There are two primary situational employments in combative tactical falling in military armed and unarmed combat.
These two categories of employment are deliberate and emergency. Before I detail these two requirements for combative falling I will outline the required principles of such falling and describe how they differ from martial arts on the mat practices.
Many military CQC/
Falling lends many basic principles and components from land air and sea warfare principles skills and practices.
Personal safety to enable objective achievement is paramount and also is the protection of the integrity of weapons and equipment.
The old tatami mat break falls can only be deemed dangerous and could never be classified primary options in tactical military
Not to mention exposing your primary or secondary weapons and equipment to the terrain and the dangers this can cause.
Not only ground impact dangers and damage need to be considered but also accidental weapons discharges and webbing and tactical vests entanglement if you are falling on the front or back load bearing surfaces.
I will only detail military CQC (Unarmed combat) side falling in this edition of the close combat files and not armed combat falling.
Just envisage a slapping break fall on your back executed not only on your battle dress but on rocky terrain not a good option I’m sure the realist with combat smarts will agree.
Some common situations categories of incident and reasons for falling include, combatant initiated deliberate self-decentralisation to take cover concealment or dropping down to assume a fire position. Another option is taking down an enemy covertly from the rear flanks or in the clinch maintaining point blank range bodily contact requires battle best CQC falling.
When decentralised as a result of impact contact, balance destruction take downs or grappling employing counter offensive side combative falling to counter being straddled/ mounted or pinned down is a priority.
For immediate recovery of one’s footing in falling the side combative fall reduces ground impact injuries as well as provides maximum safe weapon retention and accessibility.
There are tactical employments of last resort falling variations for emergency hold escapes and to prevent being lifted thrown and for counter abduction.
The primary three main ground contact bodily parts in CQC falling are the sole of the boot or boots the buttock and mid to high outer surface of the shoulder blade of the side closest to the ground. To be more exact ground contact is just inside the side line of your buttock on the rounded surface slightly to the inside of your side bodily centre line. Ground contact with your upper quadrants is with the ground nearest side alongside and outside your shoulder blade on or above the mid shoulder blade region.
To counter high over shoulder and hip throws or body slams the soles of both boots with knees bent should make the initial ground contact followed by the turning to one side and the reduced impact buttock to shoulder blade rocking motion.
In tactical decentralisation or emergency knock down falling the side inside of the buttock may be the first point of ground contact if knocked off your feet diagonally back down and ground ward. If you can always try and have initial ground contact with both boot soles knees bent then employ reduced impact controlled side lowered falling. The skyward most boot is the propping boot that has the majority of ground contact and control pushing the combatant over on their side protecting the head neck and spine from ground contact. The ground most boot acts more to prevent frontal roll over as a stabiliser and post side falling as a counter means employing the arch of the sole of the boot to counter being kicked with a kick.
Falling on your back and back of your head is dangerous and falling on your front is visually and counter offensively restricted.
Why fall on your front and risk injury and restrict your visual and counter offensive capabilities when you can side fall and simply with low to no impact roll on your front to assume a fire position or commence commando crawling.
I know there are military front falling options where the butt of the rifle is utilised by using it to contact with the ground prior to your body to reduce the ground impact.
I have been told of weapons breaking or discharging under such impact.
While falling flat sunny side down to a fire position may be rapid it does increase the previous risk considerations. The combative side falling not only lessons such risks but also by falling on one’s side then rolling to your front or by continued barrel rolling to a desired position provides automatic positional change and makes you a less static target and is as such an evasive option and can reduce risk.
Hard targeting by barrel rolling post side falling is also a natural continuation if you need to be ground combat evasive or take close proximity cover or concealment.
While your webbing or tactical vest contents of pouches may protect you against environmental dangers it could also incapacitate you in relation to hard uneven surface to bodily vitals impact or cause injury by landing on such hardened protrusions of carried equipment.
By ensuring attached items on your side are least likely to cause incapacitation or injury by side carried items being fixed on the side lower quadrants ground impact risk is reduced by considerable.
While keeping your under armpit vest sides clean and clear flexible flat body forming items can be carried on the sides of tactical vests reasonably safely.
The reality of the fact is that in CQC falling facedown exposes you to dangers of frontal bodily vitals ground impact and being less than fully capable of employing ground counter offensive capabilities or drawing frontal carried weapons or equipment. Your vision is ground ward and as such ineffective against assault from behind and above. Your nape of your neck is exposed to rifle butt strikes and stomping and you are a sitting target for being choked or strangled. Falling on your back exposes major life support bodily vitals to ground impact but does increase vision and unarmed counter offensive options.
Self-preservation by reacting to your enemies attempts at decentralising you is a major important factor of maintaining your footing, anti-decentralisation. Your mechanisms of natural human self-preservation by resistance combined with CQC proven primary practices to take control of the situation by setting and adjusting your stance footing and bodily position provides the best of hard targeting in the clinch.
