Any tips on falling properly?

[MikeTheCreator]

On 1/23/2020 at 5:02 AM, DjPanJan said:

Key is good wristguard you need slide to lower impact energy. Elbow guard no need to be with slide pads. Knee guard is important you always hit you knee.Always try fall to face not spin not try roling etc. Go frontal to ground move you head up try fall like cat do. Frontal falls is best for recorvery belive me.

I not seriously(damaged long healing) fall until i go 940Km on my V10F and i focus my eyes on beautiful blonde girl/woman in WW Golf i watch her ,smile on her she smile on me like romantic movie nice time i enjoyed my life  and blink smash shock. Im on asphalt i thinking about f****ng her nicely  and i lost all my focus . And i stupid man ride over/hit  curb(on picture) 

Speed was 14.5 Kmh not so many .Because i not know i go fall just pure shock. 

I fell on the left side of my body bumped 3 ribs I bumped my left shoulder and left hip pretty ugly. I had to get a bigger X-ray to the county town, fortunately nothing was broken or pinched.
It happened 22.12.2019 and still 23.01.2020 I can not raise the shoulder more than 50% due to severe pain. I couldn't laugh or cough because of my rib pain. And hips heal for 4 weeks so I limped.

Other crashes both types low speed and high speed 20-30 km / h were total "fun" because I knew I was going to the ground and I expected it. Even though a cyclist hit me without consequences. My elbow wrist protectors have always been enough and my knees use the ENDURA singletrack elbows and knees. ENNUI slide gloves and MTB helmet.

So I understand that it only works when you fall forward. The fall on my side was disastrous for my body. So I bought now. Leat3D lite set of protectors, chest, spine, shoulders, kidneys, liver and impact shorts with coccyx and hip protection. In addition, a biker sweatshirt and jeans with pads.
Full face MET parachute helmet.

Use look at the way not at the blondes.

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/6Sp9nWZ.jpg)

I am sorry about your fall. The way you told the beginning was so funny!

[MikeTheCreator]

Wow thank you guys so much. There is so much to consider here. I will watch all of those falling videos. I understand that a fall is unexpected and not planned, but I am going to have to agree that practicing the muscle memory to falling in such a way as to do the least damage is the smartest idea. Right below wearing the proper protection. So I will definitely study up. 

[DjPanJan]

25 minutes ago, MikeTheCreator said:

I am sorry about your fall. The way you told the beginning was so funny!

Now imagine what a woman said to me when I got home and opened the door and saw me.

She: What the hell happened to you?

Me: ... er .... er ... i .... ... you ....... But you know ........ I saw the blonde in the car ... and. ...

She: And .... What? (dramatic look) You stared again where you should not look!

She: ........(end dramatic look) I know you this is KARMA as*hole!

Edited January 24, 2020 by DjPanJan
edit

[Unventor]

2 hours ago, MikeTheCreator said:

Wow thank you guys so much. There is so much to consider here. I will watch all of those falling videos. I understand that a fall is unexpected and not planned, but I am going to have to agree that practicing the muscle memory to falling in such a way as to do the least damage is the smartest idea. Right below wearing the proper protection. So I will definitely study up. 

Well I think you a better idea if you take a look on those that recorded a crash. Then you will see how fast it goes and how body movement during the crash. @Marty Backe has on where he went into a ditch as I recall it, that was the trigger for him to get body/shoulder armour gear. Also the Nicola video overheating you see how a crash goes on also from @Marty Backe. It also show that milage will help you to avoid or escape a crash, but even superexpireanced rider can go down at times.

The faster you ride the higher risk and less time you have to react. 

[Darrell Wesh]

2 hours ago, MikeTheCreator said:

Wow thank you guys so much. There is so much to consider here. I will watch all of those falling videos. I understand that a fall is unexpected and not planned, but I am going to have to agree that practicing the muscle memory to falling in such a way as to do the least damage is the smartest idea. Right below wearing the proper protection. So I will definitely study up. 

