Breakfalls

**wildwills** · 07-25-2007, 06:25

Originally Posted by aplonis

They always teach breakfalls in the several jujutsu schools I have studied in (briefly studied...all but one). Yet I never felt I'd ever prefer it to a roll if only because being mostly a TKD guy, I want to be back on my feet immediately, if not sooner.

Until the above-posted description of the stairway luge...I never quite pictured a situation where breakfall would be preferable. Guess I didn't picture it out thoroughly enough. Sure do hope never to need that manouvre.

I didn't even kiai. It was the thumpity-thump-thump noise that woke everyone else up...or maybe it was me saying "son-of-a-witch" when I luged to the bottom of the steps. I may never know for sure....

**Jeff C.** · 07-25-2007, 06:31

Mike, I gotta say that the thought/image of your stair-luging ukemi was the funniest thing I have read about ukemi ever! I am sure it wasn't so funny at the time, though. Glad you were not permanently damaged.

Jeff Cook

**wildwills** · 07-25-2007, 06:50

Originally Posted by Jeff C.

Mike, I gotta say that the thought/image of your stair-luging ukemi was the funniest thing I have read about ukemi ever! I am sure it wasn't so funny at the time, though. Glad you were not permanently damaged.

Jeff Cook

I even laughed after I realized nothing was broken. Then everyone else laughed too. I only felt sore really at the shoulder blades. It persisted most of the day while at the Arnold Classic, but 2 days later I was feeleing much better.

Think back on it, the funniest part was how slowly the actual luge was going down 15 steps. It seemed like it took like a whole minute, but was probably more like 3-4 seconds. Everytime now that my wife sees me coming down the stairs, she says "Go USA!", like I'm in the Olympics or something. She asks me periodically when I'm going to take up the skeleton...

**wildwills** · 07-25-2007, 07:07

Originally Posted by wildwills

I even laughed after I realized nothing was broken. Then everyone else laughed too. I only felt sore really at the shoulder blades. It persisted most of the day while at the Arnold Classic, but 2 days later I was feeleing much better.

Think back on it, the funniest part was how slowly the actual luge was going down 15 steps. It seemed like it took like a whole minute, but was probably more like 3-4 seconds. Everytime now that my wife sees me coming down the stairs, she says "Go USA!", like I'm in the Olympics or something. She asks me periodically when I'm going to take up the skeleton...

I just had a thought, maybe I should petitiion the Olypmic Committe for Body Luging...there's body surfing as recreation, so why not body luging? Judoka/Jujutsuka/BJJ'rs alike could compete in the winter Olympics without the sled. Would probably need to mandate the use of a double weave dogi though as the ice would be cold....

**Webmaster** · 07-25-2007, 07:51

Ukemi definitely has utility in the real world. Here are a couple of my examples:

When Judy and I were living in Seattle during the early 90's, we lived in South Seattle about ten miles from downtown were I worked. I used to ride my bike in regularly and if you know anything about Seattle, you know it's lots of hills. One day when headed home, I was going down one of those hills toward Puget Sound. I was going pretty fast with me peddling away and gravity doing it's part when I got to the bottom of the hill and went across some railroad tracks. Unfortunately, my front wheel got caught in the tracks and I was launched over the handlebars. Instinctively, I tucked and rolled, just like in Judo and Jujutsu. As I completed the roll, I finished in a seated position, and froze to check for injuries. I realized that I didn't have any bones sticking out of my skin or bleeding profusely and about that time, a guy ran over to me and asked if I was okay. I indicated that I was, and then he told me that was "really cool" (Gee thanks!). So I got up and checked over the bike (which went tumbling over me) and pulled my helmet off. It was then that I saw some scrapes on the top of the helmet and realized that even with my roll, I had still got the head in there a little bit. I also realized that if I had NOT known how to roll, I would have likely "lawn-darted" my head into the concrete and would likely be dead.

On a more humorous note, after I had my hip replacement, I had my own encounter with some stairs. It was only a couple days after being released from the hospital and I was upstairs and needed to go downstairs. Normally this is not a problem since I was pretty good on the crutches, but I was stoned out of my mind on pain killers and a little over confident. Anyway, I started down the stairs and "tree topped" myself on the crutches. As I was going forward and not being able to put my feet on the ground, I realized I was about to take a fall. So even through the fog of medication, I had the presence of mind to protect the side of the body I had just had operated on and turned myself to the opposite side. stretched my body out and slid down the stairs (just like sliding into second base!). When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I checked to make sure I had not busted anything (except my ego) and everything was alright. Scared the heck out of my wife (who was home taking care of me) and definitely taught me to be a little more careful on stairs!

As far as slapping or not, I choose to slap each time (except during rolls). While I agree that not slapping has utility for competitive Judo (meaning it makes the less likely the referee will call an Ippon) and body positioning and relaxation is more important in successfully taking falls, I see little reason to throw out a habit that has served me well both on and off the mat.

**Jeff C.** · 07-25-2007, 12:01

Geez, Robert - how the heck did you not damage yourself??? That would have made my heart stop seeing you launched off of your crutches a few days after surgery, not a simple fall onto the floor, but down the stairs! My God, man!

I don't think of slapping as a "habit," but rather as a technique to be used at the appropriate time. As a technique, I drill it repetitively on the mat just like a punch, kick, throw, parry, etc. Learning when NOT to use it took me much longer to learn, just like any other technique that is taken out of the realm of drills into the realm of application.

Jeff Cook

**wab25** · 07-25-2007, 13:21

I think slapping is a little like punching the head. If you have prepared your hand to hit something hard, you can punch the head with your fist. If you have not prepared your hands to do so, then you will hurt your hands.

If you want to slap on concrete, you better start by slapping the mat hard, all the time in practice. You also need to learn the control to slap and let the arm bounce off the ground, you won't be slapping through it.

I always practice falls with hard slaps. I take every fall I can with a hard slap. I have taken a few unexpected falls on the sidewalk, where I didn't have time to think. I don't know whether I slapped or not, just that the fall hurt a lot less than falling on a mat in practice.

I think that teaching people to slap does a lot more than we initially think. First, it prepares your arms for impact, like when blocking. Punchers punch bags, and wooden posts and all kinds of things to harden their hands. Slapping the mat hardens your arms. Second, it gives the new guy something to think about, other than his body landing on the ground. You know when they are getting their falls down, because they are more concerned with their hand hurting from the slap. Most importantly, I think slapping teaches you the proper position for your shoulder to be in. Most people tend to curl into a ball as they go down. By slapping, it moves you shoulder into the correct position to protect the spine and prevent you from getting the wind knocked out. When people are really good at taking falls with out slapping, pay attention to their shoulder. It goes into the same position as if they had. In the end, Jeff is right, its a technique. Use it when appropriate, but practice it well.