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B R E A K T H R O U G H S T R A T E G I E S Th e Martial Art of Safety
people protecting themselves from getting hurt (or worse.)
Personal safety is the ultimate self-defense. Its bottom line:
Yet, a range of statistics shows that despite signifi cant re-
sources expended on safety, many companies are still beset
with the “personal” injuries of strains & sprains and slips/trips/falls.
In addition to the damage to individuals and associated orga-
nizational “direct” costs, these incidents aff ect performance. Th e
eff ectiveness of impaired workers is reduced (even among those
not injured to the point of fi ling a claim). And operations coverage
is diminished as well. Th is in an era when many industries, such as
manufacturing and distribution, have reported diffi culties in get-
ting and remaining fully staff ed.
Further, well-implemented environmental and equipment
controls—while defi nitely important—have clearly not been the
panacea for reducing the incidence and severity of these injuries
past a certain (too high?) level. Unsurprisingly, there are numer-
ous recent studies confi rming the impact of such “human factors”
of individual and psychosocial contributors on soft -tissue injuries
and slips/trips/falls—both at work and off the job. Given that, lead-
ers seeking to actually make sizable improvements might consider
harnessing these forces towards, rather than “against” Safety per-
formance (e.g. as in “squelching” or trying to fi ght down human
“weaknesses” or tendencies).
Further, any real solution should have six critical characteristics:
1. Actually prevent injury and cumulative trauma buildup (that
can later “erupt” into impairment).
2. Be easy and quick to learn by pretty much everyone through
a range of ages and conditions.
3. Be transportable/applicable to a wide array of tasks and po-
tential risk conditions
4. Be energizing.
5. Be readily internalized, self-reinforcing—showing almost
immediate positive results so that people truly want to utilize
methods without having to be insistently externally reminded or
consistently monitored.
6. Enlist a range of inherent human capabilities—both mental
and physical factors—towards safety.
Additionally, there’s an ideal, 7th characteristic: Simultaneously
improve overall performance beyond just preventing injuries that
people don’t believe will actually occur to them—until they do.
Granted that at least one potential obstacle exists here—how
can leaders eff ectively transfer practical prevention methods and
techniques to their workforce that show real results they can see,
that they don’t tune out, that they’re actually personally inclined
to put into practice even when no one is closely monitoring them?
Th at gets attention even from those not highly “physical” to those
“tough” or resistant workers and managers who oft en write off
Safety methods as theoretical or impractical. One way we’ve found
to accomplish this is by off ering select mental and physical meth-
ods and techniques adapted from internal martial arts, specifi cally
honed towards fostering internalized safety. Delivered by peers to
their co-workers.
Martial arts? Safety? Contrary to what some might assume, the
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goal of most internal martial arts goes
well beyond just “fi ghting.” It’s off ering
principles and methods that empha-
size self-control and responsiveness.
(Th e Japanese word “do”, as in “judo”,
means “a way of living.”) Th ey’re about
accomplishing all desired activities
with maximum strength and minimal
unnecessary tension (that might otherwise mount toward cumu-
lative trauma or mental stress.) Further, the Japanese term for
martial arts (“budo”) has been translated as “the way of stopping
the spear,” i.e., ending the confl ict. Th e Chinese word “gung fu” or
“kung fu” literally means “skill achieved through hard work and
practice” and can apply to any activity—including those that don’t
involve combat.
Th e main gist: internal martial arts focus on safely directing and
redirecting forces. With an initial emphasis on people being better
able to control themselves (such as being relaxed and eff ective un-
der pressure), it’s the ultimate step in embracing practical respon-
sibility. Th is practical philosophy can readily apply even to those
who never go to a formal martial arts class. So, for example, we’ve
seen in numerous industries and across many countries how rela-
tively simple-to-learn skills for elevating balance, usable strength
and safer re-routing of forces (away from damaging more vulner-
able, “injury prone” areas such as lower back, shoulders, hands and
knees) has signifi cantly reduced strains/sprains and slips/trips/falls
(with reports of up to 85 percent reductions in such injuries—even
among people doing physical tasks while exposed to the elements).
Someone defi ned power as the ability to change the future.
Internal martial arts principles and methods can unleash the
power to parry potential Safety risks towards high performance.
An internal martial arts core message equally applies to business:
real knowledge is evidenced by actions, per a well-known Japa-
nese warrior maxim, “To know and to act are precisely the same.”
Pledges and objectives are ultimately empty when not grounded
in practical actions and don’t by themselves change safety’s reality.
Here’s another relevant martial art truism: “Vision without action
is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
So my recommended takeaway for breaking through a nagging
Safety plateau: if your company has suff ered an unacceptable histo-
ry of recurrent strains/sprains and/or slips/trips/falls—and you’ve
only incorporated variations on the same intervention themes to
no real avail—consider fi nding and implementing an approach
that internalizes the potential latent powers within your workforce,
and positively works on psychosocial contributors, all to move to-
wards their becoming “black belts” in taking better control of their
own personal safety.
Robert Pater is the Managing Director and creator of the
MoveSMART® system for preventing strains/sprains, slips/trips/falls,
and hand injuries implemented in over 60 countries. Th eir empha-
sis is on “Energizing, Engaging Expertise” to simultaneously elevate
safety per formance, leadership and culture.
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