"The Truth About
Falling That Your Bruised Barefooting Buddies Wish They Knew."
Winter Haven,
FL
Roger
Staubach
NFL
Quarterback and Sports Broadcaster
"Confidence
comes from hours and days and weeks and years of constant
work and dedication. When I am in the last two minute of a
December playoff game, I am drawing confidence from wind sprints
I did the previous march. It's just a circle: work and confidence,
then more work and confidence."
"Lane,
I realize that you get too many special requests and therefore
I hesitate requesting this again.
But, could you talk about falling. I know of quite a few folks who won't barefoot because they
feel they WILL get hurt.
I must say, I definitely have held back knowing that
I need to go to work on Monday.
All that I'm asking is...
is there a good way to fall?
A bad way to fall?
What should we beware of?
Falling is part of the sport however how can we reduce
the possibility of injury?
I would suspect that you must fall every day.
Right? Any
ideas here would be definitely appreciated.
Congrats on your Worlds accomplishments.
...Jerry"
Well
there,Jerry, this is an excellent question and I know that
there are a lot of people who will benefit from your interest.
Maybe you might know someone who might benefit from this too!
I am going to answer your questions in two parts; the first
is to give you what you need, and the second is to give you
what you asked for in your email!
I
looked for a quote that would lead me into an answer that
would be appropriate. Read again what Roger has to say. Roger's
insight is awesome! He addresses the importance of having
confidence and where confidence is derived. Properly placed
confidence comes from preparation. Preparation comes from
an aggressive plan that is carried out on a regular basis.
What you really need to keep safe is preparation for the battle
that is barefooting. I can tell from your question that you
believe that it is O.K. to fall all the time. This is a fallacy!
As hard as it will be for you to understand this without experiencing
it first hand down here in paradise, it is true. Ask any of
my advanced students and they will tell you the same thing.we
hate to fall.
Do
we fall? Yes. When a fall comes we usually have a good time
laughing about it because it was unnecessary and definitely
unexpected. Chances are, it came from a lack of preparation
or a bad attitude toward the task at hand.
Do
I fall every day? No. I sometimes go for weeks or months without
falling.
I
will give you an example that includes my wife. "Big Momma",
as we like to call her (Cindy), has footed three times over
the last week which is the first time in almost a year.
I
would expect that your old paradigm would suggest that she
will most likely fall and fall hard. Because Big Momma is
98lbs soaking wet, and more importantly is my favorite wife
(I jest), I am highly motivated to make sure she remains healthy
and happy so I build her workouts with the same precision
the SWAT team would enter a dangerous lair!
Because
I have the added advantage of guiding her skiing from its
conception, I know what she is capable of and what is risky
for her. I start her off with what I am sure she can perform
100% of the time and gently work her towards the things that
she is about 75% efficient. You notice that I did not allow
her to try anything very difficult no matter how well she
was skiing. She suggested to me that she wanted to try a back
to front on her feet on the 7 foot rope. I disarmed her enthusiasm
with the kind of care an NTSB agent would decide whether to
cut the red wire or the blue wire. I talked her down from
that dangerous precipice and kept her happily within her safety
zone.
A
lot of smart barefooting is simply good decision making for
THAT person at THAT time for THOSE conditions. The best barefooters
in the world make these decisions at lightening speed while
they are skiing so as to avoid falling.
How
do you get to this mythological place? Ask Roger Staubach!
Well since he is not here I will reiterate. The beautiful
place called N.F.P (N.F.P=No FALL Practice) can only be reached
through the map of PREPARATION! Here is my list of suggestions
in order of importance;
#1
A trip to paradise here in Winter Haven is the quickest
way to achieve barefooting nirvana! You can plan on every
day at The Footer's Edge
Training Center is equivalent to a summer on your own
(I guarantee it). Visit the ski
school page or the question
and answer section to get information or call the command
center at 877-685-6270 to book your miracle!
#2
If you do not have my
2 hour instructional
video, The Footer's Edge, you are crippling your efforts
(call 877-685-6270 and relieve the angst). If you cannot afford
to get down here to paradise and learn the optimal way, at
least get the best instructional video on the planet and see
your goals performed perfectly from a ton of cool angles and
with all the speed, boom, and driving tips in one place! Then
you can film yourself and compare it. You will learn twice
as quickly and will have a much better shot at remaining safe.
You also can add all these FREE tips I am sending to you to
your collection and you will have ALL the cliff notes. (WARNING:
This has been an unannounced haneous plug for video sales).
Why am I so adamant about this? Because I am right. Of this
I am 100% confident!
#3
Set goals and approach your skiing
sets with a plan. Practice the move on dry land being very
careful to make sure you are accurately performing the move.
Use a mirror or video to make sure it is right!
