Topic: The diving roll

[JasonPutnam]

I was trying to get better at diving over objects into a roll, but I kept f#cking up my shoulder. I have the roll down, but when I dive into a roll I cant seem to get it without slamming my shoulder in the process.

Any tips??

[Adam McC]

Two things. First, use your hands more. Gotta use the hands to transfer the weight onto the back of your shoulder, not the top. Secondly, you gotta rotate more in your roll, so you don't come down on the top of your shoulder, you land farther behind.

[Austin Winstel]

ya try practicing it a bit from a kneeling position and work your way up, the roll is one of the most important things to master. also make sure your rolling from shoulder to hip so you can make a quick recovery and end off running.
good luck with your shoulder

[JasonPutnam]

ya try practicing it a bit from a kneeling position and work your way up, the roll is one of the most important things to master. also make sure your rolling from shoulder to hip so you can make a quick recovery and end off running.
good luck with your shoulder

Two things. First, use your hands more. Gotta use the hands to transfer the weight onto the back of your shoulder, not the top. Secondly, you gotta rotate more in your roll, so you don't come down on the top of your shoulder, you land farther behind.

Cool, thanks alot!

The using the hands part is what I wasn't doing right, that should help alot.

[Alec Furtado]

Definitely agree with Adam and Shichiro.


Btw, where are you practicing them? I know that some people just have a problem with committing which ruins their movement (dive rolls, vaults, flips, precisions, etc.). I practiced mine by using stacked light foam blocks as the barrier and a nice big mat on the other side which I think helped a lot. Just something to consider.

[Rob "Robulus" Hoover]

I had exactly the same problem. I was diving down (if that makes sense) instead of out. Keep your momentum forward. Don't dive over your obstacle, dive across it. Think of a swan dive off a diving board. The diving board provides you with rotation. All you need to do is dive out. Your arms should be strong enough to land you much like a front handspring. Use your arms to absorb your vertical momentum like a piston and direct your body onto your shoulder nice and soft. (Your back and hips will follow.) That helped me save my gimp shoulder (old hockey injury). I practice this by jumping through the toddler swings on my playground... nice soft mulch for landing, and it helps me keep linear through the chains. If the swing is moving after I roll, then I know I touched the chains.

Definitely start at your knees. I think I saw it in one of Seb's vids that parkour is learned and practiced on the ground. I'm now going back to basics with rolling from my knees on sidewalks for this very reason. The roll is the single most important technique to master in Parkour/Free Running. Without it, you'll either limit yourself and your abilities, or, you'll get hurt because you should have rolled and didn't.

HTH,

Rob

[JasonPutnam]

Thanks alot everyone, and yea I have already realized how important rolls are, I already have those down, it's just the diving roll, but I think I should be fine now.

thanks again!