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Breakfalling: Backwards Jitsu Rolls
Within Jiu Jitsu there are many situations where a jitsuka may find himself falling over backwards.
This is potentially quite dangerous given that the jitsuka cannot see what is behind him. However assuming that
the jitsuka is not about to fall off a cliff or onto shards of broken glass, the backwards breakfall should
allow the jitsuka to complete the fall with minimal discomfort.
When first learning how to perform a backwards jitsu roll, a student will typically start off learning a kneeling version of the
roll. This allows the student to get a feel for the roll and to learn to perfect the form
before moving up to falling from a greater height - that of standing.
Kneeling
The Starting Position
All kneeling breakfalls begin and end in the same formal kneeling position. This kneeling position is described on the
forwards roll page - since forwards rolls are typically taught first.
The Ready Position
As the jitsuka prepares to perform the actual breakfall, he brings his hands across in front of his face in an
'X'-block position with fingers forming tight fists. This will provide the jitsuka some protection against
an attack such as a kick. Note that the arms should have a bit of give in them else the arms would take the full impact
of such an assault or if positioned too close to the face would simply transfer the impact directly to the face as the
jitsuka's own fists strike him.
The left leg tucks right under the jitsuka's posterior with the top of the instep flat on the mat and toes pointing out
to the right. The jitsuka also sinks slightly backwards and down letting the right leg straighten out . This lowering is
often counter-balanced by extending the right foot forwards slightly forward - but the extent depends upon the size (and shape)
of the jitsuka.
When demonstrating kneeling ukemi kata, this is the start position for the fall once it has
been named.
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The Semi-Reclining Position
The jitsuka continues the fall in earnest by continuing to sink backwards towards the mat. The right leg continues to straighten
out, and the arms unfurl to either side. At this point the hands should already be beginning to form the cupped shape that
will trap the cushion of air beneath them as the fall is broken. The head should also begin to tuck forwards.
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The Fully-Reclining Position
The jitsuka should attempt to strike the mat firmly with both arms at the same moment that the shoulders touch the mat.
The force of the landing should be taken across the whole of the back and arms (of course the position should be such that the
spine is protected by the muscles of the back and shoulders as well as the positioning of the arms). The arms should be roughly
45° from the body and the impact should be taken across the forearms (and to a lesser extent the triceps) as well as the
hands.
His feet should remain in the same position as in the previous step, and his chin should be tucked tight in towards the chest with
the mouth closed (so as not to slam the teeth together on impact).
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As the jitsuka falls they should try to relax as much as possible. At the moment of impact the muscles should momentarily tense to
take out the sting of the fall, and at the same time it is important that he breathes out. If the exhalation is forgotten, it
can lead to the jitsuka being temporarily winded as the air is forced from the lungs rather than allowed to escape in a controlled
manner. As such if the exhalation is uncontrolled the same result can occur.
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The Return
At this point the fall has been broken, and that's essentially all that there is to it ... but of course this is jiu jitsu; and we
have a better way to get up rather than just picking yourself woefully off of the ground.
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The jitsuka has now broken the fall, but breaking is not the same as braking. The jitsuka seeks to take control of the
backwards motion and uses this to actually right himself once more.
The shoulders arms and head stay in the same position as for the break, but the legs continue in the same position up into the air.
The straight leg is aimed towards the opposite shoulder - i.e. the right leg towards the left shoulder.
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The jitsuka's right leg continues over in a continuous arc, the back and shoulders beginning to follow. The hands flow with the roll
remaining in contact with the mat at all times to help maintain the stability of the roll. As the roll progresses, the head should
remain tucked and the arms stretched out to ensure that the head does not come into contact with the ground.
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The tucked in left leg begins to untuck once the straight leg has passed over behind the head. Both legs should touch down in the
position shown in the photographs.
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Sometimes backwards rolls may be performed with only a single arm providing support or with the straight leg never touching down until
the end of the technique. Whilst these variations may be faster in some instances, they do not provide the stability that is introduced
using the techniques described here.
The jitsuka's right leg continues to sweep through along the ground. As the leg sweeps through he begins to straighten up and the
head rises to look straight ahead.
From this position it is a relatively simple matter to slide each leg into the position they were at the beginning, and to rise up
into the start position - with hands and head placed appropriately.
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Backwards rolls from standing have a few notable differences to those done when kneeling. The first of these is the
way in which left and right are termed. When kneeling, a left-sided backwards roll is performed with the left knee
up, proceeding to a roll of the left leg over the right shoulder back into a left knee up kneeling position. When
a standing backwards left-sided roll is accomplished, the jitsuka steps backwards with the left leg and the right leg
is rolled over the left shoulder. This is counter-intuitive from learning kneeling backwards .. but this is the
adopted convention.
The First Step
In order to reach the backwards roll, the jitsuka must actually descend much further to reach the fall. Whilst it is
possible to tuck the back leg behind the other leg's knee (as is the effect in a kneeling roll), this is not a
comfortable position to fall into. Instead the jitsuka should attempt to take as deep a step as possible backwards
(and slightly out to the side to help stability) and try to make a controlled descent into a sitting position. As
the jitsuka reaches the floor the position should be such that the back foot has become tucked in next to the knee.
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It should be noted that the jitsuka should still maintain a cross handed guard as they reach this position as it
will give him a block against attacks to the head as well as allowing him to swing out firmly with his arms to break
the fall more effectively.
This position is very similar to the kneeling ready position. It is relatively simple from here
to continue the backwards roll in the same manner as the kneeling roll. In fact its only as the jitsuka has completely
rolled backwards and is sliding his leg through (to return to a kneeling position) that the roll changes.
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Back to standing
The difference between kneeling and standing is really very small. If your knee is on the floor, then you are kneeling.
If neither knee is on the floor, then you are standing. Ideally a jitsuka wants to aim to be rising into a stance as
the back leg sweeps through out of the roll. However in order to get used to this a useful trick is simply to try and
extend the kneeling stance the jitsuka would have from a kneeling backwards roll.
First from the kneeling position push up very slightly into a standing, but deep lunging position.
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Next twist the knee of the back leg out to the side (away from the body) and swap from the toes of the back foot to
the full sole of the foot. This should more or less get you back into stance.
Once you are back into stance that's it done.
If you are falling consecutive alternate sides, simply take a deep step backwards with the front foot each time. If
you are consecutive falling on the same side, then there's no real need to step as with practice, your stance should
be deep enough already to get into a reasonable standing backwards roll.
One final word of warning. Whilst the greatest martial artists may have a level of zanshin that is equivalent
to having eyes in the back of the head, most of us don't. So please pay attention whenever you are falling backwards
that you are not falling off the mat or into someone else. It's your responsibility.
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Once backwards rolls have been mastered, its time to start making them a bit tougher. This
should help improve the simpler falls whilst still keeping the breakfall challenging and useful.
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