The Basics of Judo Part 2 - Ukemi

In the last article we talked about the basic concepts of judo, and a basic warmup. After you do a basic warmup in judo, usually, the next step is to practise ukemi, or breakfalls. Like the definition in the last article said, ukemi are what enable judo students to take the hardest of falls and get up for more. Becaus you'll be thrown often in judo, it's important to know how to take falls without injuring yourself. There are three main types of ukemi that you'll be using at this point: backward, sides and forward shoulder ukemi.

To do a good ukemi, it's important that you transfer as much force to the ground/mat as possible before you actually land. This is done by slapping the mat as you go down, and the timing has to be right. If you try to slap too early you'll just miss, and if too late it just won't do any good. With enough practice you'll figure out the proper timing. Also, it's vital to keep your head off the mat, or at least keep it from hitting the mat when you land. The way we always practise doing this is to tuck the chin into the chest before falling. Another thing: don't try to stop yourself falling. That can lead to a lot of force transferred through the hands and arms, possibly dislocating or breaking the bones.

Backward Ukemi

I have yet to have used this one from a judo throw, but it's the first one we've learned. The basic form is to fall down, rolling directly backward and slapping the mat with both hands. It's best to start learning ukemi from a squatting position. Put your hands out and the chin in your chest to keep your head up. Now, drop. When you feel your tailbone touch the mat, roll onto your back. One thing: as you're doing this, keep your hands where they are relative to you. In other words, at some point they should be pointed at the ceiling. At this point, slap the mat with both hands as hard as you can before your back hits the mat. Don't reach - your arms should be at about a 45-degree angle from the rest of your body.

Once you get this down, you can work on it from half-squatting and eventually from a full standing position. No matter what, you'll always kneel before rolling backward - in judo you're not going to be falling directly backwards (hopefully).

Side Ukemi

A side ukemi is what you'll be doing most of the time. It starts out just like the backwards ukemi, except that one foot is off the ground. As you fall, roll toward the side of your body that has the lifted leg. Hit the ground with your hand like before, and do the same with your upraisd leg by landing on the leg. It's somewhat like you're rolling with the one hip instead of both. For example, if you want to do a right-side ukemi, lift the right leg slightly off the ground, drop and roll your body to the right, hitting the ground with your right leg and right arm. For the left side, do the opposite. Side ukemi will be what you use for several of the foot throws.

Forward Rolling Ukemi

This one's a bit trickier. Tuck your head into your chest, like always. Now, put one foot forward (doesn't matter which for now) and place your hands out in front of you on the mat. Assuming you put your right foot forwar, you would touch with your right hand in between your legs with the fingers pointed to the left, and the left hand out past your left leg. Now, push off with your left leg, and try to roll up the arm. Don't let the elbow collapse, or it will be rather painful and possibly cause a dislocated elbow. Imagine a line going up the arm, over your right shoulder, down your back and ending at the left hip. This is how you should make contact with the mat. As you end the roll, slap the mat with your left hand.

One note here that we see happen a lot: DON'T try to sit up. It's a bad habit. Oftentimes when you get thrown into a forward ukemi, tori is going to be on top of you trying to hold you down in the next couple of seconds, so you'd be sitting up right into them.