Would you really buy an EUC if the recommendation was to practice falling for a month before even beginning to ride? You’re commuting or having fun riding around.
 

We wear gear so we don’t have to practice how to fall. I’ve seen videos of dudes literally faceplanting at slow speeds with no effort to save themselves because they know they’ll be okay with their full face helmets and knee pads etc on. 
 

The only people that should be practicing how to fall are those that are doing tricks on like BMX bikes or skateboarding etc because doing tricks has a high falling/fail rate. When you are doing these tricks falls are so expected that they are planned even during the trick. Unless you want to ride an EUC with the anxiety of falling in the front of your mind the entire commute....

 

[Darrell Wesh]

8 hours ago, Lefteris said:

I'm the one that talks bs..  

You focus on core work, probably muscle building, but how can anyone test a fall, how can someone check if he can do a roll to minimize damage and speed with proper control? If you can emulate these conditions with any kind of exercise please, teach me senpai  

In order for muscle memory and reaction time to even work the fall has to be roughly the same speeds as the practice falls. Whose going to practice falling at 20-40mph? 

Because let me tell you something; those walking speed falls they tell you to practice in the video are NOT going to help you in a real speed fall. 

There’s a reason why as an elite sprinter I don’t practice block starts at slow speeds in order to get better in the race. In order to get better I HAVE to practice at the speeds I’m going to be racing at. Muscle memory/instinct will only work when I practice at those same relative speeds. Everything is different at higher speeds and if you haven’t trained for it your movements will be too slow for the speeds you’re at and nothing will work. 
 

So keep tricking yourself into believing 5mph tuck and roll practices will save you. 

[Jonesq]

51 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

In order for muscle memory and reaction time to even work the fall has to be roughly the same speeds as the practice falls. Whose going to practice falling at 20-40mph? 

Because let me tell you something; those walking speed falls they tell you to practice in the video are NOT going to help you in a real speed fall. 

There’s a reason why as an elite sprinter I don’t practice block starts at slow speeds in order to get better in the race. In order to get better I HAVE to practice at the speeds I’m going to be racing at. Muscle memory/instinct will only work when I practice at those same relative speeds. Everything is different at higher speeds and if you haven’t trained for it your movements will be too slow for the speeds you’re at and nothing will work. 
 

So keep tricking yourself into believing 5mph tuck and roll practices will save you. 

Not everyone is going to be falling at 20-40mph.  In my personal experience, my falls are usually do to me being distracted when I'm at a cruising speed. I don't think I've ever wrecked when going above 25mph because I am hyper vigilant at those speeds. Even low speed falls can mess you up if you fall incorrectly. Learning to fall at low speeds absolutely helps you to learn how to fall at high speeds. High speed falling is just low speed falling but you have to react faster and you may have to roll more than once. Even if you don't execute it perfectly, if you can just manage to not hit your head and roll at least once, you'll still end up take a good amount of speed and force off the initial impact.

This thread is about how to fall properly. That is how you do it. Guys who parkour/judo are falling all the time. If you want to learn how to fall, you learn from the people who specialize in it.

It's a great skill to have regardless if you are an active person. It might not save you from every fall, but even if you don't execute it perfectly, it may still reduce the amount of damage you take. I still recommend everyone learn a basic roll because the time it will take you to learn it is such a minimal investment in terms of how much it could potentially save your ass. It totally saved me when I flipped over my handlebars while going 19mph on my bike without a helmet. I broke my scaphoid in the initial impact but my head didn't touch the ground.

You don't have to practice falling fast to be able to pull off a fall break/roll. When I crashed on my bike I had only practiced rolling like the videos I linked. The only difference was that I added diving rolls once I mastered the slow rolls from standing. 



 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, Darrell Wesh said:

In order for muscle memory and reaction time to even work the fall has to be roughly the same speeds as the practice falls. Whose going to practice falling at 20-40mph? 

