Crashing, what now?

[faolan01]

+1 for martial arts training!

skateboarding is another way to get LOTS of practice with hitting the ground and figuring out how to avoid getting hurt 

[Ducatista]

I haven't crashed on the street.  I've only crashed at the track.  That said, I felt I had a lot of time to think about things from the point in time that I realized OOPS to when I came to rest.  This is what went through my mind:

Wow.  That felt very wrong.
Wow.  This is an impossible lean angle.
Stillie said always to stay on the throttle in this situation.
Oh, crap.  That's a dragging foot peg.
Oh, crap.  That's my clipon touching.
Stillie said to kick the bike away.
Travis said not to try to break a roll.  Just keep my limbs generally so I roll like a log.
I forget who said it, but someone said that when I think I'm stopped, tap the ground a couple of times and make sure I'm touching the same place.  15 mph feels a lot slower than 60 mph, but it's not stopped, and you can still break a wrist if you try to stand.

I just went through a list of little bits of advice people have given along the way. 

[trenner]

The most important thing I've learned in all those crashes is to never, ever give in to a crash, never let your brain give in to it. To begin with, two wheels can do some amazing things to stay upright, but if you decide you're crashing & let it happen, you'll never find that out.

That's a really good observation, and a great way to approach a riding crisis.

[misti]

It will happen too fast to consider your reactions...trust me on this.

Routine martial arts training is the best thing I can think of to improve your falling.  Routine training will make you react better...you will NOT have time to think.

IMO all martial arts are about the same for this...one is not particularly better than another...they all stress falling well. 

I credit my training with me bouncing on hands (bad but happened too fast to avoid) then quickly rolling on my shoulders and back and getting my feet under me and standing back up...in a fighting stance.  The witnesses said it looked like I bounced off of the ground.

Boing

Good points.  You will not have time to think, but you will have time to react and it is your reactions sometimes that will determine if you get hurt or not.  A good reaction for anyone,  "post landing" would be to relax.  The worst thing you can do in a crash is tense up and try to control the situation.

In 8 years of riding I have had about 20 roadracing crashes (and dozens more on the dirt) and have been fortunate enough to have only broken one collarbone and one toe.  I attribute most of this to my martial arts training.   I learned body awareness and how to fall from years of Karate, Kickboxing, Aikido, and grappling.  In martial arts they teach break falling and rolls and you learn a great deal about how to manipulate your body in the air so that when you land, you come down a certain way.  I've been able to do this in many situations, even without thinking about it. 

I wrote and article for Motorcycle Mojo Magazine a few years ago titled, "How well do you Bounce?" and it was all about the art of crashing.  You can view it here if you like   http://mistihurst.com/files/MistiMarch_April.pdf   it talks a bit about physical fitness and health as well as rider training.  Enjoy and rubber side down!

Misti

[Smokescreen]

Lots of really good advise here.  You don't have a lot of time, although I'll say a lot went through my head as i slid toward a particularly imposinig guard rail a couple weeks ago.  I thought "damn" when I saw my bike lodging itself under siad guard rail and that's when I made my first mistake.  I tried to get up. 

IF you crash (I'll never say 'if you have to crash' because I don't like that attitude) try for two things. 
1) Stay relaxed.  Take the blows, try not to react to them.  Drunk people in car accidents sustain fewer injuries because they stay relaxed.
2) Don't get up when you think you've stopped.  Count to five, then look around, tap ground, whatever. 

I came out pretty good for sitting up and taking a nice tumble while still going 20 miles per hour, but I doubt I'd of had anything more than a bruised hip had I chilled for a sec.

[The Bacon Junkie]

+a lot    on the martial arts training, but if you REALLY want to get good at falling take some gymnastics classes.  (I've done both)

I was a gymnast and now have been coaching for 15 years.  A lot a gyms have adult classes that teach the very basics as well as strength and flexability.
  You learn how to spot the ground while flying through the air and even if you screw up, you have big fluffy mats to land on.
  Most gyms these days have long tumbling trampolines, spotting belts (a body harness attached to ropes and overhead pulleys that catch you a few feet off the ground if you're about to land on your head.), and my favorite, big pits filled with foam blocks. (think swimming pools filled with bubble wrap and packing peanuts) 
 
  You've seen the Olympics...  how many times do you think they screw up before they actually land upright?  A few hundred times is in the ballpark. 

  I haven't put my bike down at speed (yet),  but of all the times I've done really stupid things that could have ended poorly,  I know my gymnastics training helped save my bacon.   

Just my $0.02

Stay safe out there...


-Ryan

[tufty]

Lowside, get big and relaxed and try to orient yourself so you're sliding feet first. Pat the ground before trying to stand, if both your pats hit the same spot stand up, if not, relax, you aren't finished crashing yet!!

Flying over the hood of a car, stand on the pegs right before impact and try to jump off and over the obstacle. If possible try to land in a judo roll or a nice big feather bed (good luck with that one).

Highside, good luck buddy, you're on your own!