It seems like a stupid post to write, but I want to tell you how to fall over. We have been doing it all of our life; as a baby, as an unsteady child and as we reach a certain age through copious amounts of alcohol. Why do you need to know how to fall?
In short falling correctly can save you from a boat load of injuries.
I am going to combine a couple of falling lessons I have learned through my sporting career. The first is from my time as a martial artist doing karate, the second comes from my snowboarding lessons. Both of these lessons can be directly transferred to mountainboarding.
The most important thing to learn, and learn well is to wrap yourself up when you fall. Extending arms is a sure fire way to injure yourself. You can fall in two ways foward and back. So here we go:
Falling Back
If you are falling back, attempt to curl up so the force of the fall is taken squarely on your back. Tuck your chin into your chest and also cross your hands over your chest. Crossing your hands will stop the automatic reaction to stop your fall with your hands which is the main cause of wrist injuries. Landing flat on your back to absorb the impact is straight out of martial arts training.
Falling Forward
Again curl up to keep your arms out of the way and attempt to take the force of the fall on your flattened arms. Falling onto your shoulders can result in dislocation so attempt to land squarely. You may knock your wind out, but that can be recovered quickly, broken bits will keep you off the slopes for quite some time. This is the lesson I leaned from my snowboarding coach.
Falling well is good news, but it is better to learn how to board at your local center under tuition from people who are certified by your local ruling body.
Remember mountain boarding is an exteme sport and we cannot be held responsible for any injuries sustained when attempting to fall in this manner. Please remember to wear your safety equipment at all times including a helmet, wrist guards, knee guards and elbow protectors. If you are attempting more extreme tricks or jumps consider investing in body armour and hip/thigh guards.
If anyone else has other methods to break a fall without injury, please leave a comment.
