Video Exercise: Fall Down Seven Times, Get up EightPosted by District Master Jake Biernacki
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Mar
27
Video Exercise: Fall Down Seven Times, Get up EightComments
12 Responses to “Video Exercise: Fall Down Seven Times, Get up Eight”
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Wisdom
"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain."
Sanchin Poll
Master Biernacki
Very fluid. I really like how master Dearman did the multi-shot at the beggining.
Master Yonker
Wow, thank you for putting that all together. I am afraid of falling and I find it is one part of my workout I tend to avoid. Any advice?
Susan Walker
Hi Susan, Thanks for the question!
Something worth looking at is our past experiences with falling down. Whether it’s an exercise in the dojo or the real thing, take a slip / trip and fall. It can be intimidating thought or a frightening experience, especially if we got bruises while being bumped by the ground. Fortunately, we heal up nicely.
I’m going to share with you an approach that I use with some of my workout pertaining to the video and your question. It relates directly to how I will look at gaining confidence in my movements. What happens as we fall down while walking about? First we need to accept the fact that we lost our balance and we’re going to the ground. Often, we try to cover up a loss of balance by fighting it. This is where our injuries will occur. Let’s go ahead and embrace the fact that we are falling and look at it simply as a scenario, just as we would look at a scenario in our home workout. We may call upon a strategy that we find in a CBAs or Form that fits our scenario. Just like falling down, we can call on a strategy. Using a series of preplanned movements we can help ourselves avoid injury. I know that the ground is hard and there on parts on my body that is hard as well. I’m going want to avoid making direct first contact my head, tailbone, knees and elbows. Anytime that I take 2 hard brittle object and bang them together, one is going to chip or break. With that thought in mind, as I fall, I’m going to focus on making contact with the padded parts on my body; my seat, thighs, lat muscles, and the meaty part of my shoulder. As these areas make contact, I want the transition front rounded area to rounded area to be as smooth as possible (avoiding a point to point contact like hip, wrist, and elbow). You can start your fall from a seated position. Make the transition from seat, to lat, to shoulder. Then work it from a low stance and repeat 1, 2, and 3. Go ahead and work it slowly at first and make it quicker in time. If you have additional questions feel free to ask!
I too have a question - it kinda stems from Susan’s. I don’t mind falling - when I’m controling the fall, which is usually when I decided to fall. But I often feel like I’m not in control of the fall itself, like I’m just at gravity’s mercy. How can I work on improve on that? Even times when it feels I have some control over it (like positioning for landing so I don’t hit my tailbone, and getting into “kitty cat” stance) it ends up that I don’t. For example, once even though I had fallen and gotten into kitty cat already - I don’t know what happened but the next thing I knew my head was hitting the floor hard and everyone was freaking out asking if I was okay! Luckily I was (until the next morning…then I had a very sore neck for about a week!). Still when I fall that sometimes feels like it will happen again. It hasn’t but I wish I knew what I could do better. Thanks for any advice.
~Amy~
I couldn’t see if you were using the back leg (your right), your front leg (your left), your arm or a combination to propel you upright. Therefore I am not able to determine if you are using a new technique or a faster version of the technique I have been taught to get up from a seated position..Dick
Dick,
You are right on track. All movements were combined in order to make the act of getting up from the seated position smoother. Something that helps to ease the transition between the seated position and that moment we pop ourselves up is to pull our limbs (arms and legs) closer to our trunk (hand at the home position and heels below the hips). This gives up better leverage to pop right up. Give that a try. We’ll be here if you have extra questions!
Thank you for the question!
Thanks for the question, Amy!
In dojo we get introduced to ideas and learn movements. A Sensei could dedicate a class on a topic and this practice in dojo would only leave us with an inpression on this exercise. At home in our personal workout is where we can really start to explore that topic.