Because let me tell you something; those walking speed falls they tell you to practice in the video are NOT going to help you in a real speed fall. 

There’s a reason why as an elite sprinter I don’t practice block starts at slow speeds in order to get better in the race. In order to get better I HAVE to practice at the speeds I’m going to be racing at. Muscle memory/instinct will only work when I practice at those same relative speeds. Everything is different at higher speeds and if you haven’t trained for it your movements will be too slow for the speeds you’re at and nothing will work. 
 

So keep tricking yourself into believing 5mph tuck and roll practices will save you. 

So the big take-away from your message here is, we should practice falling at 25-mph 

[Ben Kim]

for most of my falls it was hands and knees (damn nyc potholes), but i can see the value of having elbow guards handy if you have to fall sideways. 

My most recent fall was a nasty one, 30 mph hitting black ice and landed on the elbow guard and smashed the back of my head. Luckily i had a motorcycle helmet on and i was 100% fine. 

Moral of the story, you simply never know. Gear up and you can greatly reduce the chance of injury.  

[Darrell Wesh]

 

1 hour ago, Jonesq said:

Learning to fall at low speeds absolutely helps you to learn how to fall at high speeds. High speed falling is just low speed falling but you have to react faster and you may have to roll more than once. Even if you don't execute it perfectly, if you can just manage to not hit your head and roll at least once, you'll still end up take a good amount of speed and force off the initial impact.

 

1 hour ago, Jonesq said:

recommend everyone learn a basic roll because the time it will take you to learn it is such a minimal investment in terms of how much it could potentially save your ass. It totally saved me when I flipped over my handlebars while going 19mph on my bike without a helmet. I broke my scaphoid in the initial impact but my head didn't touch the ground.

If you broke your scaphoid you didn’t execute the roll properly because you didn’t end up “taking a good amount of speed and force off the initial impact.” Plain and simple. We don’t roll just to protect our heads. It’s primary use is to, like you said, disperse impact forces. 
 

If you don’t execute the roll with textbook form (which you can’t because you haven’t trained it at those high speeds) then something will possibly give/break. 
 

If you fall at a slow enough speed then you should be able to take a step or two or more before you fall which gives you enough time to REACT and plan your roll out which is where the training will possibly come in to play. At high speeds, unless it’s a prolonged wobble where you have to bail, no chance to react. 

[Darrell Wesh]

I fell the other week on ice, I had a full face helmet on and full gear and was just pushing the limits of the Z10 on snow and hit an icy patch and the Z slid sideways and caused me to crash around 20mph. As I slid on my side and shoulder the only thing I remember is that I was focused on keeping my upper torso up with my core so my head was away from the ground. I sustained no damage or impact because I just slide far as hell on the ice. 
 

But even as the wheel started sliding sideways I had no time to prepare.

Edited January 25, 2020 by Darrell Wesh

[Jonesq]

7 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

 

 

If you broke your scaphoid you didn’t execute the roll properly because you didn’t end up “taking a good amount of speed and force off the initial impact.” Plain and simple. We don’t roll just to protect our heads. It’s primary use is to, like you said, disperse impact forces. 
 

If you don’t execute the roll with textbook form (which you can’t because you haven’t trained it at those high speeds) then something will possibly give/break. 
 

If you fall at a slow enough speed then you should be able to take a step or two or more before you fall which gives you enough time to REACT and plan your roll out which is where the training will possibly come in to play. At high speeds, unless it’s a prolonged wobble where you have to bail, no chance to react. 

You're right. I didn't roll correctly. My wrist took the brunt of the initial impact. However, my face would have been the next thing to hit the ground had I not tucked and rolled. 

So my poorly executed roll still save me from a likely significant head/face injury even though it didn't save my wrist. 

Like most people have stated already, when you fall suddenly, you act out of instinct without conscious thought. Therefore, if you want to increase the chances that you will be able to roll out of a sudden fall, you have to practice. 

A little  understanding of the mechanics of a roll goes a long way.

