how do i cure my fear of being thrown?

Question

im the only girl in the class, and quite petite compared to the others i didnt like being thrown, but i got over it and trust became a part of us all and i took as much as i gave.

in a private training session a shodan showed me an advanced throw, before he throws me he will take my balance so i get used to the mechanics of the throw...after i had a "feel" of the throw. still a bit unsure,i asked him to do it again, but this time he threw me and i wasnt expecting it. whilst i was heading for the floor he said roll...but i didnt hear him...

yes, my kneck dissapeared into my shoulders...the pain was so intense, i couldnt move for the first few minutes and just had to lay there, my kneck is still extremely sore.

the problem now is... i was thrown by some one i trust very highly... and i hurt my self really bad (it was my fault) but now i feel physically sick when i have to be thrown by someone and just freeze, i continue to go to class.

how do i over come this?

I must stress importantly...this is not a question about reporting my shodan, it was not in class were were practising privately...

i trust my shodan completely and no i am not a beginner, nor am i advanced.

im 19 years old!!!

just to get that out of the way please dont rant about the "iresponsiblity" of my shodan, it was my fault... not his

thank you again for your answers

Answer 1

just participate in everything but the throwing. tell your instructor what happend and tell her your neck still hurts from it. this is dangerous and you couldn have gotten really hurt

Answer 2

I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so I was also scared of being thrown.
One way to get over this would be to practice break falls on your own. Just the basic roll over your shoulder (please see Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Judo sites for this) front, back, and on your side.

I would also highly suggest perhaps taking a beginner's judo class. There are many places where there are girls' only classes, which can actually be better and less rough, so you can learn the techniques before going crazy with the throws. If you're around in London, UK, the Budokwai do some fantastic judo classes there - just contact Jacqui. She's great.

The other thing about martial arts is that this is martial arts and you are bound to get hurt. Sometimes these things happen and there's not much you can do about it. I got nervous too after I injured my neck from landing on it after someone swept me.

Unless this continues to reoccur where people are really hurting you and you feel that you aren't getting proper instruction, then please continue going. I think that another thing is that rather than being thrown, ask to just practice the breakfalls and watch others. Your instructors should accommodate for injuries, so let thme know that you're injured and you can't be thrown at the moment. Then work your way back into it.

I know that it's scary, but keep working at it. Once you start conquering your fears, you'll feel a lot more confident and start enjoying it again! You are more than welcome to e-mail me if you have anymore problems! From a girl martial artist to another one! Keep on training!

Answer 3

Hi there

We have all been here at one stage and ouch! I have a permanent back injury to prove it! All because of poor instruction by people who should have known better!

Firstly please see your doctor to get checked out. Doctor's are usually a waist of time but please go just to be sure. If you get no joy then go see a physiotherapist for a second opinion.

Right down to the throws.

The only real way to build up your confidence is to practise your ukemi (break falling). But there's a catch. Most Judo, Jujutsu and Akido schools (sorry Guys) will demonstrate ukemi as a way of impacting or landing on the ground by hitting or slapping it? This is the modern sport way and not the correct way to practise. It is impractical and very dangerous when performing this outside on a hard surface.Never hit the ground hard or fall from a great height. What has the ground ever done to you do deserve a good slapping? lol.

Start will kiten (rolling) from seated then standing to gain confidence. When falling lower your body to the ground first by bending your knees. Remeber gravity if you start high youve got further to fall. Don't just dive and slap the ground. lol. The same goes for ukemi. Fall onto the ground gracefully and controlled.

Performing these slowly on your own is the key. Ask you instructor to show you the basics and break it down. Always question what you have been shown and if you still feel its unsafe then change it so that it suits you and is safe for you.

When confident you should be able to break fall on any surface without mats.

Slapping the ground is for demonstration and has no practical use. It is a modern interpritation of ukemi used to impress not to save you! Ukemi and Kiten are not just for falling they can be used when fighting and performing wrist and leg locks by diving or leaping onto your attacker!

Please be careful.

You can do it!

Regards

idai

Answer 4

Had the same problem once as well and I make sure that all my students are careful when I'm teaching them so they don't go through the same thing. It took me awhile before I was comfortable with being thrown again.
It's not so much the throw but what happens to you after you've been thrown that causes the discomforting thoughts.
I found the best remedy is to practice your rolls and breakfalls. Breakfall don't have to be anything too advanced like coming out of a jumping 360kick and breakfalling, but rather your basic side, forward and backward falls. In addition, just simply being comfortable with doing your rolls will make being thrown less daunting as you will be able to roll out of a throw, no matter the timing.
This was the simplest way that I found out of the problem and now I can quite comfortably roll or breakfall for most things that My teacher does to me. As for my students, they learn to roll safely so that if I do throw / push them then they are able to safely come out of it.
It will become second nature so that you won't have to rely on your instructor saying "roll"

Answer 5

I'm not sure if you're shodan showed you this but there is a certain way the you are supposed to fall when you are thrown...it goes hand, hip, body, and throw the leg...

it takes away the momentum towards the floor so it just disperses through your whole body...

also, don't fight the throw, that just makes it hurt more...just go along with it.

it that doesn't work, just keep it in your head that pain is only pain, it's not going to last forever...the most you will get from being thrown is maybe a bad bruise...if you land right then you shouldn't really hurt too bad...

