injury....fear....tension....
What has amazed me is how quickly an injury can happen. At the beginning of the summer I got my foot caught in a hakama during a breakfall, and boy howdy did that hurt! Pulled my hamstring bad and a lot of other stuff all along the back of my leg.
So now, months later I am still not right but able to train frequently. But there's this... almost anticipation of injury sometimes, which produces tension, which makes everything a lot harder (ie more crashing, bumps, bruises, etc). Like a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Just trying to warm up and stretch a lot more, breathe out the tension, let go of the fear and enjoy the ride.
To Michael Gallagher:
What you wrote about exhaling on impact was really confusing. I thought that was the idea. I remember when I was getting used to backward ukemi I would think, "breathe out" but would instinctively hold my breath when I hit. And then exhale as I was lying on the mat!
Not very fun!