Welcome to Gaia! ::

This was posted by one of our system's seniors, Ted Sumner, 9th Dan. Good info and very true...

"As I begin the process of teaching the techniques of falling and rolling I stress to each of the students that these skills are far more likely to be called upon to protect them than all of their cherished “fighting” skills. The fact is that one is far more likely to fall than to be assaulted. And while falling skills are not as sexy and flashy as self defense techniques and practicing falling is, to say the least, uncomfortable, these are none the less essential skills that must be developed, honed and kept at the ready.

Case in point, years ago I taught a student who showed tremendous promise and potential. She learned quickly, practiced constantly and questioned extensively. She was passionate about all aspects of the art of Kenpo except falling and rolling. She was so determined not to be required to learn falling skills that she managed to break her collar bone during rolling practice in class in order to “earn a pass” on falling requirements. Against every fiber of good judgment that directs me as an instructor of Kenpo I let her “slide” on falling and rolling.

Several years later this student slipped walking down a flight of stairs at a shopping mall and broke her right leg. Five years later she repeated the accident walking into a night club breaking the right ankle. On this Friday past, this same student fell walking down a slippery hillside on the way to her grandson’s football game and dislocated the same ankle while breaking the right leg in three places. She will undergo surgery tomorrow.

The lesson here is twofold. Students, learn how to fall. The time will come when you lose your balance or are knocked down and the ground never misses. The ground is big, hard and it has no sympathy for you. And as instructors, we must teach the whole curriculum. We not only do the student a disservice by not teaching the entire art, but we imperil those who may become students of the student we failed to adequately prepare. NO SHORTCUTS!!! "

That's pretty amazing! I've actually used break falling while in a mosh pit...got shoved from behind and was going down to the cement face first! Saved my face!

I have to ask.. At what point do your styles teach break falling?

We officially teach break falling at purple belt (7th Kyu), but will go over it if it's going to be utilized in the day's drills.

Cool. I was just wondering. With the style I teach we start breakfalls at white. Rolls and dive rolls come right after that. It's acutally a part of the syllabus that people have failed testing on.

we teach rolling within the first couple of weeks of a new class. and reinforce it a few weeks later.

but we constanly reinforce breakfalling into a pressup position, then rolling sideways on your forearm, bringing your leg up to protect you from an oncomming attacker (as if they had just pushed you from behind) as it's a far more realistic situation for our students to encounter. (+ obviously getting up as quick as possible)