![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Yay I get to keep teaching
Jan. 25th, 2011 08:16 pmInsurance for my martial arts studio costs is essentially a paperwork fee. I have that vague feeling I shouldn't put the exact number on the internet, but when the insurance agent who trains at the dojo told me the number, I thought it was shockingly low. Then he told me that was yearly, not monthly. My source got distracted before he could give me exact numbers, but he assures me that dance and yoga insurance cost way, way more. That makes sense for dance, because as far as I can everyone with any power in dance hates the human body, but yoga? As I sit here with a right shin covered in bruises and typing with a jammed left finger, I sincerely doubt that people get hurt less in martial arts than in yoga, so it must be some combination of tortable *injuries* and a differential propensity towards law suits.
I mention this not just to get sympathy for my poor finger, but because of an incident from my first day teaching. There are several kids who outrank me. I can critique them on stuff like stances, but if they're doing a technique I don't know, I leave them to the instructor. This is why I know with absolute certainty that I did not contribute to the a child breaking her tibia. Not that the instructor did anything wrong either, it was one of those freak things- she was practicing a technique, not sparring, she'd had reasonably good form up till then, she just landed on her foot in exactly the wrong way. At first we thought she'd just jammed, or at worst sprained, it, because she was in such a good mood, but no, it was a break. I was a little worried for the program even when I thought it was a sprain, because honestly, if you're a parent who's only so-so on your little girl taking martial arts, and she gets even a tiny bit injured, you might make some calls.
I probably didn't need to worry anyway, it's a long standing program and we're on very good terms with the school. But apparently I also didn't need to worry because the parents are thrilled with us. The doctor was absolutely raving about our post-injury care, which kept the swelling to an absolute minimum.* I felt like bad luck, but it was probably an excellent day for me to be there, since it meant the instructor could manage the class while I handled things like fetching ice and telling the other kids not to poke her ankle. Seriously, I love that they think like scientists, but stop poking the ankle your friend can't put weight on. Anyways, the kid is on track to be just fine, and it's universally agreed that this was a freak thing that we handled very well. So maybe martial arts also gets lower insurance because we actually treat injuries when they happen.
*Bonus points to me for the Arnica gel in my bag, even though I insisted on asking "an actual grown-up" aka the somewhat older lead instructor, before giving it to her. It was a combination of my lawyer mother's voice telling me not to cover my ass before giving a slightly out of mainstream medical treatment to a minor and the fact that honestly, I can't possibly be in charge of children, even if they're calling me ma'am.
I mention this not just to get sympathy for my poor finger, but because of an incident from my first day teaching. There are several kids who outrank me. I can critique them on stuff like stances, but if they're doing a technique I don't know, I leave them to the instructor. This is why I know with absolute certainty that I did not contribute to the a child breaking her tibia. Not that the instructor did anything wrong either, it was one of those freak things- she was practicing a technique, not sparring, she'd had reasonably good form up till then, she just landed on her foot in exactly the wrong way. At first we thought she'd just jammed, or at worst sprained, it, because she was in such a good mood, but no, it was a break. I was a little worried for the program even when I thought it was a sprain, because honestly, if you're a parent who's only so-so on your little girl taking martial arts, and she gets even a tiny bit injured, you might make some calls.
I probably didn't need to worry anyway, it's a long standing program and we're on very good terms with the school. But apparently I also didn't need to worry because the parents are thrilled with us. The doctor was absolutely raving about our post-injury care, which kept the swelling to an absolute minimum.* I felt like bad luck, but it was probably an excellent day for me to be there, since it meant the instructor could manage the class while I handled things like fetching ice and telling the other kids not to poke her ankle. Seriously, I love that they think like scientists, but stop poking the ankle your friend can't put weight on. Anyways, the kid is on track to be just fine, and it's universally agreed that this was a freak thing that we handled very well. So maybe martial arts also gets lower insurance because we actually treat injuries when they happen.
*Bonus points to me for the Arnica gel in my bag, even though I insisted on asking "an actual grown-up" aka the somewhat older lead instructor, before giving it to her. It was a combination of my lawyer mother's voice telling me not to cover my ass before giving a slightly out of mainstream medical treatment to a minor and the fact that honestly, I can't possibly be in charge of children, even if they're calling me ma'am.
