Martial Arts for Crashes

Big kudos to @chad for mentioning jujitsu and judo on the podcast. On at least 3 occasions I have avoided major shoulder injury by being able to roll out of a spectacular crash. And I crashed quite a lot.
Not only does it make you subconsciously able to lessen the impact of a fall on your collarbone, but I’ve also found myself capable of tucking my head in so to avoid a nasty injury when I high sided like a motorbike on a fast corner last year.

Worth taking time to learn folks!

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got a video as an example to us non Martial Artists out there?

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forward shoulder roll

I’d also suggest learning to dismount like they do in Cyclocross, here. I was involved in a crash where the driver t-boned me on my right. Had I not dismounted at the last second he would have hit my right knee.

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Aikido saved my arse couple of time :slight_smile:

I remember as a kid on BMX and other crappy 1970’s bikes building stupid ramps and falling off 100’s of times and learning to roll.
It’s like a muscle memory now. The few times i’ve needed the skill in the subsequent 40 years it clicks into action in the 10th of a second before impact.

Hehe, I usually stay quiet about this because it seems like a pretty bizarre topic. Nonetheless, I’ve taken a few falls here and there either running on uneven surfaces in the dark or riding bikes with skinny tires offroad, and it seems like the only thing that’s really stuck with me through the years from a youthful interest in judo and aikido is how to fall well.

Whether you’re falling off to the side, doing an endo, or tripping taking a step backward, there’s a fall technique for it. Of course, having a little muscle on your bones - and some proper bone density - doesn’t hurt either, and I’d definitely use a layered approach to durability in a crash over thinking one single trick will see you out every time. But it’s not a bad trick, either.

I’m glad this was brought up on the podcast too, an aspect I’ve never even thought about!
Luckily only had few bad crashes (not in a group, touch wood), twice slid on an oily road and t-bone a car when it pulled out in front of me. Terrible whiplashes and damaged helmets

This! I firmly believe muscular support helps, even if not size just having some strength.

I’m by no means big (unless you put me next to a really skinny pro) but I had a big fall a couple of years ago coming out of a winter of solid core and upper body strength work and was quite surprised nothing broke. As I was flying through the air I recall thinking “I’m going to be really upset if I break my collarbone again” followed by “don’t stick your arm out, roll”