[Marty Backe]

41 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

I fell the other week on ice, I had a full face helmet on and full gear and was just pushing the limits of the Z10 on snow and hit an icy patch and the Z slid sideways and caused me to crash around 20mph. As I slid on my side and shoulder the only thing I remember is that I was focused on keeping my upper torso up with my core so my head was away from the ground. I sustained no damage or impact because I just slide far as hell on the ice. 
 

But even as the wheel started sliding sideways I had no time to prepare.

    Somewhere along the line I must have missed the fact that you now wear a helmet. Weren't you mister No-Helmet for the longest time? And BTW, you know I'm not judging you 

[Daley1]

I,m thinking to protect my head first!!!.You can ride with no hands that have been banged and smashed up but try riding with no head!I,ve done martial arts and taught martial arts  and they teach rolls and falls but i have  still managed to smack my head a few times because of the unexpected nature of riding.They only way to go is invest in good safety gear, stay aware (dont gawk at pretty girls like someone on this forum did)and hope that is enough to avoid painting the asphalt with your face!

[Darrell Wesh]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

    Somewhere along the line I must have missed the fact that you now wear a helmet. Weren't you mister No-Helmet for the longest time? And BTW, you know I'm not judging you 

LOL the only time I wear a helmet on the EUC is in snowy or icy conditions. The dynamics of falling are very different (and the chances of falling are much higher) as you are likely to fall on your side instead of forward or backward and that’s a heightened possibility of hitting your head. 

[Darrell Wesh]

1 hour ago, Jonesq said:

Like most people have stated already, when you fall suddenly, you act out of instinct without conscious thought. Therefore, if you want to increase the chances that you will be able to roll out of a sudden fall, you have to practice. 

A little  understanding of the mechanics of a roll goes a long way.

Understanding the bodies ability to transfer training into performance is key. You will not reflexively or instinctively perform anywhere close to the same if the speeds are not relatively the same. 

Have you ever practiced or trained for a sport? You're basically ignoring the entire concept of exercise design. In order for transfer of learning to be maximized, specificity must be paramount. The speed at which you need to execute a motor control is a critical component of this. 
 

That’s like telling me the risk is too high for a hamstring pull at 100% speed, so I only need to practice at 50% speed but I’ll still be able to perform at 100% in the race. 
 

It’d be like telling a tennis player to practice a slow serve to master the technique but when the match comes and he tries to serve at full speed everything goes wrong technically. 

[Lefteris]

I wanted to reply to ±6 posts, but then i canceled the multi-reply-post button to write the following.

I know that people have had experiences with falls and accidents that led to serious injuries but, each case is different, you know that, you can present your case and is needed in order for others to take into consideration and note things that we shouldn't do so we can try to avoid the same or similar situation.

Generaly, there is a need to be extra carefull with machines like the ones we ride, we all know that, it's just that the "fun factor" kicks in and tend to forget that if you fall off the thing you ride bad shit will happen even if you are prepared or not. 

But still, it is good to have in mind some technics that may save you and others, duck roll lessen the speed and impact technics and hope your mind remembers them when time comes, and others, cause these things tend to happen, to have your wheel take off with a mind of it's own and maybe hit a pedestrian, or crash a store etc.

From my personal experience, cause we all have fallen off our machines, i fell when dancing with the Z10 right and left by doing huge S's, tyre stepped on a metal road divider that protruded cause it was brand new, i was going with about 10~12km's/h and i fell on my side, managed to roll so only my left leg sustaind some injuries (scratches), nothing much, but the wheel somehow managed to find balance, maybe it was the fatness of the wide tyre of the Z10, who knows, and took off with the same momentum in speed and almost got off the side-road that i was in, with direction to the highway.. It would probably have managed to create a chain-reaction of car/moto accidents... I was ok, didn't even bleed a drop of blood, but imagine what would have happend!! I've had friends that the fell and the wheel hit them in the back or even again took off with a mind of it's own and hit pedestrians.

