Karate, as most martial arts, is a contact sport and therefore there is always a risk of injury.

However, at White Tiger Martial Arts, we have worked very hard to implement controls and measures that lessen the chance of injury during a training session.

All new students will not have any physical contact until they have completed at least one months basic training and have purchased the necessary protective equipment. It should be noted that the protective equipment is primarily for the safety of your opponent. Even with protective equipment, we do not allow any contact below the belt.

Any student, new or existing, that appears to just want to fight every week, will be asked to join a different club where this is accepted. We see free sparring or fighting as a part of the overall syllabus, rather than the main focus. There is much more to martial arts than this, and don't forget karate was developed as a means of self defence, not attack.

I expect every student at some point in their martial arts training to pull a muscle, or suffer a sprain or strain. This is very likely due to the range of motion that you put your body through when you may not be used to it, or have returned to training after a break.

We incorporate an extensive warm up at the beginning of every session to give your muscles and joints the best possible start, although it is always a good idea to warm up a little at home if possible, or arrive early to the session and begin warming up on your own.

If you are training at home, you must make sure you include a decent warm up and warm down.

After those, the most common injuries you are likely to sustain are to your hands and feet, and this could include bruising or bending back. It is extremely rare to actually break a finger or toe.

For anything more serious we have emergency first aid qualified instructors.