The required skills to maintain position hold ground resist or yield in military CQC must be sound related components of your intended offensive or counteroffensive definite counter-engage actions and never practices that are foreign or counterproductive to your decided action.
The committed combatant will to prevent being decentralised as a first priority option resist to the maximum to avoid the known dangers of decentralisation. Through being armed with prior battle best and proven knowledge of the dangers of terrain related ground impact and continuation difficulties not to mention the physical requirements to regain your footing under assault especially if your fatigued wounded injured or incapacitated are great motivators to keep your footing. Gravity proves decentralisation is far less physically demanding than footing recovery but comes with inherent risks and dangers.
Resist and/or attack your attacker with any dirty or deadly preferably armed option available to you for the battlefield to prevent being decentralised as hitting the deck is not a safe option. If being decentralised is the unfortunate reality and you cannot resist and hold position any longer as you have lost your balance or your footing is immediately about to be compromised then ensure you employee tactical combative falling. Rolling is a more proactive and safer option but in unarmed combat is less likely to be an option open to you.
Rolling reduces ground impact by skimming the ground surface and provides immediate recovery to escape and evade or engage or counter engage your enemy. Backward rolling is the norm in unarmed combat where you are under frontal assault whereas forward rolling is a primary practice in weapon or kit recovery or in life or death range related disarming or escape and evasion.
The combative side fall has complete commonality and cohesion with the combative backward roll as they both share the same initial side falling requirements.
The forward combative roll is also executed from a side ground contact status over the common gym forward head over heels sunny side down roll over.
When there is high momentum in the decentralisation the combative side fall employment can naturally extend to combative backward or forward rolling and provides immediate footing recovery.
The reality with close range or point blank close quarter combat is that if you are knocked down and possibly to a degree temporarily incapacitated by the effect of strike force contact impact or ground impact the definite action of backward or forward rolling will most likely not be an available option.
Military combative side falling is your emergency means of risk reduction providing immediate ground protection capabilities and the ability to make adjustments and positional changes to employ a ground counteroffensive and or recovery and counter offensive.
When you have lost the struggle to hold an upright position and your centre of gravity is so low you are beyond the point of no return and cannot recover your upright status the following side falling components apply.
Ensure your side falling action is executed from as low to the ground surface as possible.
Pictured balance maintanence takedown resistance
Pivot your boots to the side you will fall on and tuck your chin in front of your shoulder and visually assess diagonally back and down ground wards to where you will impact with the ground surface.
Rear quadrant ground visual
If any terrain danger is identified make an adjustment to reduce the risk of landing on the danger area. Raise your skyward closest arm and with your palm seize and secure your palm on the nape of your neck from the first cervical vertebrae downwards to provide maximum nape of neck protection.
Nape of neck protection
Move your ground ward closest arm diagonally upward across your body and secure your hand Palm down on and around the bicep of your skyward arm. This will provide throat protection and also the more commonly required safety need in ground falling the reduced risk of elbow to ground surface contact.
Compound guarding for CQC side falling
The combative side fall can be employed in any direction forward backward or to the sides including in any direction of the combative clock.
For example if tackled from the front rear or side flanks the CQC side fall is the same skill with the general reality of falling away from the contact impact.
Fall with your knees bent keep your skyward leg on top of your ground ward leg pressing them together with your boots also compressed together in high throws or body slam falling to reduce lower leg injuries just like in the initial ground contact in
Both boots and legs compressed tightly together with the soles of both boots contacting with the ground is the primary side falling option for high drop falling. For natural standing height or crouched combative side-falling your stance will be boots shoulder width apart rear toes inline with front heel or slightly wider and deeper in relation to being taken down resistance.
In common deliberate action combative falling or emergency unexpected combative falling when knocked off your feet and down the following general practise applies.
Fall from as lower crouched position to the ground as possible when all efforts to retain your footing have been employed but have failed.
Under such knock down conditions if your footing is lost the first bodily impact surface with the ground in combative side falling may be your buttock.
CQC side fall from as low to ground as possible
By falling in a crouched fetal like position you can rock from your buttock to outer shoulder blade as previous described in relation to bodily surface to ground surface impact.
Buttock to shoulder ground impact reduction
This downward and backward compressed rocking motion with your body curled up will reduce body to surface direct impact.
Keep your chin tucked in and your CQC side falling cover guard as previously detailed.
When your momentum of the backward rocking motion ends rock forward towards your frontal enemy and with your skyward closest boot if applicable employ a leg stamp below their knee joint and then employ the same boot as a prop if required keeping the ground ward closest leg ready to counter kick with the arch of your boot stamp kick or axe kick as it is also known.