We don't know what will happen when we fall, we can try our best to "save" the fall but then again the electric vehicle that you where just on has also a remaining force, a momentum that too has to be equaly delt with in order to stop. In these cases nothing can help the situation, belts/leash and holders and stuff, don't do anything, i case of leash it may create worse case senarion and include you into its own momentum!. Remember, our machines with the weight and speed the have accumulated will also create somekind of situation.

A thing to have in mind so you don't speed up when in public roads on the city or suburbs, and only test your wheel speed away from all of this, in the comform of maybe empty parks, construction areas, and places that noone will bump into you, no vehicle will jump from your left-side, nothing will be damaged "if" you fall.

My 2 cents  and not bs  

Edited January 25, 2020 by Lefteris
some mistakes cause English is not my main language, i'm Greek, also the image in the end :P

[travsformation]

I remember having the same discussion when I first started riding; back then I was in the "know how to fall" camp, determined to transfer my training in martial arts to EUC riding. I still believe that in certain scenarios they can come in handy, but in general I feel that EUC falls are too unpredictable and happen way too fast, and as @Darrell Wesh said, most of the techniques commonly referred to don't tend to transfer well to high-speed falls. I'm not saying they aren't useful at all: a couple of well executed roles have probably spared me some pain in a couple of occasions, but only because they occurred at fairly low speeds and nothing unexpected happened so I was able to predict the outcome and prepare for. Having said that, I don't think rolling is a safe approach for high-speed falls and has the potential to cause much more harm than it prevents; I'm also wary of rolling with the full-face helmet on– on mine the visor protrudes enough that it worries me that if it were to get caught mid-roll it could cause a serious neck injury.

Overall, my experience is that falls tend to happen way too fast to have time to react. On my one and only 40 +km fall I suddenly found myself sliding across the asphalt, and it wasn't until I got up that I found out that the cause of the fall had been a speedbump I'd failed to see; it happened so fast that one second you're riding and the next year on the ground. You don't have to be riding that fast either: clip a pedal, hit a curb or a pothole, find yourself having to swerve to avoid an obstacle or a jay walker and it's pretty much the same thing.

The unpredictability factor plays a big role too: during a wobble, for example, which direction you'll be propelled is anyone's guess until it happens. Depending on the angle, whether it happens while you're going straight or turning, depending on whether the wheel is tilted to its side and how far, on whether you dismount or are "forcibly ejected", the pressure of your tire… A controlled fall requires being able to predict the outcome and prepare for it (even if it's just half a second in advance) , and in the case of EUCs there are so many variables at play that can change so dramatically (multiple times per second) that sometimes it can be practically impossible to anticipate even the direction of the fall; you can brace yourself for a leftward fall and in the very last millisecond the wheel can twist violently and eject you to the right.

Falls are a very humbling experience. Even dismounts (where you think you're escaping the unpredictability of the wheel in favor of a voluntary bail) can turn out very differently from what you'd anticipated. You put your right foot on the ground, expecting to fall forward, but inertia has you fall on your side instead.

I consider myself lucky that the times I've fallen my reflexes have been fairly on point (perhaps too on point, as in the case linked to by @Unventor...): I've always been able to land with my hand in front of me, and instinctively keep my arms flexed and my neck and torso bent upwards away from the asphalt. Palms, knees and elbows seem to take the most direct hits, which is why gearing up is the most effective way of preventing injuries.

If I were to give any advice it would be to try to prevent falls in the first place by putting your full attention into what you're doing (again: don't be dumbstruck by blondes or sunsets ), to gear up and to try to stay clear of your wheel when a mishap occurs; I've had a few forced bails where I jumped off as the wheel was twisting and landed in front of it, and am glad that I was instinctively able to dodge it because you don't want a 55 lb. wheel hitting you in the leg or ankle from behind...
 

On 1/25/2020 at 1:00 AM, Darrell Wesh said:

In order for muscle memory and reaction time to even work the fall has to be roughly the same speeds as the practice falls. Whose going to practice falling at 20-40mph? 

