The Falls of the Roller Empire

Who woulda thought that there would be a correct way to fall? Turns out there is, and the reason behind it can directly affect the way you'll walk for the next few days. If you fall too hard on your knees, future problems are going to occur- knee pads or not. On the other end of the, uh, spectrum (I wanted to write 'sphincter' so badly), if you fall too hard on your ass, you'll be in constant pain. I learned this the hard way.

It takes you one or two seconds to land on the ground, so it kind of makes sense to get into the habit of falling in a way that won't hurt you. You don't have much time to think about it!


How to Fall Correctly:

One-Knee: Get knocked down, land on one knee, pick yourself back up quick!

Double Knee: Similar to the infamous Tom Cruise underwear-slide across the floor in "Risky Business"; make sure your knees slide outwards in a v-shape, so as not to slam all of your weight on your knee caps.

Figure Four: This one's really helpful in preventing tailbone bruising. One leg bends and slides under the other leg, forming a "4" shape.

All Fours: If you don't "fall small" while bouting, you'll end up tripping other skaters. While I can complain about this as much as I want, it's in writing that if you trip another person, you get the penalty- sort of the same effect as a car rear-ending you during a snowstorm on slippery roads. To fall on all fours is to do just that- and keep your limbs as close to you as you can, to protect your fingers from getting run over as well as your bum from getting penalized and spanked to the box.