Wing Tsun Kung Fu and Legal Exposure Awareness
If you have ever watched a Kung Fu movie, you have seen a martial arts form known as Wing Tsun Kung Fu. Wing Tsun is a martial art that incorporates six principles: (1) Centerline control (2) Wu Wei (3) Relaxation (4) Sensitivity (5) Simplicity and (6) Directness. While the form of Wing Tsun Kung Fu was created for self-defense, I have found that the Six Principles of Wing Tsun Kung Fu can also provide insight into martial arts instructors and their defense of potential lawsuits relating to negligence, premises liability, injury, and harm. Legally, an instructor in the United States has a duty of reasonable care to his or her students. This means that the instructor must take reasonable means to prevent harm to his or her students. The legal claim of negligence is often referred to as a “failure to act.” This means that there must be some omission of a legal duty by an instructor. For example, if there is an unsafe condition in your studio, notice of such an unsafe condition is provided to management and the unsafe condition goes unrectified, then the instructor may have a legal duty to provide notice to their students. This does not mean that an instructor has a legal duty to fix every problem that comes up in their studio. An instructor also has a legal duty to protect their students from hazards, obstructions, slip trips and falls, martial arts injuries and all manner of injury.
Centerline control is the focus and the harmony of each and every move in Wing Tsun Kung Fu. The Six Principles of Wing Tsun Kung Fu teach that the ultimate goal of martial arts is to learn how to defend yourself properly; not only physically, but also legally.
Wu Wei focuses on energy and it is the natural flow of the mind and action. In the practice, instructors are taught how to manage their energy and this includes their energy as it relates to students.
Relaxation is a major aspect of Wing Tsun Kung Fu. These Six Principles are a steppingstone to the next while also beginning again at one. Therefore, as instructors, an important lesson to provide to students is to not overexert yourself with energy when performing martial arts recreations. Instructors can stress the importance of relaxation to their students so that the students understand that there is not a need to perform a martial arts exercise at a higher intensity than necessary.
This is where sensitivity comes in. In practice, sensitivity relates to a physical reaction to physical touch. Sensitivity also applies to hearing the sounds of the body. These are the sounds that your body makes because of what you are doing. For example, when you hear click of the teeth when you are clenching. Sensitivity also means the response to changes and variations in the environment. When it comes to the legal context of these principles, an important legal perception is to know what to do when someone is injured. For example, if a student is injured, an instructor must be sensitive to their needs and those needs involve contacting emergency medical personnel, getting the student medical assistance, and calling 911.
As Wing Tsun Kung Fu focuses on simplicity, this is the heart of the other Six Principles. By keeping a move simple, responsive, and easy to access, you are ensuring your safety and the safety of others. Applying simplicity to comprehensive legal exposure strategies will allow an instructor to use the Statute of Limitations for personal injury. In New York, instructors will only be liable for injury if such injury occurs within three years of the incident and even less time in certain circumstances due to the New York protocol on notice to a municipal defendant.
The most efficient and effective defense in law is for individuals to create simple and clear notice to customers, clients, or students. Awareness of environmental awareness is also a simple and direct concept to keep people safe. Some examples include: keeping martial arts mats in areas they are supposed to be, keeping floors or shoes free of dirt, alcohol, and debris, to prevent slips and falls and injuries. Maintaining a safe learning environment is important. This can be maintained by keeping the facility free from potential hazards or risks for lawsuits.
Scenario-based training is another tool that can effectively train martial arts students to be aware of their environment when training. For example, the instructor can practice a slip trip and fall scenario with a designated spot on the mat so that the student knows to step to the left or right to avoid a slip trip and fall. Scenario-based training and how it can translate into the legal context.
Awareness is essential. In Wing Tsun Kung Fu, instructors have a heightened awareness of their bodily movements. They know the names of their muscles, tendons and ligaments. A student is taught that the more aware of their own bodies, the safer and better martial artist they will be. The same is true for legal issues. If instructors become aware of the potential for legal exposure, liability, negligent actions and injury, then instructors can be prepared to reduce the risk exposure by implementing curfews, and keeping the mats clean.
All of these scenarios are real. Many lawsuits are brought by martial arts students and plenty of judgments have been entered on behalf of injured students. There are many ways to bring awareness to legal matters for an instructor. There are also liability waivers that instructors can use to alleviate liability exposure.