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Joe Long wrote:
> The reason that broken wrists and forearms are a common result from
> falls it our natural instinct to put our arms out in front to
> "protect" ourselves. Nikki did it the right way.
>
> In a fall, once you know you cannot recover and are going to the
> ground, you want to tuck your head and arms to your chest and try to
> land on a shoulder, rolling as you hit the ground. This prevents
> taking full force
It didn't occur to me until Nikki and Joe described landing this way
that I remembered this is the classic shoulder roll taught in all the
martial arts (or at least kenpo). You're not allowed to learn to throw
someone until you can fling yourself at the ground from practically a
run and roll over the shoulder and land on your feet, as Nikki just
described doing on her horse.
OK, this may be an incredibly dumb idea, but if someone had a youngster
that they wanted to teach to fall correctly, why not take them to a
martial arts studio, explain to the sensei what you need and have them
teach the kid how to do a shoulder roll? It's alot easier at first on
mats, actually alotta fun and may really drill the concept into the head
so that muscle memory takes over when you DO come off the horse (I envy
anyone who can ponder the options on the way down...my only thought is
usally "AAAAAGHHHHHHH!!!!!!")
Just a random thought....:)
Susan
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