Setting a trap for the stupid
Published: Thu, 09/07/17
I have a small cut on the bridge of my nose today. Nothing serious really and it could have been a lot worse. I inflicted it upon myself by inadvertently setting up the perfect booby trap and then walking straight into it. Our new house has a big downstairs room with two doors, one from the hallway by the front door and the other from the kitchen. V and I were sorting out the pieces of a shelving system ready to reassemble. I leaned a long piece of Contiboard against the door. A while later I opened the same door from the inside and the board fell straight into my face and the top edge cut my nose, genius booby trap to catch an idiot.
I share this incident because I have been thinking about safety and first aid for Stav instructors. For many years an up to date first aid certificate has been a requirement of being insured as a martial arts instructor. Fair enough up to a point but a general first aid at work certificate is of very limited relevance in a specialised environment such as a Dojo or whatever you want to call your training environment. I have been attending first aid training all my life. I joined the cubs at 8 and went right through to being a Queen’s scout. My Scout Group was very keen on first aid (Be Prepared and all that) so I have always had a pretty good idea what to do in the case of a minor emergency. I qualified each year for my combat first aid test during my 9 years in the TA and I have done a St John’s Ambulance course at least every three years over the last 25 years that I have been insured to teach Stav. I have done a lot of first
aid training in my life and although I can’t claim to have saved any one’s life directly there have been a few occasions when it has been useful, to myself as well as other people. However, I have tended to think that the blanket requirement for a first aid qualification for martial arts insurance was a bit of a box ticking exercise. I believe that everyone should have some knowledge of first aid as a basic life skill. This was why my scout troop was so keen to teach the subject along with many other life skills which have served me well ever since. (Every time I put up a tent and camp at the various outdoor events I attend each year I am using skills I learned all those years ago.)
From a martial arts perspective the problem is that first aid training is that each environment has its own particular requirements. Combat first aid is different to Nursery nursing first aid. Mountain rescue first aid will be different to the requirements of a swimming pool lifeguard. Being a handyman has its own first aid requirements which I have to be aware of. (For example, did you know that you can improvise a pretty effective dressing from toilet paper and masking tape?) Of course there are basic crossovers, anyone else remember the “Breathing, Bleeding, Breaks and Burns.” mantra? But the risks in each environment or activity will be specific and the person in charge or the designated first aider will need to understand and be able to deal with those particular risks.
There is a deeper problem with general first aid training in that the assumption is that you come across a random situation and do your best to help. Then you pass the casualty over to the experts (probably paramedics in and ambulance) and it is no longer anything to do with you. You had no responsibility for creating the problem and no accountability afterwards unless you did something really stupid when trying to help.
The martial arts instructor is in a very different situation. The instructor is responsible for creating a safe environment for training. The instructor is responsible for action that is taken in the event of an accident. The instructor is accountable for the environment and action taken within that environment. From a Stav point of view the instructor needs to be thinking about past, present and future.
I have recently been informed that there is no longer a requirement for Martial Arts instructors to have a first aid qualification in order to be insured. I suppose the reason is that there is no first aid training which is specific to martial arts. So, I am in the process of developing a simple course for those who would be Stav teachers, and may be helpful to other martial artists. The course will be based on the simple principles of risk, action and accountability. There will be a session on the subject at Stavcamp next week. http://www.stavcamp.org
In my next message I will expand on the Swiss Cheese Theory of Risk, (my encounter with a piece of Contiboard yesterday was a pretty good example of this theory in action, which is why I shared the story.) Even if you have no intention of teaching Stav or another martial system we all have to deal with risk every day, boiling an egg, crossing the road, playing with your children, Swiss Cheese is always there in the background looking for an opportunity to strike.
Have a safe day and more soon.
regards
Graham
PS I had an enquiry yesterday regarding the nine module foundation course I have been talking about creating for the past year. The idea is that the basics of Stav would be learned by studying online video and written material. The instructional material would be presented in a series of modules with sufficient time between each one to absorb and practice the teaching. At the end there would be a day course to consolidate what had been learned and iron out any misunderstandings. I have had the outline and some of the modules ready for a while but not managed to complete the whole programme. Now we are getting settled at last I should be able to test the first version this Autumn. It is certainly an idea that has possibilities, just a matter of pulling it together.