Coaches Corner: Volume 1 – Falling

Volume One: Falling

The most important thing we teach in Roller Derby is how to fall, and how to fall properly. Falling is the first thing you learn and something that you will continue to do (that’s right, fall!) until your last day on skates.

Sweet N. Lowdown, a recently retired skater from our league, said this about falling:
“An overlooked aspect of derby is what goes on in the mind. Timidity causes skaters to lose focus and they tend to get injured (or re-injured) more often. Gaining confidence usually begins with the self-knowledge that you are a safe skater on the track. Learning to fall safely is the beginning of building this confidence. If you are a confident skater who knows how to fall instinctively, your falls shouldn’t result in injury. Plus, knowing in your own head that you’ve gotten falling down will make you SO much more confident that you’ll feel free to push yourself to try new things in your regular skating. You’ll try to jump higher, for example, because you know that even if you don’t land it, you know how to fall properly and won’t get hurt if you do happen to fall. Roller derby is a team sport built on TRUST. Learn to honestly trust yourself and your teammates will do the same on the track. Your jammer will use you as the go-to-girl for a skirt-whip or your blocker will give you a good push in the ass to clear the pack, all with the full knowledge that you know what you’re doing and you are safe. Falling is the crux of confidence, which is the crux of trust – it is essential for building a true TEAM.”

There are four types of falls we teach, Single Knee fall, Double Knee fall, 180 Degree fall, and Figure Four fall, also known as the Baseball Slide. There is a fifth fall we are beginning to teach called the Four Point fall, but we’ve lovingly named it The Asian Fall Down after a retired Dominion skater named Asian Chow Down, who claimed this fall as her trademark.

Frankendoll, a current coach for our league, said, “Since learning to walk, people naturally fight the instinct to fall for fear of getting hurt, but Roller Derby will reprogram the mind/body to fall in proper form to keep from getting hurt when a fall becomes imminent.”

This is just a summary of what we do and why we do it. This is not meant to be a teaching aide, so don’t go trying any funny stuff unless you’re fully geared up and under the watchful eye of a trained coach.

* The first fall I want to talk about is the Single Knee Fall. This fall is the most commonly used fall, and also the most controlled and quickest of all the taught falls. A skater would use this fall to regain balance instead of stumbling around. I like to teach this as a swipe on the floor with your knee pad. This fall mimics a lunge. I also tell the ladies if you had paint on your knee pad I want to see a “brush stoke” rather than a “blob” left on the rink floor. You must also use the opposite thigh to power your body back to the upright position. These require quick graze on the ground and a quick recovery. Another thing with this fall is that your hand should never touch the floor. It’s all thigh fuel.

* Another important fall we learn is the Double Knee Fall. Since the skater will be in *ahem* derby stance (squatting like your peeing over a bar toilet…) already, falling forward onto bent knees shouldn’t be a knee jerker. This fall is taught one knee then the other so you’re not jostling all of your guts, but its more like “boom, boom,” with your knees together. Once your knees have hit the floor you want to be leaning back…picture an 80’s metal power slide. That’s the kinda positioning you want to achieve. We want everyone to make sure they do not sit on their wheels though… ‘cause its painful. To get up from this fall you would use the forward momentum you have just gained to simply pop up one leg then the other. The WFTDA minimum skills states you have three seconds to recover from this fall.

* My personal favorite is the 180 Degree Fall. This fall isn’t commonly used in pack play but more when a skater is out of bounds and need to correct their direction quickly to avoid the audience or simply their direction. The basics of this fall are almost identical to the single knee fall with starting almost from a lunge but you don’t graze you knee on the floor, you turn on it. You are allowed to use your hand as a pivot on the floor, but you must be careful not to get your fingers run over. Most skaters make a fist to pivot on. A good thing to remember is whatever knee you go down in is the direction you spin to. If my left knee is down, I will spin to the left. Otherwise I end up stumbling over my own body making it awkward. The recovery from this fall is the easiest since both feet end up in a runner stance, you simply get up, and sprint like a runner.

* Another basic fall we teach is the Figure Four Fall or Baseball Slide. This fall is used a lot with loss of balance or when you are knocked out of bounds and you’re all the way on the floor. The big thing with this fall is the ability to “Fall Small,” which means all limbs are not sprawled out and are close to the body. When you do this fall it begins as one knee fall but your opposite leg tucks behind your knee that’s on the ground…like you’re sliding into home. After your leg tucks behind your butt hitting the ground comes next. Most skaters use the side of their hip to roll off of instead of landing flat on their tailbone. Then you again use the forward momentum and your core muscles you have to up yourself back into a skating position.

* The last fall we are beginning to teach is the Four Point Fall. This fall is also very important that you “fall small,” because flying limbs cause people to trip and can cause serious harm to other skaters. The point of this fall is to save face when you’re falling forward with speed. The natural reaction is to put your arms out, but we all know that’s how you break them. During this fall you will be placing your forearms on the ground approximately the same time as you do a double knee fall. Hence four point, two arms and two knees. If done correctly you will slide for a foot or two before you jump into a runner stance and boogie out of it.

Those are the most basic falls you will see during game play although there are many different variations of each of these falls. I do encourage, you the reader, to come check out a practice and see if all this fun, excitement, and being a part of the coolest sport ever is something that you’d like to do. We have awesome coaches that will help you at what ever beginner level you may be. We will even teach you how to skate. Roller derby changes lives for the better and there are over 10,000 roller girls in the USA right now that will agree.

Hope to see you on the track soon!
T.Rex Ya Face, Head Coach, Dominion Derby Girls

2 Comments

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  By RubyTombstone, May 7, 2010 @ 11:05 am

  These are great articles! As Fresh Meat though, I’m still learning a lot of moves and not always automatically in derby stance when I fall. Any tricks to avoid landing on your coxyx when you feel yourself falling backwards? Some crazy magic ninja twist perhaps?!

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  By admin, May 10, 2010 @ 4:22 pm

  Stay low and bend your knees even more! Use those four-point falls!

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