While you have to have martial arts insurance, your mission is to never have to use it. The word “mitigate” means “to make less harsh or hostile.” The principle of mitigating damages involves making sure that you take steps to reduce the level of harm. It is normally applied to “plaintiffs” (people who file the lawsuit). An injured student has a responsibility to try to limit the severity of his own harm. 

In a martial arts context, that means that he should stop training when injured. He should not purposely expose himself to greater risk of harm. He should not execute kicks at full speed with a bad knee, and he should not throw and be thrown with a bad back. Instructors must make certain that their school policies allow and encourage injured students to mitigate their injury, or the instructor and school could be held liable for pushing an injured student and causing even more harm.

Also, instructors should be able to treat minor injuries. 

Four students were injured at a tournament, as frequently happens. Two were injured while breaking. They struck the bricks improperly. The other two were injured during sparring, one with a bloodied nose. Despite the presence of many instructors from a variety of schools, there did not seem to be any ready care available for the injured students. 

One of the instructors recommended that the competitor with the bloody nose lean his head back, which is exactly opposite from modern first-aid practices. It causes the blood to flow into the throat and can cause choking and illness (a person’s stomach tends to throw up his own blood). Fortunately for the competitors, one instructor was on the floor with CPR and First Aid certification and advanced martial arts healing techniques. She made herself available to treat the injuries of the competitors. 

Had there been no care available, or had the care been counterproductive (such as causing blood to drain into body cavities), then the injuries could have been much worse than they were.

There should be someone who can tend injuries available at all times. A First Aid kit should be handy. Red Cross certification in First Aid and CPR is recommended. 

One big caution about martial arts-type healing techniques: they had better work. If an esoteric technique is used and makes matters worse, then instructors and schools could get in even more trouble. In fact, the compounding of the injury due to amateur healing techniques may not be covered by your martial arts insurance policy.