SLC MMA » Ukemi http://slcmma.com Exploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:43:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Body Mechanics of Ukemi Rolling http://slcmma.com/body-mechanics-of-ukemi-rolling/ http://slcmma.com/body-mechanics-of-ukemi-rolling/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:21:31 +0000 BartB http://slcmma.com/?p=35 If you’ve never done it, the body mechanics of proper Ukemi (the art of falling) are a bit tricky, but learning to fall and roll correctly are vital in MMA or Jujitsu practice. Ultimately, it’s a self-preservation thing -you’re going to get tripped, thrown, and pushed to the ground. If you don’t know how to roll properly you’ll get injured when you meet the ground. Second, the body kinetics of ukemi are used in several jujitsu submission escapes and sweeps.

I present two videos showing the basic forward and backwards rolls. There are a few variations, such as starting from standing position or having an arm extended instead of tucked in … but these are great to start off with.

A few notes to look out for -notice how the back is curled, not sharply angular. The roll happens in one smooth fluid motion. The chin is slightly tucked in. The roll is over the shoulder, not the neck (like a pure somersault would be).

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