From: mikel@Apple.COM (Mikel Evins)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: dangers in falling
Date: 21 Dec 92 22:18:13 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA

In article <1992Dec21.4926.13219@dosgate> "elliott chapin" <elliott.chapin@canrem.com> writes:
>I'd be interested in hearing what people have to say about falling on
>hard surfaces; some ways that are fine on mats won't work away from
>mats.

We do quite a bit of sweeping, taking down, and throwing, as well as
diving, rolling, and groundfighting. We do all our work on a concrete
floor with unpadded glued carpet. If you are careful with the early
stages of learning to fall, and if you are flexible and well-conditioned,
then I assume that you'll have an experience pretty much like ours
and other schools' in our system. Injuries from falling and
groundwork are rare, and we haven't had a serious one in our school
yet (open just more than a year). The worst we've had so far are
a couple of mildly bruised hips, one case of getting the wind
knocked out by a hard fall, and a lot of rug burns.

Many of our students take their practice outside. Of course
it's most common for them to practice on grass; I think this
is a perfect combination with training as we do on concrete.
By contrast with the indoor work, practicing on grass seems 
easy and inviting, and students progress quickly. Yet I am glad 
we start them on the harder surface because they start out cautious
and really try to understand the principles of falling. We might
have more injuries if they started on a soft surface and then
tried a harder one with a misplaced sense of confidence.

Some students in the system choose to take their practice onto
more challenging surfaces, like asphalt, gravel, and cobblestones.
Those confident enough with their indoor practice seem to do okay
with it, though bruises and scrapes are pretty common. I've worked
a good bit on asphalt and cobblestones myself, without any 
terrible consequences.

Shoulder rolls seem to work fine on any surface, though uneven
surfaces with hard protrusions can cause uncomfortable 
bruises, and of course you want to watch out for sharp objects.
With similar caveats, relaxed flat falls seems to work fine
as well, though keeping the head tucked so that it doesn't hit
hard is especially important in hard surfaces that might have
sharp protrusions. We do some dropping, sliding, and plunging attacks that 
can be pretty uncomfortable on rough surfaces, especially if you miss
your target and slide onto the surface hard. On asphalt you may
have to put up with some unpleasant encounters with little bits of 
rock and gravel. Slapping breakfalls can be unpleasant on such
surfaces, or even on smooth concrete if you slap too hard.

Dirt is unpredictable; it can be softer than soft grass, or as hard
as concrete, and you really have to watch out for little objects
that can bruise or cut you. I guess I'd say shoulder rolls are about
the safest falls or rolls on unknown surfaces, unless you can do
that trick seen in some Chinese styles where you flip so that
you make contact with your feet just before your back hits the
ground; if you are wearing good shoes (and there are no protruding
nails or spikes) then that fall should be pretty safe.

Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts