Can Aikido Breakfalls Really Protect You?

Aikido Breakfalls are for breaking the force of abuttocks close to the ground, and place one foot
fall to the ground without experiencing an injury.slightly behind the other. Roll onto your back, and
On the other hand, ukemi is the ability to receivecontinue as before.
a technique or fall safely and recover yourSide Breakfalls
balance.You should already be able to perform back falls
Learning how to develop good Aikido breakfalls isbefore you try to learn side falls, which are just
very difficult to achieve. Many Aikido students doone-armed, one-sided back breakfalls. For
not focus on the skill of receiving techniques, asexample, you would fall on your side if the person
their main aim is on becoming a good performerthrowing you is still hanging on to one of your
of technique.arms.
One of the reasons is that people in the West areRemember, your arm should be about 45
generally highly competitive. Most of us have beendegrees from your body when it hits the mat.
taught to put ourselves first, and that winning isImmediately after, you should withdraw your arm
better than losing. This means that we tend toto protect your chest or face to block a punch or
concentrate more on performing techniques, andkick.
winning, rather than receiving, and losing.Practise by dropping your legs to on side, and slap
This way of thinking is rather egotistical andthe ground with the arm nearest the mat palm
selfish, and the art of Aikido addresses thisdown at 45 degrees. Your hip, knee and the
problem directly. In order to take we must firstwhole side of your leg and calf should be flat on
give. So by focusing a little more on helping ourthe mat. Your other leg should be bent at the
training partner, we will in turn be helpingknee, with your foot flat on the ground.
ourselves.Forward Breakfalls
In my many travels of Aikido dojo, I have foundForward Rolls are very important because they
hundreds of students that are fairly good atget you back up onto your feet immediately, so
performing techniques. But, most dojo only haveyou can continue defending yourself. Before you
a couple of good uke, that are good enough betry rolling falls, you should already know back and
used for demonstrations. This is because the goalside ones.
of most students is to win and perform well.Rolling breakfalls are impressive to watch,
You can be different and truly excel at the art byespecially during a demonstration. But they take a
looking closely at Aikido breakfalls and ukemilot of practice. When your body falls at speed,
practise.you need to protect your head and neck, and
By working on your falls a little more, you canspread the shock to protect your arms and legs.
develop to a much higher level. It will give you theYou accomplish this by making your body into a
confidence to allow yourself to be of use to yourcircle, where your body rolls. The energy is
training partner, by not resisting their techniques.absorbed along the edge of the circle, and nothing
This helps their skills and yours, a win-win situation,gets damaged. Practise on tatami, gymnasium
that removes the conflict from the connection.mats, or wrestling mats.
I will briefly look at some of the Aikido breakfallsThink of your shoulders, arms and hands as a
you will learn during your Aikido training...hoop or a circle. Roll along your extended hand
Back Breakfallsand arm, shoulder, the center of your back, your
These are first learned by lying down flat on yourspine, buttocks, legs and feet. You must train
back on the mat. Bend your knees, so your heelsyour body so it touches the ground all along this
are flat on the floor, with arms held palm-down atpathway each time you do a rolling fall.
45 degrees from your body. Lift your head, withHigh Breakfalls
your chin touching your chest. This strengthensKote-gaeshi Aikido breakfalls are how you escape
your neck muscles, and protects your head fromfrom a very nasty arm break in Aikido or Ju Jitsu.
hitting the ground if you fall.If you don't know how to leap over your own
Then, lift your arms up and slap the ground witharm quickly, and land with a good side fall, your
your fingers, palms and forearms all sharing thearm may snap when someone hits you with a
impact. Repeat several times, and breathe outkotegaeshi throw at full power.
each time you hit.  When you can do theseThe kote-gaeshi fall is not for Aikido beginners,
backward slaps comfortably from lying down,and you need to build up your ukemi skills before
move on to...you even try this. You would start learning slowly
From a  sitting position, roll back, making sureand carefully by practising with a partner in the
your chin is tucked well in and exhale strongly.dojo.
Slap the ground, and repeat several times. ThenOnce you get you used to timing your break fall
try from a squatting position with your buttocksto the actions of someone else, you can then
sitting on your heels. Tuck in your chin and curvepractice increasing the power of the move until
your spine, and allow your body to roll backwardsyou are actually being thrown into the break fall.
so your back hits the floor. You should force yourIn meeting the mat try to distribute as much
breath out sharply, and slap the mat just as youforce throughout your body as possible in the
touch it, repeat several times.most relaxed manner. It takes a lot of practice to
Practise this until you can do it without jarringachieve the correct timing, and allow your body
your body, with no feeling of shock. Eventuallyto distribute the force.
you can try it from a standing position. Stand upAlways practise safely with a qualified instructor in
straight, bend your knees and lower youra training hall and using safety mats!