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Old 08-28-2013, 12:52 PM   #16
Dan Richards
Dojo: Latham Eclectic
Location: NY
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 452
United_States
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Re: Getting Accustomed to high falls?

Hi Nick,

One way to look at falls - even high falls - is that they are just bigger rolls. So, the place to start would be with rolling. Simple rolling starting from seiza. Can you do simple forward and backward rolls on your knees? And this; can you do those rolls quietly?

Can you do standing rolls? Can you do them quietly? Can you do them on a hardwood floor?

A lot of people tend to make a lot of noise while rolling. Pa dump a dump...and slapping a hand. All those bumps show themselves quite clearly on a harder surface. And in any kind of real-world application, such as concrete, asphalt, or hardwood floors, those bumps are the sound of a hard part of your body colliding with an unforgiving surface.

Simple kneeling rolls on mat.
Simple kneeling rolls on hardwood, concrete, asphalt, etc..
Simple standing rolls on mat.
Simple standing rolls on hardwood, concrete, asphalt, etc..

Then progress...

Kneeling rolls on mat - with leading arm tucked against chest.
Continue through all the other rolls, but with leading arm tucked in.

By the time you're doing standing rolls on the mat with your arm tucked in, you're already doing the beginnings of a breakfall. From there, practice just flipping yourself over.

Instead of thinking of them as "breakfalls," think of them more as bigger rolls.
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