The most compelling justification for unorthodox ukemi for me was a Japanese documentary on Judo that I remember watching on French television in the mid-60's. By holding a cat upside down about three feet off the ground and letting go of the cat, a small, white haired man in his 60's or 70's demonstrated the concept of landing on one's feet rather than on one's back. The slow motion very succinctly demonstrated the cat's response to being upended and falling, and the French subtitles indicated that landing on one's feet was a goal in Judo. Since I had only been in Judo for a few months when I saw this documentary, I had no clue who this old timer was. Today, I look back and realize that I had seen none other than Mifune himself.
Turnouts allow a player to be in a position to counterattack after being airborne.
Turnout training increases kinesthetic awareness. Turnouts help develop an entire category of athletic abilities that traditional methods don't. Falling Safely While falling or rolling onto one's back certainly has its moments, so do skills that allow you to land on your feet or fours. At Judo America San Diego, we stress turnouts because the skills required to not land on your back take much longer to develop. The big difference in our modern approach is that falling on the back occurs during practice only as part of drill training.