How to Breakfall and Take a Throw for Self-Defense

In my video about how to roll on the ground, I commented that if I got shoved backwards, I probably wouldn’t slap the ground. Some folks had questions about that, so allow me to share a few more thoughts on how to breakfall for self-defense.

Video and article below!

How to Breakfall for Self-Defense

In my experience, when you take a fall, there’s a right time to stick out your arm and a wrong time. The right time would be when your head is going to hit the ground before your butt or your feet.

So, for example, if I were to fall off a ladder—my head flying straight for the ground, my feet up in the air—then yes, I would stick my arm out to break that fall.

Why? Because it’s better to break your arm than your head. In self-defense, the same idea would apply if somebody scooped up both of your legs and sent you falling to the ground headfirst.

But the truth is you don’t really need to train to reach for the ground. Your body is wired to do that automatically.

What you need to train is how to NOT stick out your arm at the wrong time.

When’s the wrong time? The wrong time to stick out your arm is when you still have one or both feet still on the floor.

Consider a single leg sweep. If you protect yourself with a normal breakfall, you immediately create three problems…

1. You turn your back to your attacker.
2. Your hand, which could be grabbing or striking, is now out of the fight.
3. You risk injury to your hand by slapping the ground.

NO, NO, and NO!

Here’s my rule: If you can sit down, don’t slap the ground.

What should you do instead? Well, while one leg is being swept, you still have another leg on the ground. That means you can just sit down!

Now all three problems are solved…

1. You are facing your attacker.
2. Both hands are still in the fight. You can not only strike, you can set up a sacrifice or counter throw.
3. You risk no injury to your hand because you never slapped the ground.

BONUS POINT! By holding on to your attacker, you are able to exert some control over the speed of your fall. So, there really is no downside to sitting down. Remember the rule—

If you can sit down, don’t slap the ground.

Now let’s look at how to take a throw. A hip throw, for example, is definitely a situation where both of my feet will be over my head. But that doesn’t mean I have to land like a bag of rocks and slap the ground!

Instead of reaching for the ground with your hand, try reaching for the ground with your feet. Whether you can touch the ground with one or both feet, you will gain the ability to let your body down with control. Plus, you still haven’t turned your back on your attacker and both of your hands are still in the fight.

Think about it—when you jump out of an airplane with a parachute, you’re taking a serious fall. But last time I checked, they’re not training paratroopers to slap the ground when they land. At least that’s not what they told me when I went parachuting just for fun.

Instead, I was told to keep my hands up, absorb the impact with my legs, and get my butt to the ground as fast as I could. Now, sure, if you’re falling out of an airplane headfirst and you still want to stick your hands out, go right ahead. You’re still going to die, but hey—at least you tried.

So, now that we know how to take a fall, let’s talk about how to practice with a little more realism.

How to Practice Breakfalls

Many people warm up by rolling from side to side. They land with their head tucked, arm at a 45 degree angle, making contact with the outside of the thigh and the ball of the foot, while being careful not to hurt the bottom ankle.

Many people practice the backward breakfall in a similar fashion. They tuck the head, cross the hands, then roll back and forth with a big slap.

For me, there’s a problem with both of those methods because you’re already on the ground! There is no fall to break.

When I’m warming up, I start on the ground, rolling from side to side, too. The only difference is instead of sitting and staying on the ground, I add a little jump. That way I get the feeling of taking a fall.

Same idea for a backwards breakfall. Instead of just rolling back, I jump back. Now, I have a fall to break, which helps me time my slap properly.

Of course, I’ve seen several martial arts teachers demonstrate landing with the entire body at the exact same moment. The idea is to spread out the energy of the impact.

But in my experience, it doesn’t always work that way… and shouldn’t! I’ve had far better luck using my arm to break the fall, not take the fall.

Break the fall, don’t take the fall!

In addition to side breakfalls and back breakfalls, I recommend practicing a flipping breakfall. This will come in handy for all kinds of throws.

The first step is to get pretty good executing a forward roll. A roll will give you the same feeling as being flipped head over heels… or heels over head!

The next step is to start your roll… arch your back halfway through… and reach for the ground with your feet. Then let your body down with control.

IMPORTANT! Start off slowly! Don’t hurt your back by stopping halfway through the roll in a bridge position. Just touch your feet and lower your butt.Keep moving.

Last point. Even if you do stick out your arm to break a fall, that doesn’t mean you always have to slap the ground. In the same way that you can use one or both of your feet to gently let your body down, you can do the same thing with your hand.

So, let’s say somebody grabs your legs. Instead of letting go and slapping the ground with both hands, reach for the ground with a soft hand to let yourself down more gently. Again that will keep your hands in the fight, which for self-defense is the smarter way to go.

The main point is that not all breakfalls are the same. For me, if you can’t get a foot to the ground or if you can’t sit down, then sticking out an arm makes sense.

Otherwise, don’t bother slapping the ground. You’re better off slapping the bad guy instead!