Side Breakfalls

You should already know how to do Back Breakfalls before you try to learn your Side Breakfalls.

Side breakfalls are really just one-armed, one-sided Back Breakfalls.

You usually fall on your side because the person throwing you is still hanging on to one of your arms. In fact, your training partner probably twisted, pushed or pulled that arm to break your balance and make you fall down! That's how it normally works...

For a side breakfall, you fall on your side. (Surprise, surprise!) And if you're doing Ukemi (breakfalls) on a nice dojo mat, you'll slap the ground with your hand.

Doing breakfalls on the street or on concrete, you might keep your free arm on your stomach as you fall. This should prevent it getting damaged, and leaves that arm ready to protect your face from a blow.

Remember, if you slap, your arm should be at about 45 degrees from your body when it hits the mat. Immediately after, you should withdraw your arm quickly and keep it protectively in front of your chest or face. You might need to block a punch or a kick.

To practise Side Breakfalls on your own, you first learn from lying flat on your back.

Lift your head and shoulders off the mat and curve your back as you rock back on your curved spine, and raise your legs high into the air.

Then drop your legs to your right side, and slap the ground with your right arm palm down at 45 degrees. That's a side breakfall.

Check your side breakfalls positioning. Your right hip, knee and the whole side of your right leg and calf should be flat on the mat. Your left leg should be bent at the knee, with your left foot flat on the ground.

Correct your side breakfalls Ukemi posture, making sure your chin is "glued" to your chest. Then sit/rock backwards and raise your legs into the air again, straight up. Then come down on your left side.

Again, check your Ukemi ... left hip, knee and the whole side of your left leg and calf should be flat on the mat. Your right leg should be bent at the knee, with your right foot flat on the ground.

Now switch to the right side again.

Do side breakfalls to your right, left, right, left ... until you have done them twenty times. Ten on each side.

You need to practice these side breakfalls at least three times a week to make fast progress with your Ukemi.

But don't rush the Ukemi exercises themselves. The slower you do them, the more correctly you learn, and the better you will be.

If you try to rush them your Ukemi techniques will be sloppy. And that will slow your progress later, as the breakfalls get harder.

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