#4
Break everything down into the smallest steps possible
and practice these steps sequentially to perfection from easiest
to most difficult. Here's an example to put this into perspective
if this seems too "pie-in-the ski" for you. Let's say that
you feel ready to try a front deep behind the boat. What is
the first step. Write it out and then compare it to the following
and let's see if you are getting the hang of this.... Go write
it down!!!
If
you were down here with me, I would do it in this order;
#1
check you Butt Glide and Three-Point Position ON THE BOOM.
I bet you didn't have this as your first step. Why? If I have
never skied with you, I do not want any surprises or beating
before we get down to business. The best way is always the
safest way which for many people would be right on the boom.
That way if you made a mistake in form it could be corrected
without rolling your eye lids backwards!
#2
Same thing on the five or seven foot rope. If there is a problem
we go to shoe-skis (Puppy
Paws) and solve it safely.
#3
We work on the Butt Glide and Three-Point Position behind
the boat. No standing up!
#4
Once you can perform these so well it is getting boring, I
will most likely be confident that standing will be safe.
This assumes that you have the right boat speeds, boom height,
rope length, equipment, and good conditions. These are all
things that can be BEAT INTO you or learned safely by reviewing
a video of your trick safely while you crack a cold Diet Coke
on the coach. Which sounds better to you? Just yesterday,
I spent 1 hour reviewing video footage of a trick that I am
bringing out of hibernation. I take great joy in this process!
You should too!
BUT,
I know this is not what you were asking me. You wanted to
know how to protect yourself in a fall. My first answer was
in short, "the best defense is an offense!" The second part
of my answer is what you were wanting in the first place.
What is the safest way to get to become a "crash test dummy?"
This field is filled with willing participants lined up to
compare whose got the best scars, best medivac story, and
most complete mobile files filled with the most recent X-RAYS,
MRI's, and complete spinal views provided by your chiropractor.
Having Doctors on speed dial is not necessarily a good thing.
I am making light here for entertainment value only!
Here
is your answer;
#1
ALWAYS let go when you fall on anything other than the boom.
If you are on the boom, you need to communicate with the driver
to discuss worse case scenarios. I recommend holding on to
the boom until the boat driver slows down (boom only!) If
your grip is getting tired, be honest with yourself and stop
before you take that "one last run" to prove your machismo.
It is ALWAYS better to "stop one pass too early than one pass
too late!" One of the last falls that many people will take
(before realizing they are better suited for wakeboarding)
is the fall on the boom when they catch so violently that
their hands get ripped off the boom leading to a "scorpion"
fall where their heels hit them in the back of the head. This
can break your back and surprises many people who think they
cannot get hurt on the boom.
#2
Whenever falling forward, the most important piece of advice
I can give you is to tuck your chin to your chest. This happens
quickly and you need to become lightening fast with this reflex.
You might think that tucking might put your face into harms
way, but it does the opposite. At this point, you definitely
are going to hit the water so the only question is what is
the best way to finish this pass? It is critical that you
do not fight against the force of falling into the water.
On the contrary, go with the flow by tucking your chin, closing
your eyes and mouth, and unless you would like a good punch
in the face, put your hands down towards your hips. If you
are the kind of person who likes a good beating, simply make
a fist with both hands and place them about six inches away
from your face before you hit the water. This will give you
something to talk about at the water cooler tomorrow!
#3
Never, never, never lift your head away from the water. This
would be a BAD thing!
#4
Avoid skiing in rolly or rough conditions. Although my buddies
in St. Louis take great pride in skiing in a river that has
more debris than I have seen in the entire state of Florida,
I do not recommend skiing in water that has appliances, vehicles,
dead fish, entire trees, or anything that would cause an inelastic
collision with your feet!
#5
Keep your elbows in when you fall. The further away they are
the more likely you will be to injure your shoulders.
#6
Be as loose as possible when you hit the water. The tighter
and straighter you are, the easier things will break.
#7
I should have mentioned this earlier, but you should be thoroughly
warmed up and stretched before skiing. The colder and tighter
you are the more likely you will be to get hurt.
Well
this now ends the longest article I have written to date,
I think. It is glass out there as I am writing you this so
I must now shred!
p.s.
Thanks Jerry for the compliment. The Worlds were a blast!
And yes, I did fall.
Email
me with your progress. I am expecting a miracle for you!
If
you know anyone who would like to barefoot, but they are afraid
to fall, please send them to http://www.beabarefooter.com
whre they can see some Free Barefooting Videos of How to Learn
Without Falling.
Back
to Trauma Center 
Expect a Miracle!
Lane "Dawg" Bowers
2003 World Overall Senior Barefoot Champion
lane@lanedawg.com
http://www.thefootersedge.com
http://www.beabarefooter.com
http://www.barefootanswers.com
http://www.slickfeet50.com
877 685-6270 <----------Call Me!
863 557-8871 <----------Direct Line
Fax: 509 756-4343
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