Because let me tell you something; those walking speed falls they tell you to practice in the video are NOT going to help you in a real speed fall. 

Everything is different at higher speeds and if you haven’t trained for it your movements will be too slow for the speeds you’re at and nothing will work. 
 

So keep tricking yourself into believing 5mph tuck and roll practices will save you.

I completely agree that slow speed practice isn't applicable to higher-speed crashes, and I can't imagine anyone voluntarily practicing high-speed crashes either

On the other hand, @Darrell Wesh, Perhaps the italicized text above is just friendly banter, but it comes through (at least to me) as somewhat harsh. Remember we're not face-to-face (no smiles, body language, etc.) and written text leaves much space for (mis)interpretation. Perhaps you should give emoticons a try to prevent misunderstandings

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by travsformation

[travsformation]

On 1/24/2020 at 7:53 AM, Darrell Wesh said:

IMO wrist guards are too slippery and cause your arms to slide forward at an alarming speed predisposing you to shoulder dislocations. Numerous people wearing wrist guards and crashing on EUC’s have suffered shoulder dislocations so they aren’t infallible

That's an interesting point you make there; I'd given some thought to the fact that dissipating the impact with your palm transfers it upward along your arm, creating high potential for shoulder dislocations, but hadn't stopped to consider whether less friction could be beneficial. How does a high-speed fall play out with motorcycle gloves? (I ask because I don't know). How does the increased friction translate? I somehow imagine it turning the fall into a role, twisting the shoulder and/or bringing the head down towards the pavement.

P.S.Darrell, why do you and I only ever talk about gloves and wrist guards?

Edited January 25, 2020 by travsformation

[Jonesq]

On 1/24/2020 at 10:45 PM, Darrell Wesh said:

Understanding the bodies ability to transfer training into performance is key. You will not reflexively or instinctively perform anywhere close to the same if the speeds are not relatively the same. 

Have you ever practiced or trained for a sport? You're basically ignoring the entire concept of exercise design. In order for transfer of learning to be maximized, specificity must be paramount. The speed at which you need to execute a motor control is a critical component of this. 
 

That’s like telling me the risk is too high for a hamstring pull at 100% speed, so I only need to practice at 50% speed but I’ll still be able to perform at 100% in the race. 
 

It’d be like telling a tennis player to practice a slow serve to master the technique but when the match comes and he tries to serve at full speed everything goes wrong technically. 

I have 15 years background in competitive martial arts. We're not disagreeing about optimal training methodology. 

If you can figure out a better way to train how to roll I'd love to hear your thoughts. Otherwise, this is probably the best way to learn. It's a bit impractical and also unnecessarily dangerous to practice by diving off my uni at 25 mph.

My personal experience is that I was able to roll out of numerous falls at high speed (19+ mph) despite not training to fall at 19mph. The mechanics are the same and the biggest thing is tucking your head. Like I stated before, I still broke my wrist when I flipped over my handlebars but I saved my head. 

A more accurate analogy of what I'm trying to say is that if you can't find a way to do it safely and practically at 100% speed, then it's fine to practice it at 50% speed because something is better than nothing and you may need to use this skill when you're going 50% speed anyways. There are plenty of people out there who are going to look up instead of down when they fall and even addressing that detail helps your chances immensely for avoiding a head injury.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Jonesq

[Darrell Wesh]

47 minutes ago, Jonesq said:

My personal experience is that I was able to roll out of numerous falls at high speed

I think the problem is that you had to roll out of numerous falls at 19+mph. Let’s address your proficiency on a wheel because falling at those speeds shouldn’t be a numerous occurrence. 

[Darrell Wesh]

49 minutes ago, Jonesq said:

have 15 years background in competitive martial arts. We're not disagreeing about optimal training methodology. 

If you can figure out a better way to train how to roll I'd love to hear your thoughts. Otherwise, this is probably the best way to learn. It's a bit impractical and also unnecessarily dangerous to practice by diving off my uni at 25 mph.

