Martial Arts Sparring and Protection Safety

Martial Arts has always been a high risk sport, not least because of the very nature of what it teaches, how to defend yourself through defensive and attacking techniques. In recent years, Martial Arts of all types and styles have grown in popularity, and with it a boom in organized Tournaments, ranging from semi or no contact ‘points’ competition, to full contact bouts.

As a result, the safety issue has also become much more important. The days of sparring without wearing some form of protection are long gone. Now, many competitors will have to kit themselves out from head to toe, not just to meet Tournament rules, but to abide by the Insurance Companies rules for Martial Arts sparring.

Head guards, hand protectors, shin and instep guards, forearm guards, body protectors, gum shields and, of course, groin protectors are very much the standard kit required if you are going to enter into Sparring competition.

Is all this necessary? Well, in the opinions of many great teachers, yes. Whilst teachings will demonstrate how to defend yourself, through proven defensive and attacking techniques, is it really the aim of a competition to inflict as much damage on your opponent, or even yourself?

Products have developed significantly to provide the sort of protection necessary to allow competitors to ‘go for it’ whilst ensuring that injuries are minimized. In 1995, the UK signed up to the European Directive on Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), which clearly states that all intermediate PPE must be fully tested in accordance with British Standards (harmonized across Europe), and carry the CE mark of approval.

The CE mark ensures that all products are not only impact tested, but also tested for toxic or noxious chemicals. Unfortunately very few suppliers are taking this responsibility seriously at the moment and continue to sell sparring equipment that has not met this basic safety requirement.

Why is this? Well, simply put, to have your products CE tested and certified does cost money, and many believe that this is not necessary, despite the fact that it is the law! So what are the Trading Standards doing about this? Well, very little is the answer, because it is such a difficult market to police given their resources. Therefore many suppliers can flout this Law without fear of any action against them.

Fortunately, many Insurance companies are now becoming aware of the apathy amongst suppliers, and are now insisting that all Clubs must use CE Approved equipment if their insurance is to remain valid.

Of course, some have already adopted the attitude “It won’t happen to me”, unfortunately, one Instructor has actually been sued and lost his house and business as a result of not complying with Insurance requirements and using non-CE approved gear. So ask yourself, is it really worth it?

About the author: Steve Turner is a 1st Dan Black-Belt in WTF Taekwondo, an assistant WTF Taekwondo instructor, and Managing Director of Black Eagle Martial Arts Equipment, one of the few UK manufacturers and distributors of martial arts equipment pro-actively pursuing CE marking on their sparring equipment.

Visit the Bruce Lee Info Pages for more articles on the Kung-fu Legend.

Tweet This Tweet Me!