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Zach Zinn
Zach Zinn's picture
how often do you take falls?

Now that I have a few years of Jujutsu, I am starting to wonder about taking falls long term. I just turned 40 and I often feel like I should be limiting my number of falls. I weigh about 210, I have decent enough ukemi, but  being uke for throws can really wear on me quickly. My preference is to just take a couple falls, then practice entry + imbalance, and leave off the throw, like in Judo uchi komi practice. Not so much question qbout standing randori as that is rarer than just regular practice of throws.

Any opinions or experiences on taking falls as you age? how do you treat this with your students?  

Tau
Tau's picture

Also (primarily) a Jujitsuka. Just about the right side of 40.

I don't fall enough. The blade has to be kept sharp. Mine isn't as sharp as I'd like. This is down to teaching/doing balance. Very little of the "doing" side involves taking falls although my students do ukemi almost every class. If I've got no beginners/citrus grades in class then I join in.

My falling is certainly "good enough" but not as good as I'd like it to be. Health/age wise what I'm finding is that falling doesn't bother me but the repeated standing after the fall is getting harder.

Zach Zinn
Zach Zinn's picture

I'm actually not primarily a Jujutsuka, i've been a Karateka for nearly 30 years, but Jujutsu has only been going for about 5.

I actually wonder if I *had* learned ukmei from an earlier age, if maybe falls wouldn't be as big a deal.

I do notice that with the Jujutsu folks I know, most over 40 aren't taking as many falls, especially the big guys..so I'm hoping i'm at least following a familiar pattern. Sutemi still scares me, and i'm not good with them.

Mark Powell
Mark Powell's picture

Tau wrote:
what I'm finding is that falling doesn't bother me but the repeated standing after the fall is getting harder.

I'm the wrong side of 50 and I find myself in full agreement with Peter's statement.

Ukemi practice has always been part of karate as I was taught it and I remember in my early 20's being extremely proud of being able to do a diving roll over 15 karateka lying side to side on the dojo floor........Can't do that anymore :-)

My Krabi-Krabong teacher once told me the rolling breakfall was the only martial art technique he'd ever learned he knew had definately saved his life: He rode his bicycle over a railway embankment while drunk.