Learning How To Fall

April 24, 2009 by Black Belt Mama · 5 Comments
Filed under: Tales from the dojo

A couple week ago, when Big I started first Danzan Ryu ju-jutsu, I was worried that this wasn't going to be her thing either. The very first thing that they learn in class is how to properly fall. There's a lot to remember and it's a little different than how we do it in karate. I spent the first night of class watching her fall on her arms constantly when she tried to do the side break fall. I watched her forget to turn her head sideways for the front one. I was worried.

Last week, they started doing roll falls and I began to really worry. Big I is not your typical little girl in the rolling department. It doesn't come naturally to her the way it does to many others girls. I wrote about this in the past and described Big I trying to do a forward roll as someone throwing their forehead at the floor. She just doesn't get that you're not supposed to roll on your head and almost break your neck. I think a big part of it has to do with how tall and skinny she got so very quickly. She just doesn't know how to work with that body yet.

However, this week at class, Big I made some major progress. With the exception of only one or two times, the kid got every break fall nearly perfect. Her Sensei was impressed. This was only her third class.

The class progresses with the usage of scrolls that have various techniques on them, and this week they were able to move down to the 5th technique. The children's class is currently only Big I and her Sensei's daughter. They get along really well, work great together and although Sensei's daughter seems to pick things up a little quicker than Big I, she's also his daughter and has had some at home training.

This week though, Big I was doing so well. When we got home from class, she wanted to show Mr. BBM all the things she had learned. There, in the middle of the family room, she showed him her break falls without being on mats. She is genuinely excited about what she's learning and tries to show her "moves" to everyone. Last night, she told me that if I'd like, she can teach me and Mr. BBM what she's learned in class. It may not have looked like it was her thing at the start, but it's appearing that it's becoming her thing fairly quickly.

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