Is it safe for my child to practice martial arts? This is a question many parents have asked themselves before considering enrolling their kids or teens in martial art programs. These concerns have arisen after kids and teens have sustained sever injuries like concussions and bone fractures while practicing martial arts like Judo and Aikido.
Consequently, writer have given their position on the issue, discussing the risks of martial arts and whether it is safe for kids and teens to engage in these activities.
In the article “Japan confronts Hazards of Judo”, Daniel Krieger and Noriko Kitano describe how injuries and deaths in teens practicing Judo raised concerns about the safety of the sport and the underlying factors that led to these catastrophic results.
Krieger and Kitano assert that one of these factors was “wrong coaching techniques” that made Judo lethal and dangerous. The writers are surely right, and I can personally attest to the danger of improper instruction in Judo. It is an intense sport that involves relatively risky moves like over-head throws, sweeps and chokes that are generally harmless when taught correctly. But I have seen that when an instructor teaches a technique improperly, severe injuries can result. For example, a basic judo technique called ippon seoi nage involves throwing an opponent over your head using your arm and landing them smoothly on their back. But if a judoka is not taught how to keep their balance and effectively pin their opponent, they could very well land their opponent on their neck which can lead to severe injuries.
In the article, an interviewee, Koji Murakawa, claims that “the problem is that instructors are ignorant about safety issues”. Murakawa’s theory is interesting as it sheds light on the potential hazards of untrained instructors in Judo. In my opinion, seasoned instructors may lightly ignore safety issues as they often do not apply to them. Some instructors often forget that novice judokas like kids and teens lack the experience to practice judo with zero risk of injury. In consequence, they omit crucial safety instructions and reminders that could avoid the risk of injury entirely.
A second interviewee, the chairman of sports medicine for USA Judo hypothesizes on the Japanese cultural trait, gaman ( not giving up) and how he believes it may have played a role in the judo incidents as he believes this cultural trait may have led instructors or students to lightly brush off injuries like concussions and continue the intense training despite the injuries already sustained. I agree that cultural influence may strongly affect how one practices a sport or a martial art. I also concur with the chairman about how this may have been an underlying cause in some of the cases where students were injured as some cultures put an emphasis on the values of honor and pride and consequently instructors and students may feel the need to keep going with training and ignore minor or subtle injuries which can lead to terrible results down the road.
Another interviewee, Yuichi Toshima, an employee of Japan’s Sports and Youth bureau says that installing a diligent judo certification program for instructors similar to the one in France would be impossible in Japan as “it would entail too much administrative reform”. By focusing on the administrative side of things, Toshima overlooks the importance addressing the issue of ignorant instructors and the danger they pose for kids and teens practicing judo. Though he may be right about the drastic administrative reform installing a new system like this would entail, I believe the benefits that would result outweigh by far the cost and that it could be a big step on the way to creating a safe Judo environment for teens.
In a 2016 article published through CBS News, Robert Preidt discusses the dangers of martial arts and why parents should avoid enrolling their children in martial art programs.
In the first paragraph of the article, based on a report from the American Academy Pediatrics, he claims that “for safety’s sake, kids should only engage in non-contact forms of martial arts”. Though I share the importance the writer puts on kids’ safety, it is my opinion that it is too drastic to have kids avoid contact martial arts altogether. I believe there are many methods and safety precautions that are already put in place to ensure that kids can safely practice full contact combat sports like Judo and Jiu Jitsu. From my experience, severe injuries in martial arts can occur but mostly in isolated situations where specific conditions limit the safety of practice. In my 4 years practicing judo with judokas’ ages varying from 5 to 20 years old, never once I have, I witnessed my peers sustaining severe injuries. I recognize that minor injuries like sprains or strains are common but that is normal for an intense combat sport like Judo. Instead of ‘boycotting” contact martial arts, I would rather actively promote awareness about the importance of safety when practicing martial arts and create a safe environment for kids to practice the martial arts they enjoy.