Marion Freijsen A blog about Sports, Fitness & Health

the Art of Falling….

As I am a keen mountainbiker these days, I regularly run into things. Literally. Mostly the things I run into are of a material that is a lot tougher and harder then me – like trees, trunks, roots and occasionally another biker. The latter always results in a discussion which one was the hardest…. I usually win.
The softer materials you can run into consist of sand (done a handstand over/on my bike once, very impressive it was too apparently, given the applause I received whilst I was lying there groaning) mud, trails, leaves, grass and so on.

All in all, an impressive array of stuff that irrespective of its quality as hard or soft, invariably hurts and leaves bruises and scrapes. The thing I have noticed though is that I have become more or less fearless over time when it comes to falling – and that fearlessness means I usually do end up with mere scrapes and bruises rather then serious injuries. It’s as if, when you do fall regularly, you develop the capacity to do so in a softer way then those that never fall over.

As kids, we all fall down all the time – and if you look at children, particularly the ones that are just learning to walk as a close friend’s child is doing – there aren’t that many falls that actually result in serious injury. Mostly a nice blue bandage or a Micky Mouse one, suffices to cover the bruise and make them forget the whole thing. And that is just the quality you need when you are falling over – no fear, no worry about falling. We lose this ability mostly as we grow older – we grow stiff, we feel that if we are on a bike – we are miles away from the floor and hold on to those handlebars for dear life. That results in a stiff frame which when you do fall, results in something that doesn’t give and can only break. I have seen this lots of times. Of course you can be unlucky in your fall however good or fearless you are – but the real breaks often result because people hold themselves too rigid instantly when they feel themselves starting to fall.

Relax, falling is good for you – in fact, you can (and should maybe even) practice it yourself like you do your exercises! Do it when no-one is watching if your ego bruises more easily then your body, and just ride into some loose sand or soft grass and fall off that bike. Just do it – it’ll even feel like fun once you get the hang of it. And it may mean a few bruises, but hopefully prevent broken limbs that one time you didn’t mean to crash and you still did….