Falling and getting up is an area in our study that needs that attention, When we fall it usually isn’t our idea, some outside influence caused us to lose our balance or stance. In kumite, we will get dumped. In winter, we will slip. What we can do to help decrease, not necessarily avoid injury is to work on minimizing the amount of time that we take action as we find ourself losing our footing.
When we get pushed there’s often a a few step stumble before we choose our find on the ground. We want to get rid of that stumble time. Our star step will accomplish that. Do look back at you personal experience with hitting your head, and recreate that at home. Work throught the movements slowly. Pay close attention to your leg positioning, how close are they to your body.
Have you ever noticed how a figure skater is able to do so many spins and we think sooner or later they’ll spin out of contol, only to seen them gracefully change their posture and extend their ams as to take a bow? If we stay too tight like in a ball as we descend to the ground and it’s that momentum that may carry us over, almost to a reverse roll. That’s where I too have hit my head. Think about that skater, just a little, as you work your falling exercise. Experiment with extending and contracting your legs as you take your seated position.
Feel free to keep the questions coming.
thanks!
Masters, if you have any additional input, please add your comments!
Master Biernacki,
OK, MOST of the soreness has cleared up, I need to remember I’m not 16 anymore and I should probably try to duplicate these techniques just a bit slower, but anyhow…. I’m finding that as soon as I exceed the speed that I am currently practicing at (and not quite ready for) my non-panted foot / leg has a tendency to swing outward a touch rather than coming straight back towards my center and my “pop up” if you will, stalls out and I find that I’m just lifting myself with the foot and leg that were already planted (not using technique to pop). That peice I hope will clear up with repetition, however my question is, are you using your upper body’s forward inertia along with your leg coming back inertia to assist in regaining your center?
It always seems like my center is shifted too far aft preventing that foot to reposition (I’m stuck planted on it).
I’m sorry if my question is unclear, having trouble describing it 100%
Thanks in advance,
Hope to see you soon,
Bob White
Master Biernacki,
Watching my Dad trying to get up the way you do is pretty funny
At first he was trying to do it kind of fast, but now he has slowed down alot… and it is coming along alot better. When I do this (or try to) I always feel like I cant get my leg back fast enough, kind of like my dad was saying. I feel like I cant shift my weight fast enough or something…Is this maybe from not getting the leg thats already on the ground under me far enough?
Thanks,
Kiersten White
Bob,
thanks for the question.
You are definitely going in a good direction. With a lot of what we do, there’s always the need to raise the bar a little, and you found that as you picked up the pace. We are going to use all of our body’s momentum to complete the roll. If we don’t as you found you’ll have a tendency to stall. Observe what you do with your head before you begin the roll, tucking that chin will play a large part in adding to our energy for that roll. Something that’ll help is to look at the direction you face as you begin the roll and where you end up. Try to begin by standing prior to the roll, perform the roll and end standing in the same direction. Aligning your body in the direction your going will help bring your seat forward so long as you keep up with your “new pace”
Try it out and let us know how it works!
Looking forward to working out with you soon!
Kiersten,
It sounds like you’re getting in a lot of practice!
Take a look at the extension of your body (limbs) as you perform the roll. Something you will discover is that it takes less speed to complete the roll when you’re compressed into a tight, little ball than it does when your body opens up (like a “kitty-cat” position). Keep in mind that we do study on three levels. Think about what is taking place. What is causing you to roll, or why you have chosen to roll in your scenario? Try this, as you practice your roll, see yourself getting up from the roll and taking your first step from the roll as effortlessly as you would when you walk. Go ahead and visualize yourself doing just that over and over and do it.
Keep up with the practice, and you will see the improvement!
Master Biernacki,
Watching my Dad trying to get up the way you do is pretty funny
At first he was trying to do it kind of fast, but now he has slowed down alot… and it is coming along alot better. When I do this (or try to) I always feel like I cant get my leg back fast enough, kind of like my dad was saying. I feel like I cant shift my weight fast enough or something…Is this maybe from not getting the leg thats already on the ground under me far enough?