Security

Video Transcript

Hello, today we’re going to talk about the most important points in a class, which are safety, security, safety. And happy. Well, people have to not get injured and they have to be happy and motivated. We’re going to focus on safety in this video. In the next videos, you’re going to see a little bit about how to create an atmosphere and create happiness at school as well. They’re the two standards: safety and happy. First of all, we have to make a small nuance within the language, since in English, we have security and safe. In Spanish, we only have «seguridad», right? But we’re talking

of security in terms of the protection of students and not so much in active security such as a surveillance camera, such as a person who prevents certain individuals from entering. Okay, so let’s talk about safety as the prevention of accidents, or what action must be taken in the event of an accident. Safety. In the case of prevention, so that there are no fires, in the case that there is a problem with a leak, what could happen? Especially with regard to accidents, I insist. Safety – accidents, security – would be more active protection. Okay, so within safety, we have to talk about prevention first. It’s the best safety we have. So, to prevent accidents, we’re going to take a number of elements into account. For example, at this team leader level, we’ll talk about the most basic and fundamental part.

In the next levels as instructor 1, 2 and 3, we will begin to delve into safety and we will begin to talk about the types of safety, we will begin to develop the subject quite a bit since it is one of the two fundamental pillars of teaching. Not only of Krav Maga but of any teaching methodology at the level of sport movement. The first thing is prevention. To prevent the instructor, of course, will have to arrive a little early to the room and check what is happening. Within the class itself, the training of students that we will talk about in the following video, in the instructor’s ten points, there is one called student training.

In this case, training is also important so that there are no clashes, so that there are no blows that can cause injuries, for example. Another very important aspect is the material with which we do the class. The collective material such as practice knives, practice guns… everything that is used in a Krav Maga class has to be made of a material that allows safety, that allows the person who is practicing with us not to get hurt. Let’s see, there are people who don’t follow these principles and use metal guns, for example, with the excuse of giving greater realism to a class, but of course, a metal gun hits you in the face or in the teeth, you have a problem.

With knives, it’s exactly the same. There are people who use rigid knives claiming greater realism, that in real life what’s going to happen to you is a metal knife… well, yes, but in practice where you have to do hundreds of repetitions, if one gets away, it’s not reality, it’s not the time to defend yourself, it’s the time to learn and at that moment we must avoid injuries. So, we’ll see, now we’re going to see, which knives are suitable. This is about the collective material but also about the individual material. Students must wear a protector that protects the most sensitive areas, such as the groin, the inguinal area, such as the mouth. They must also wear protection on their hands and shins to avoid getting hurt during practice.

Let’s remember that Krav Maga is not about getting tough, hitting, breaking palm trees or anything like that. Rather, it’s about making the practice as realistic as possible, allowing us to survive an aggressive situation and get out of there quickly. Another very important issue regarding safety would be the structure itself where we teach the class. Whether or not there is tatami on the floor, whether there are stairs, whether there is a railing, whether there is a window where there is glass and a person can fall on that glass, break it and cut themselves. If there are backrests, if there are nails coming out of there, certain practice elements are hung afterwards. If there are staples in the tatami, which I have encountered in all these years of experience. Someone suddenly running, a staple and the foot open.

Of course, when a student comes to you with their foot open and says, «What’s happening now?» «What do I do now?» Well, obviously it’s a problem. As instructors, we must identify all of this beforehand and, of course, discuss it with the owner of the room, if it’s a gym. Or, if it’s yours, you must have everything completely in line with safety standards, and we have several ways to act when we see these types of elements that can lead to an accident. The first would be elimination. The elimination of that element. Let’s imagine a puddle of water because there is a leak in the gym, we arrive with a mop, before class, and we don’t clean it. That puddle has been eliminated.

The second element is neutralization. Let’s imagine, for example, that there’s a part of the tatami that’s there, that makes a hole and that it’s very dangerous for someone to twist their ankle in any race. Well, we’re going to neutralize it, maybe by putting the kind of shields we use for kicks, for example, on top of it. That way we neutralize the danger. If someone is going to step on it, they also see that there’s a problem.

The last one would be signage. Signage of a problem. There are times, like for example a broken mirror, I’ve arrived and in a previous session they’ve broken a glass, a mirror, they’ve collected the glass but the broken mirror is still on the wall, well in that case we’re going to signage it maybe with a strip of cones or a fence, if there is one. Or backpacks or something to prevent people from falling into that mirror. So we have three basic actions. The first would be elimination. The second is neutralization, and the third is signaling. We’ll also look at the opening phase in the team leader program. The opening phase is the key element, which is also called safety.

Where we should ask all students, first, if they have any relevant injuries that limit their practice so that they do not get worse. And second, if they are wearing anything that could harm them or their classmates. For example; rings, earrings, pendants, belts, bracelets… anything that can get caught in clothing. Anything that they could step on and cut themselves, we must, in this case, eliminate it. Intervene outside and leave it out completely. As I was telling you at the Team Leader level, well, this is going to be the safety, comply with it and you will see that there are no accidents, therefore, if people do not get injured, it is good for your class. In addition to the results of having a good time, they do not get injured, they do not hurt themselves practicing with their classmates, they do not hurt themselves in the techniques, the environment is safe for accidents.

In subsequent instructor levels, we will go into much more depth on this safety. We will also talk about what happens if we have an accident. What accident protocol there is. A person who suddenly falls to the ground and we don’t know what happened, is conscious, is not conscious… Second: what happens if someone has twisted an ankle or has a problem in a fall and comes with a very painful wrist, we will see this in later levels. 

For now remember; first is prevention, second three guidelines for action where we have first elimination, second; neutralization and third; signaling. Finally, monitor the formation when they practice, we will talk about that specifically. Also if they wear any items such as rings, bracelets, pendants, belts, watches, piercings, anything that could compromise the student or their classmates and also about the location. If there are elements in the gym that could be dangerous, such as a protruding nail, separate tatami mats, unsuitable flooring, wall bars, glass, windows… anything within the sense, always do a checking when you arrive. In any case, we will see this in the material that comes a little further on. The most important thing in school, remember, safety and happy.

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