Taking the Fall
Posted on | February 11, 2010 | by Roland Beauregard | No Comments
Coach Freedman had a previous post on Throwing Concepts. Along with learning how to throw, the student has to learn how to fall properly. In traditional Japanese dojos students were not allowed to throw till they had mastered taking falls. I can understand this as to me this is the most important part of learning how to throw. Once you can properly learn to fall you know the dynamics of the throw and are more prepared to execute a throw.
I think that the biggest problem a student has with break falls is the fear of getting hurt. This is a legitimate fear as a bad fall can lead to injury. Initial practice with rolls and and unassisted break falls are a big help to reduce this fear reactivity. In Coach Freedman’s dojo he uses large padded mats that can help take the fear out of hitting the ground. This being the case, it is still imperative that students learn the proper position for hitting the ground. In most cases it is the fear of falling with the resulting tightening up that causes most injuries.
Working with an experienced instructor like Sensei Ryan Birmingham (see video) is a big help. Because his throwing is so precise, there is no difficulty in following and taking the fall. Take a look at the video and you will see me taking the throws from Ryan. The big pad helps. Having confidence in him and knowing he will throw me correctly, I only have to concentrate on falling properly. In my case that is making sure that my chin is tucked and that my feet land properly.
As we learn to fall being thrown by an experienced instructor, we gain confidence in our ability to fall properly. Once we have that confidence, we are able to successfully fall even if our throwing partner is not so experienced and his throwing technique is not so precise. Once we lose that fear reactivity, we learn to just go with the throw and will automatically sense how to fall properly out of any throw.
I would be interested to hear about your experiences in mastering the break fall.
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Tags: falling > throwing > training > video
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