Recovery counter-offensive leg stamp
Recovery prop and arch of boot (axe kick)
In CQC side falling where there is little or no backward rocking momentum the skyward boot can immediately post side falling be employed as a prop.
The entire safe side falling action resembles a transfer of impact contact from lower bodily quadrants to higher bodily quadrants and return in a curved rocking action reducing ground impact motion.
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The simultaneously body curl up in a ball like action on your side with the ground ward closest Buttock initial ground contact and immediate rocking transfer of body surface to ground surface along the body’s side to the shoulder blade will reduce impact by dispersing impact energy in a curved transfer of force motion. Side CQC falling will ensure you protect and maintain the integrity of your brain and spinal cord.
Fast recovery from this position is simply a matter of swinging the ground ward closest leg backwards under the skyward most leg and adjusting the skyward most leg over and forward of the ground closest leg positioning your hips for recovery.
Footing recovery groundward boot under forward transferred skyward boot
Groundward arm initiated recovery to kneeling.
Utilise your ground closest arm by pushing off the ground with your Palm of your hand bringing you up to a kneeling position then standing to regain your footing.
Recovery kneeling position
Counter-offensive legstamp from kneeling recovery position
Some combatants will modify their arm and hand positioning to have the skyward most hand protecting the nape of the neck as previous and the ground ward closest arm will be utilised to assist in the fall by being positioned alongside the body palm down and slightly angled away from the body.
CQC sidefall variation with arm at side palm down
Ground impact reduction CQC sidefall arm at side palm down rocking from buttock to shoulderblade
This variation in unarmed combat can provide a feeling of increased impact reduction by involving the ground ward arm to assist in shock absorbing and as such increased falling confidence.
Throughout the recovery transition keep your initial skyward closest hand secure palm inwards on the nape of your neck in unarmed recovery available to provide cover guarding and deflection.
If on falling your enemy is to your rear flanks and immediate recovery is not possible reposition so your boots are between you and your enemy by propping and side folding away adjusting your upper quadrants away from your enemy and your lower quadrants towards them. Another tactical option under the same situation is positional adjustment by barrel rolling away and turning to align face-to-face with your enemy with your boot closest to and in line with your upright enemy.
Boots to enemy alignment will enable counteroffensive and recovery capabilities as well as hard targeting options to orientate to your enemy in the opposite direction when on your side on the ground simply roll over on your other side transferring and changing your side status from one side to the other.
Your ground closest leg can be employed to axe kick with the arch of your boot at the enemies kicking or stability leg below the knee joint. In prolonged ground protection and counteroffensive required situations you can roll on to your back bending both your knees with the soles of both boots flat on the ground keeping your arms inside your upper quadrants for limb safety and ready if required ground striking protection. Enemy orientation is achieved by using your boots to adjust your position moving like an upside down land crab. Arch of boot axe kicks can be employed to go counteroffensive from this position. Recovery from this position on your back requires turning on your side and employing the same recovery actions as described previously with recovery post side falling.
You can employ your skyward most leg to leg stamp from the ground as well as the ground closest leg to axe kick. From a kneeling position during recovery leg stamps can be employed by utilising your arm and palm of your hand on your kneeling side furthermost from your enemy as a ground prop.
The CQC military side fall sheers components with the Para fall and rolling manoeuvre and there are many ways to practices CQC side fall ranging from jumping up off the ground or off a bench to gaining CQC side falling proficiency by utilising it in training against all your combative take downs and importantly in combating and countering enemy fighting arts practise against enemy take downs.
CQC side falling in training should be utilised against being tackled front side and rear flank as well as against being decentralised from punches kicks and sweeps from all flanks. The CQC side fall should be also practised against throws and takedowns and being lifted and unceremoniously dumped.
High throws and slams require prior falling practice to ensure proficiency and confidence. Always ensure the soles of the boots contact first and then the body is lowered and turned to the side with bent knees and legs compressed. Ground contact transfer then will in a curved positional status travel to the side of the buttocks and finally the outer
side of the back of the shoulder blade. This will provide maximum reduction in ground at impact.
The soles of both boots with knees bent is the best initial ground contact option in combative falling as it not only provides a greater reduction in initial contact impact keeping your upper quadrants off of the ground but also positional stability and reduced impact transfer from the soles of the boots to your side of your body in the buttock and shoulder blade. The skyward leg also being in a bent knee status and contacting with the ground with the sole of the boot provides immediate propping to ensure the spine neck and skull are kept away from ground impact.
In combative ground falling against techniques such as over shoulder throws or where ground impact can be considerably increased by the height and the dynamic nature of the offensive action both legs being bent at the knees with the boots pressed firmly together will reduce lower leg injuries and will also provide an immediate means of setting in motion the desired side fall side or body positioning by providing propping for positional changing and maintaining position.
