Topic: "Emergency" landings?

[vector40]

If you find that you are forced to drop for a considerable distance, and your only concern is to do so as safely as possible (i.e. flow be damned), is a standard roll really the best way?

The roll is great for preserving momentum especially with forward movement, but for a high, straight drop I wonder if it's the ideal thing.

This would only be relevant for true emergencies; I wouldn't suggest training drops at a height that you're unsure of landing safely. But no matter how ninjalike you are, it's really plausible that you can find ourself with no real recourse except to drop, and for those of us who aren't David Belle, landing from something like a 15 foot wall with a squat and a slap may be unlikely.

One possibility I could think of is a parachute landing fall (PLF), which is meant for approximately this same purpose. Any other suggestions are welcome.

[Gregg]

Safest way down from 15' -- see if there's another way down. [Stairs]. If not, see if there's a way to break it into several smaller drops. A ledge, or something you could climb down, etc. If you've no other option, hang from the edge, then drop. At least then you're only falling 8' or so. As long as you're dropping to a soft or flat surface, PFL will help absorb impact. Be super careful on uneven hard surfaces - with PFL your spine is vulnerable, because you're rolling along it.

Why would you be up at 15' anyway?

[Laurie Jennifer]

In China, underground Christians training to be missionaries actually include this as part of their training (along with normal theology classes).

Because persecution in China is so bad, they actually train for various types of escape techniques and even practice jumping out of second story windows... handcuffed.  I wish I knew how they did it.  I mean, if your hands are cuffed, how to you roll without seriously damaging your wrists (assuming your hands are cuffed behind you)??  I can't even picture how they would do that...

[parkouring_gecko]

if there are any other walls by it try to jump to that wall and kinda bounce off of it and roll when u hit the ground i seen one guy do that and it worked very well but if u don't do it right u will probly break sumthin.

[Corey Cedeno]

If there isn't any other obstacle that you can use to stagger your decent, a good roll is the best thing I know of.

A roll isn't only to help keep the continuity of your run or flow, (trying to keep physics to a minimum here) it's also the best way to redirect the kinetic energy of your fall so that all of the force from landing is taken in full by your body.  Even with vertical drops.

[hardcoretraceur]

if i hang down from a 15 foot drop its a 7 foot drop, id rather take that. if you watch one episode of man vs wild Bear shows that special forces trained him to do something similar to what we do. i would say trying to execute a roll as best you can is your best bet.

[vector40]

Why would you be up at 15' anyway?

Because urban environments have been significantly vertical since we moved past tents?

[Vexar]

In China, underground Christians training to be missionaries actually include this as part of their training (along with normal theology classes).

Because persecution in China is so bad, they actually train for various types of escape techniques and even practice jumping out of second story windows... handcuffed.  I wish I knew how they did it.  I mean, if your hands are cuffed, how to you roll without seriously damaging your wrists (assuming your hands are cuffed behind you)??  I can't even picture how they would do that...

Okay, that's gotta be the most intense fact I've read in a long time.  So, the real question is: does Springfield, MO have a large Parkour group?

[Scott "Geekmann"]

Maybe if dropping from a ledge like the side of a wall, you could try kind of sliding on the wall to slow your decent then hopping off and roll. Best I came up with.

[Pseudoprogrammer]

Rather than start a new threat I will post here.  If for instance you slip on a vault or something, and are falling sideways or upside down if you are unlucky, what would the best way to regain control and land relatively safely?

A good example of slipping would be this David Belle messup:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kh8NeG9wf8 skip ahead to about 1 minute for what happens.

[Josh Maciel]

I know what Brandon Oto is saying...because if you are falling sideways because you messed up for some reason you can't exactly roll very well...so it's not gonna help...it might even be worse...so just try collapsing into your fall when your feet touch and kind of roll across your back sideways and bring your legs over.

If you fall backwards then you can either roll back and slap the ground with your chin tucked to your chest so you dont hit it on the ground or you can try doing a back roll.

