ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

I was on one of my bike rides last weekend, and I had a potentially nasty fall. I stopped wearing my helmet because it no longer fits and it can be more hazardous to wear an improperly fitted helmet than not wear one at all. At least I was not wearing my training mask this time. Since I knew how to break fall correctly, I avoided the worst of the damage inflicted.  

The Accident

One of the bridges has protrusions to serve as footholds for walkers, but there is a gap between each one for cyclists to ride through smoothly. I usually descend from the top of the bridge on my bike without issue, but this time, I started from halfway as there were some other people in front of me and I wanted to give them time to get further ahead instead of blitzing down from the top.

This likely proved to be my undoing, however, as I was not accustomed to descending from halfway. As I accelerated, my front tyre caught against one of the bridge footholds, and as a horse bucks, I was thrown out of my saddle and catapulted face-first toward the stone footpath. I was spared a potentially untimely demise when a split second before impact, I distinctly recalled my brain issuing a one-word command.

Roll!

And roll I did. My arms shot out in front of me at lightning speed, my body curled as I executed the lifesaving manoeuvre, and I ended up rolling fairly smoothly. Now I did not escape entirely unscathed, but I only suffered lightly – minor cuts and bruises, whereas I could have wound up in the infirmary. It was fortunate I did not have my helmet on as I do not think my break fall would have been as smooth if I had been wearing one.

The Break Fall

Once again, my martial arts training saved me from what could have been a terrible fate. Karate is not only about punching and kicking – you learn street self-defence, which includes learning how to fall over safely.

I believe learning how to break fall correctly is something best-learned face to face. Incorrectly applying a break fall can cause more injury than falling over without using it. I am prepared to outline some basic principles for the three main break falls. However, I want to be clear that this does not effectively replicate face to face tuition in this art form.

Backward Break Fall

Likely the most common form of break fall, this technique is to be applied in situations when you are falling over backwards. A typical scenario is someone approaches you and shoves you to the ground.

The first step is to try and get your bottom to the ground as quickly as possible. Then as you roll your back to the ground, one vertebra at a time, your arms should slap the ground at a forty-five-degree angle to your body to disperse the impact. You do not want the back of your head to impact the ground; however, as that can cause a concussion, so make sure it is only your bottom and back that makes contact.

As an extension, you can continue with the momentum and perform a backwards roll over one of your shoulders to finish in a crouched position.

Sideways Break Fall

The least likely to occur but worth mentioning for the sake of completeness. A sideways break fall is applied when you are – as you guessed – falling onto your side. I will do my best to explain in written form, but as already mentioned, face to face is the best way to learn these skills.

Assuming that you are falling to your left, the first step is to swing your left leg across your right. You perform a pseudo piston squat with your right leg and land on your side, obeying the same principle as the backward break fall in that you make contact with the side of your upper leg initially, followed by the side of your upper body. Your left hand should slap the ground, again forty-five degrees to your body, to disperse the impact and your head can rest against your left arm.

Forward Break Fall

The forward break fall is applied in situations where you are falling forward face first. The idea here is to place your hands slightly in front of you (kind of like raising your hands to show you mean no harm) and land such that only your hands, arms and toes make contact with the ground. Your face, stomach, and knees should all be suspended.

This is probably the toughest break fall to master. A simpler version is to use the forward momentum instead to roll, which is what I did with my recent biking accident. I briefly outlined how to perform the forward roll earlier, but again it is better to learn from someone face to face.

Conclusion

I think everyone should know how to perform a break fall, as you never know when it will come in handy – it has saved me numerous times in my life so far. I was catching up with a friend recently, and she had a biking accident about a month ago. Unfortunately, she ended up busting her collar bone and is currently undergoing rehabilitation to get back up and running in six to eight weeks.

Accidents happen.

That is the nature of living. However, preemptively developing skills to mitigate such misfortunes is not beyond human control.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.