Animus, I sort of disagree. I think for many people, yes, a good roll results in facing nearly sideways. Stephane V for example. However, for some people, that's not so. My roll is very forward and I get no pain from it at all. Same goes for ozzi. If I do a sideways roll, the side of my hip hurts too much. That's just due to my body type. However, for a skinnier person whose bones stick out more, my roll would hurt. I think that saying "a good roll results in this or that" is never correct, because different rolls work for different people, and also, different situations. You'll often see David Belle do a martial arts roll, as well as a more sideways one, depending on his environment.

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Whew, thanks man.

Big question some friends and I have had lately: hit the ground or collapse into it?

I think that collapse into it makes more sense in cushioning your impact, but I see Belle and some others basically punching the ground with his feet to start the roll.

Well the main point of rolling is to cushion the impact. I know it also helps to change your momentum but that is more of a bonus.

You are using "collapse" differently than I am. With your "collapse," your are suggesting that you jumped from way too high and are hitting the ground with way too much force to counteract. I mean that at the moment you hit, you transition straight into the roll. I see quite a few people who hit the ground and then just jump into the roll as though it were two different things. That may help you get up and continue smoothly, but it does not help to cushion the impact at all. I think it should all be done as one motion.

oof, not liking a lot of what I see here, just in this last page.

I am of the opinion that you should go with what works for you. The roll is a movement that you should experiment a bit, to try to better understand, do side rolls, back rolls, twisting rolls, incorporate it into and out of qm. all of these methods should increase your body awareness, along with being potentially useful techniques. If you aim to do rolls well then know that a good roll will not hurt, even on concrete.

Well then I guess my idea is just different... you think rolling has little to do with cushioning the impact?

What's more important, transferring momentum from some jumps or not having to get a knee replacement? I see rolling as a way to keep as much stress off of your legs as possible. That doesn't mean you try to land on your back or anything, but you minimize the amount of force to a reasonable degree. You don't need to to be jumping off of anything high to cause damage either. Yes, landing from a 2 story building is bad, but what about repeated stiff landings from only 5-6 feet? Obviously the results will be different depending on how much leg strength you have, but the idea is still the same. I try to increase the surface area and decrease the impulse of the landing IN ADDITION to keeping the flow.

Of course this is all assuming that taking the impact as stated is bad for your knees, whether immediate (from very high up) or over time (from numerous low drops). So again, I think cushioning the impact is or should be the primary goal and a smooth transfer of motion is or should be a bonus.


On a different note, I think that if you could master this transition of lessening the impact, the height at which you could safely descend would go up a lot, not that I'm suggesting them, however.

Nah, what I do is I come down with my weight forward so that I fall/collapse into a roll without needing to compress as much as possible.

It isn't healthy to not deal with your problems... lol jk. I get what you're saying.


Maybe I should just get a video of how I've been doing my rolls and have you look at it? Actions speak louder (and better) than words? I also have the feeling that what I think I'm doing may be different from what someone else might see...