[Scott "Geekmann"]

Rather than start a new threat I will post here.  If for instance you slip on a vault or something, and are falling sideways or upside down if you are unlucky, what would the best way to regain control and land relatively safely?

A good example of slipping would be this David Belle messup:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kh8NeG9wf8 skip ahead to about 1 minute for what happens.

I'd say probably just attempt to hit on the place where it would hurt the least. You can't really 'gain back control' so to speak, but you can try to not land on say your neck or your wrists or ankles. Also, try to, if falling a long way, try to get in a roll.

[Gregg]

Judo and some of the other 'throwing' martial arts have [and practice] side and back falls and rolls, in addition to the front roll. On Belle's famous kong to crash, he twists and does like a side fall against the side of the stairwell. Not something to practice on cement.

yoko ukemi [side fall], ushiro ukemi - kinda like the parkour roll in reverse. The back fall is similar, but you roll forward again once you've rolled onto your shoulder(s). Sometimes we'd slap both arms, but when you're emergency falling, this will give you the tendency to roll along your spine. It's still better than falling flat...

The big thing is protect your head, neck and spine. Even curling into a ball with your arms cradling your head and rolling is better than doing a header onto concrete.

[Josh Maciel]

Yea that is right btay...but why did u cross that out?

[Gregg]

I didn't intentionally. I typed square brackets on "shoulder(s)", instead of parenthesis.  It's the code for 'strikeout'. It's been fixed.

[Andy Animus Tran]

Theoretically, a straight drop requires no roll.  However, if there's any forward momentum as you drop, a roll is likely going to be a good idea.  Ultimately, the more you train, the more you will understand your body.  When the time comes to it, in a dangerous and life-threatening situation, you will know what to do... if you have trained hard.

[shadow1234]

If you find that you are forced to drop for a considerable distance, and your only concern is to do so as safely as possible (i.e. flow be damned), is a standard roll really the best way?

The roll is great for preserving momentum especially with forward movement, but for a high, straight drop I wonder if it's the ideal thing.

This would only be relevant for true emergencies; I wouldn't suggest training drops at a height that you're unsure of landing safely. But no matter how ninjalike you are, it's really plausible that you can find ourself with no real recourse except to drop, and for those of us who aren't David Belle, landing from something like a 15 foot wall with a squat and a slap may be unlikely.

One possibility I could think of is a parachute landing fall (PLF), which is meant for approximately this same purpose. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Hahahahah. 15 feet isn't that high up. If you try a parachute landing like that, you'll most likely just crunch your face. You wouldn't have enough time to parachute significantly long enough to slow your fall and then move to a safe position. Don't believe me, do the math.

[BobT]

A parachute landing is a landing on the feet with a backwards roll (like you land when parachuting), not an attempt to use your body as a parachute 

[Yixin (pronounced ee-shin)]

In China, underground Christians training to be missionaries actually include this as part of their training (along with normal theology classes).

Because persecution in China is so bad, they actually train for various types of escape techniques and even practice jumping out of second story windows... handcuffed.  I wish I knew how they did it.  I mean, if your hands are cuffed, how to you roll without seriously damaging your wrists (assuming your hands are cuffed behind you)??  I can't even picture how they would do that...

My uncle, who is a Chinese LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) has told me some humorous anecdotes about people that tried to leap out of windows handcuffed (note: most police cuff with the wrists behind the back, thus precluding wrist damage if you roll correctly). But running from People's Armed Police Internal Security will only mean that you will die tired, so I wouldn't recommend trying anything like that, because the cops in China will simply shoot you if you try to flee.

Also, without getting into a political discussion, I am sad to know that we do not see eye-to-eye politically.

[shadow1234]

A parachute landing is a landing on the feet with a backwards roll (like you land when parachuting), not an attempt to use your body as a parachute 

haha woops. I guess I show my ignorance this time.