Breakfalls

[lemon_meringue]

Learning ukemi is absolutely essential if you will be going to the ground at all. We drill them at the beginning of every class and use them throughout, as we do a lot of throws and takedowns. I was started in the basics (front fall, back fall, sides, front roll, back roll) the minute I stepped in the door of my first lesson. At the start, we do them from pretty low to the ground, gradually increasing height as you gain more confidence. Our belts go white, red, yellow, orange, green, purple, blue, brown, black. At white belt you just need to know the basic ones above from a kneeling position. For red, same again only from an upright postion. When you move onto yellow, you have to learn a handstand breakfall. At orange belt (where I am at the minute) we practice flipping into the handstand breakfall, diving rolls, diving over objects and doing the basics at speed. For the advanced belts you have to dive further and higher, and when doing the side breakfalls you must take both your feet off the ground.

When I first started, I was absolutely terrified of the idea of throwing myself to the ground, or just letting myself fall. I think as humans its our natural instinct to stay upright, and I couldn't even do a forward roll because I had this irrational fear of breaking my neck. However, my sensei worked long and hard with me, and I gradually built up more confidence. Now I look at the falls and throws we practise on a regular basis, and I can't believe that I'm able to do them. For me, learning to breakfall not only allows me to hit the ground safely, but it has helped me acquire a mental attitude of relaxing myself in dangerous situations that I never thought I would have.

 

[TheOriginalName]

In the style i am studing we learn forward, backward, side, forward rolls and backward rolls.

However, i have met a prominent BJJ instructor who does not teach breakfalls. His position is based on the ideat that if you have just been thrown\puched or whatever to the ground the next thing that is coming is likely to be a foot......so cover up immediately. If you breakfall there is a split second when you are vaunerable.......

Now i don't nessisarily agree with this but i see his point - and as such there are times i won't breakfall but i choose them carefully, so that i don't get injured.

But all in all a very useful technique and one that must be mastered.

 

[Aikicomp]

Ukemi!...did you say ukemi.

I love ukemi

I teach a Ju-Jitsu style with aspects of Judo and Aikido and ukemi is a MAJOR part of our training (Back, side,front, forward and back rolls, diving over bags, tables, chairs, falling backwards off chairs and tables, ect.). When I first started we had an older gentleman from Scotland who was trained in Kodukan(sp?) Judo, let me tell you something, this guy did not play around, when he threw you he threw you (we actually had a couple of calls from siesmologists saying "what the hell was that?" just kidding ha ha)...no guide...no help...just drove you to the mat hard so, your ukemi HAD to be good or you got hurt. He taught me to fall well and I thank him for it.

I start teaching ukemi first thing at white belt because the techniques we apply you have to learn how to survive them first, then learn how to apply them.
I think that many people are afraid to fall and with practice you eventually learn that your body can relate well to the ground and the fear aspect of it goes away.

yours in Budo
Michael