How to fall off a Coker

[James_Potter]

Originally posted by andrew_carter
Ah....you need to study what the 'parkour' people do. I'm absolutely amazed at what they can do. Here's a link to an absolutely ridiculously brilliant movie - http://www.le-parkour.com/davidbelle.avi .

Andrew

Yeah, that's a shoulder roll when he jumps from the building, and lands on the building, then rolls out and keeps running.

[quark soup]

Originally posted by cyberbellum
A few pictures might help:

http://www.aikidoonline.com/Features...pter5part1.htm

Note that his initiating hand is outer-edge forward, his thumb pointing backwards, and his elbow and shoulder are bent. When you do it right it's as if your arm is half a rim and you just roll.

Yeah, the pictures were good. Only I was reading the rest of the page, and it said:

"Therefore one must understand these requirements while maintaining a serious attitude..."

...so I'm screwed from the get-go.

Originally posted by Scott Kurland, RMT
Practice on a grassy field, a hundred reps a day for a while, until it's automatic. Both sides, please.

I was hoping to get it in two or three tries. Automatic would be good, though, since generally the only thing I have time to think conciously while suspended in mid-air with the Coker tumbling behind me is "Oh, crap."

Thanks all for your suggestions! I'm going to hit the grassy field as soon as it stops raining.

Andy

[brian.slater]

Originally posted by U-Turn
I've seen Brian Slater do this off a Coker on hard paved ground, and he just popped right back up to his feet. It was amazing to watch.

Yeah, I was very lucky it worked and don't know who was more amazed, U-Turn or me, but I think it was ME!

[Jim_Rob]

I know a little about Aikido rolls (6 years Aikido, Shodan rank) and so does my son Owen (7 years, junior Shodan rank), and we've certainly fallen off our unicycles enough, although I've never UPD'd off a Coker "at speed". I have found that if you can get one foot on the ground right away you can initiate a nice Aikido roll, if you don't get the foot down it turns into a belly slide, like I used to do in Volleyball (indoor volleyball). I think the foot helps to generate the angular momentum that is needed for the roll. Since Cokers are mostly ridden on the road, and certainly that's when they really get up to speed, UPDs may be predictable enough that you can train yourself to get a foot down to start a roll. It will be interesting to see what the skilled unicyclists do when they get up to 20 mph+ with 1.5 gearing.

[Frank A.]

All of this dialogue about planning your landing during a Coker UPD is good I suppose when you have warning that you are going to go down. On pavement I've done the knee gaurd/wrist gaurd slide and I can remember one fall in particular when I had the time to aim for the grass. I was able to make it with the left half of my body while the right half got the sidewalk.
Alot of the time you can land on your feet and the run out works well. There's also the attempted run out that turns into a dive/slide when your feet just can't catch up.
Then there's the fall that gives no warning, etc., etc., etc.... (ouch!)

- Frank

[vivalargo]

30 years of rock climbing has taught me this: a fall happens so fast that there's no time to think. However, if you have already programmed your bean to perform a certain maneuver, like rolling, you will probably do just that. So while I can't provide the best technique for falling onto the street at speed, I can promise you that unless you already have a technique in mind, with the intention of trying to perform it, you will almost certainly react instinctively -- and come what may. Visualizing a fall and how you'd like to execute this or that move will go far in actually doing same if and when you go down.

JL

[treepotato]

How to fall off a Coker

think i need 'How to get on a Coker'

[Jayne ZA]

Originally posted by treepotato
think i need 'How to get on a Coker'

Well, Miss Tree, unless you are a REALLY small little sapling with tiny little branches (which you don't look like in your picture), as long as you have a handy wall, pole, or friend within grabbing distance, getting on a Coker really isn't a problem. Staying on, however, is not always so easy .

Jayne

[James_Potter]

Originally posted by Jayne ZA

Well, Miss Tree, unless you are a REALLY small little sapling with tiny little branches (which you don't look like in your picture)

In her picture, she looks like a tiny dancing stick person. That would make it even harder to mount.