We are disagreeing about practice. Learning how to roll takes practice. Learning how to swing a tennis racquet takes practice. Learning how to explode out of the blocks takes... practice. 
 

And as an Olympic athlete whose been around all types of Olympians I’m telling you that your methodology of “practicing” is not going to get you the results you think they will. Just because YOU can roll at high speeds with low speed practice doesn’t amount to what you’ve done being applicable to everyone else. 

[MikeTheCreator]

On 1/24/2020 at 3:43 PM, Darrell Wesh said:

Would you really buy an EUC if the recommendation was to practice falling for a month before even beginning to ride? You’re commuting or having fun riding around.
 

We wear gear so we don’t have to practice how to fall. I’ve seen videos of dudes literally faceplanting at slow speeds with no effort to save themselves because they know they’ll be okay with their full face helmets and knee pads etc on. 
 

The only people that should be practicing how to fall are those that are doing tricks on like BMX bikes or skateboarding etc because doing tricks has a high falling/fail rate. When you are doing these tricks falls are so expected that they are planned even during the trick. Unless you want to ride an EUC with the anxiety of falling in the front of your mind the entire commute....

 

It’s not that I’m practicing falling. More like being mentally prepared on what to do in that event. I think the main thing is to not panic and to try and drop in a cat like position like the other mentioned. I will not be practicing on how to fall. 

[MikeTheCreator]

On 1/24/2020 at 5:20 PM, Jonesq said:

Not everyone is going to be falling at 20-40mph.  In my personal experience, my falls are usually do to me being distracted when I'm at a cruising speed. I don't think I've ever wrecked when going above 25mph because I am hyper vigilant at those speeds. Even low speed falls can mess you up if you fall incorrectly. Learning to fall at low speeds absolutely helps you to learn how to fall at high speeds. High speed falling is just low speed falling but you have to react faster and you may have to roll more than once. Even if you don't execute it perfectly, if you can just manage to not hit your head and roll at least once, you'll still end up take a good amount of speed and force off the initial impact.

This thread is about how to fall properly. That is how you do it. Guys who parkour/judo are falling all the time. If you want to learn how to fall, you learn from the people who specialize in it.

It's a great skill to have regardless if you are an active person. It might not save you from every fall, but even if you don't execute it perfectly, it may still reduce the amount of damage you take. I still recommend everyone learn a basic roll because the time it will take you to learn it is such a minimal investment in terms of how much it could potentially save your ass. It totally saved me when I flipped over my handlebars while going 19mph on my bike without a helmet. I broke my scaphoid in the initial impact but my head didn't touch the ground.

You don't have to practice falling fast to be able to pull off a fall break/roll. When I crashed on my bike I had only practiced rolling like the videos I linked. The only difference was that I added diving rolls once I mastered the slow rolls from standing. 



 

I don’t get why some people are so passionately against this. It’s totally smart to be mentally prepared. Of course studying how to fall would benefit us!

[Darrell Wesh]

2 hours ago, MikeTheCreator said:

I don’t get why some people are so passionately against this. It’s totally smart to be mentally prepared. Of course studying how to fall would benefit us!

Because you cannot be mentally prepared the entire time you ride unless you want it to be the most stressful thing you do all day. 
This has been brought up numerous times on these boards. I repeat, you cannot be mentally prepared to fall unless you want to hate riding EUC’s. 

Riding is supposed to be liberating. Freeing. To have falling at the forefront of your mind the entire time you ride would almost certainly induce wobbles at speed, and would completely go against the point of riding. 
 

It’s like If you’re a gear guy and you forget your gloves or wrist guards at home. All of a sudden the ride is incredibly stressful and you no longer feel relaxed. Your speed slows considerably and you’re scanning the road for anything foreign even though you know it like the back of your hand. Paranoid that you’ll look like you ran your hands through a cheese grater real soon. 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Darrell Wesh