MA saves my life

pearsquasher

Yep.. I'm lucky I can type and think and recall memories and breathe oxygen.

In the Bujinkan we practice many types of breakfalls including rolling, and ways of absorbing impact as you hit the ground at different angles after a throw - "ukemi". Our throws come from the need to dump someone so they can't roll so our ukemi has to take this into account too so we can practice these dangerous things. One particular breakfall is practiced that protects you from a vertial fall on your head when you don't have time or momentum to roll - basically the hands, forearms and elbows absorb the force together such that the forces don't travel into the shoulders or indeed head. It's hard to practice but as it turns out... worth it. It's said in our art that ukemi will save your life more so than punching, kicking and weapons and it turned out to be true for me last night. Sorry its not on youtube.


After a hot port after training last night I hopped on my trusty bike and pegged it down Harolds Cross Road, which is pretty much a down-hill cycle all the way town. On reaching 20 yards before the junction of South Circular Road, the lights turned from red to green in my favour and I kept on cruising at high speed to pass the cars that had stopped at the lights and were just about to take off. From the other direction a car decided it could makes its right turn before the cars on my side got going but not before this "uke" was about to intersect with it the way water doesn't when it meets a rock in a fast flowing river.

Instinctively I jammed on both breaks. Luckily or unfortunately, its hard to tell really, the front break was a little ahead of the back one so instead of skidding in a lateral motion I got buckarooed like a mid-western cow-wrangler straight up, pushed by the rising saddle, and over the handlebars, at great speed. The ways these things go I was utterly unconcious of what my body was doing. It must have gone completely vertical as I let go of the handlebars, or they let go of me - either way we parted company, as the bike twisted and tumbled and I found myself meeting tarmac with my face turned to the left, my cheek about 1cm from the ground and my palms and forearms and elbows making a perfect "V" under my body. The bike came crashing down soon after to join me again but this happened as I crumpled back down after the initial absorbtion of the forces and so I sort of cought the thing by the spokes as I stood up and I immediately jumped on it in some sort of semi-aware state of "getting on with it".

One car had breaked too ahead of me and the owner shouted if I was ok and I gave the thumbs up - lucky to have em - while another driver rolled down her windows and stared wide-eyed. I shrugged that it was ok and me and my bike cycled on as the lights were still green - I hadn't even crossed into the junction at all. What must the drivers have seen!

So I basically did a pefect ukemi at high speed on tarmac from a large hight. This is something we've practiced at low speed on mats from a short hight and the same shapes and structure saved my hide bigtime more than any lock or kick probably will.

All I had was bruised palms - not even cut as i didn't slide and my wirsts took a lot of the force but they're able to take a jarring and are perfectly fine thanks to my teenage years stenghtening them with pushups.

There you go - direct self-defence through martial arts practice. I thanked my instcuctor first thing this morning.

arybvtcw0eolkf

'Tis more likely embarressment saved you

dunkamania

I am reminded why I stopped cycling too school.
One too many close calls.

Glad too hear you came away unscathed,maybe a little more cautious.

Scramble

Glad to hear you're alright, Pearsquasher. Going late through lights is unfortunately almost 'normal' in Dublin.

cavedave

Cycling does seem to be getting more and more dangerous.

The idea that ukemi is more likely to save your life then being able to punch is interesting. If you look at the number of people who die a year due to slipping and breaking their femur/pelvis, falling down a stairs, falling badly on a bouncy castle etc these numbers are much much higher then deaths from assaults.

muckwarrior

So you didn't say anything to the gob****e that turned in front of you?

DITTKD

Fairplay to you coming out of it ok. I often wonder what I’d do if (when) I come off the bike. My thumb is still fecked from a fall last April.


As soon as you can, go and set up your brakes so that the rear one brakes slightly before the front one. That’s pretty important (but you know that now )

Someone (not me, someone else) should ask you why you were cycling immediately after enjoying a hot port. Drinking+cycling, alcohol+exercise, they’re bad combinations no? Maybe I read that wrong.

Nothingcompares

He had a hot port I'd doubt he was over the limit, well unless he was very dehydrated exhausted from ninja training.

Fair play pear, really happy you walked away from that without a bother.

pearsquasher

Cheers for the well wishes guys.

The light-cutting driver sped off so did't get a chance to explain how naughty he was.

I wasn't embarrased at all seeing as I got up fairly quickly realising my training helped. Like I said, it was totally unconcious what i did and it was only through drillling a certain response to a specific body position - i.e. being flung head first, that I escaped without injury. As for the hot-port - I agree it's not a good idea to cycle and drink but I don't think it had any bearing on what happened or the outcome.

I did promise the missus I'd be more carefull though - i.e not go so fast at night... so lesson learned. Plus that particular breakfall will be thought more in my classes now that I know it works outside the dojo!

spiral

ha ha had a similar experience in the summer after about 5 pints and hopping on the bike and getting the back wheel stuck in the luas track .
Perfect forward roll over the handlebars no missing teeth just one slightly scabby elbow

vasch_ro

Nothingcompares wrote: »

He had a hot port I'd doubt he was over the limit, well unless he was very dehydrated exhausted from ninja training.

Fair play pear, really happy you walked away from that without a bother.

even one drink impairs your judgement

DITTKD

Nothingcompares wrote: »

He had a hot port I'd doubt he was over the limit, well unless he was very dehydrated exhausted from ninja training.

Fair play pear, really happy you walked away from that without a bother.

Ah yeah, him drinking was not the point of the thread anyway. Just felt it should be asked in order to retain the socially conscious, law abiding image of boards.ie

Roper

Whats the legal situation on drinking and cycling? Not that i care I don't own a bike.

monkey tennis

Roper wrote: »

Whats the legal situation on drinking and cycling? Not that i care I don't own a bike.

Points on the licence!

Alkers

Would a big bright front light have helped?

pearsquasher

A big bright front light didn't help the cars that had the right of way also.

Anyway the point is that a very specific breakfall saved my Chevy Chase.

I wonder do other arts have it? It's basically an "A" shape with your palms and forearms contacting the ground at the same time. You do it sort of like a handstand, with your body vertical and your face turned to one side. It's not something you can roll from until after the impact because of your verticality and speed hitting the deck. I often teach the same "A" shape by getting folks to push a person face-first into a wall. It's a massive shock absorber thats quick to deploy.

My palms have big bruises now but nothing is cut/broken.