Answer 6

You will never conquer a fear, epically an irrational one. Though your fear is very rational, you will always feel uneasy being thrown as you should. But in order to maintain composer there are some steps you can take to better prepare yourself to be thrown, which in turn gives you confidence and in turn gives you courage to face you fear.

1. Throw your self: start on soft comfortable padding throwing your self around landing in all kinds of weird positions. Start off with the basics each time you start and move to the more bizarre landings. then after a few months move to a harder material.
2. Learn defenses for throws: Look at the basic hip throw. Now as the "throwee", place your foot firmly between their feet and allow your knee to press against their tail bone. This prevents being throw with this throw. They can modify the throw, in which you can modify the defenses. Knowing defenses like this would allow you to stop a throw if you feel uneasy going into it.
3. Be thrown: The more you face this fear the easier it gets to face. Thus more composer is kept while battling it. Though the fear will never leave, one day you should be able to ignore it all together.

Good Luck.

Answer 7

Punk fairy,
Please tell your parents, please tell the head teacher of the school.
Please go see a doctor. Anytime you are injured, go see a doctor. So, first and foremost tell your parents and go see a doctor.

Ok, now that I got that out of my system. I believe your trust as a student may have been violated on several different areas. None of this is your fault. The fault lies squarely on the teacher. Is he qualified to be a MA teacher? I mean, he injured a petite 13 yr old girl. C'mon. I do not care what throw it was, he should have 100% control in a teaching environment. He should not have practiced something on you without you being fully focused. I mean, who was he training, you or himself. He sounds like he may have been trying to show off.

If a doctor clears you to workout, you must get back on the horse. You must learn to fall before learning to be thrown (any good teacher knows the dire importance of this, which is why I question your teacher). Learn to break fall. A good teacher should be able to show you without any injuries (you may get a couple of minor bruises and scratches depending on the training environment but that is not big deal).
Please explore other schools in the area. I really hope your parents have not signed a dreaded contract with this teacher of yours. If they have then advise them to seek legal council.
Check out all the schools in your area. Never sign a contract never pay for rank testing. Ask to observe their sparring sessions. Ask questions of the teacher. How much experience do they have in the style they teach? Research their answers.
There are many bad, expensive teachers out there.

Answer 8

In my opinion and from experince, the best thing to do, is just do it. Practice it. If you don't do it, you will never overcome it. What happens if you get into a real situation? Being able receive a throw may just save your life. You don't have to be perfect at it, besides in a real situation it won't be, gotta be realistic. But by understanding the dynamics, and why you do it, you can give yourself a chance. You do what you practice!!!

I think the best way to go about it is: go through the motion slowly and carefully, start with an easy throws e.g low throws. Secondly, tell your training partener that your not confident with been throwing, this way they can assist you in the throw until you feel confortable about it. Tell your partner to tell if they are going to intense the throw, keep reminding them to go easy till you get it.

Here is another way of looking at it. Every big picture, doesn't just happen. It is made of tiny little steps, and different processes to get there.

Like said. Break it down, start simple and slow, ask for help.

More importantly JUST DO IT.

That is how i do it.

Answer 9

Sort of the same thing happened to me and I asked my instructor to work with me from the very beginning steps of falling and being thrown. I found that I had started to not do several things just right. Not really badly off but enough that it made a difference. So my advice is to talk with your instructor and go over the basics on up to the more advanced falls. Be sure and let them know you are still hurting, they may want you to wait a bit and heal first.

Answer 10

i completely sympathize w/ you. I was in karate and was doing some throws w/ someone else. She didn't do it right, i didn't breakfall right..... well, the end result was a dislocated kneecap, a partially cracked kneecap, surgery, and a 4 month healing process. when i went back, i was soo scared of it happening again, that i didn't want to even work self defense moves where i got thrown. I got nauseous, pale, and felt like passing out. So, finally, what my instructor did was make me do the same move that blew my knee out to begin w/. he threw me, and... nothing happened. it took having to go through the same move again for me to realize that just because i get thrown, doesn't mean that i'm gonna get hurt everytime. it took me a while to get over it, now i enjoy doing moves that throw me. I hope this helps you. Good Luck.

Answer 11

You need to learn how to break your falls and you need to train enough to do it automatically. I took judo and first couple of weeks, all I did was learn how to fall, back, left side, right side, rolls, etc. It has to become second nature in order to work. If you do not train yourself to break your fall, you will be hurt again. Trust me when I tell you that if you are in a tournament or match and you are up against someone who is good at throws, it will happen so fast that you will not be expecting it and all you can do is break the fall. If you freeze you may get hurt even more. You have to rely on your training. If you are not getting training to break a fall, take Judo for awhile. They will teach you how to break falls. If you are taking judo now, try a different school.
P.S. I think it was not your fault that you got hurt. Your sensei is supposed to be watching out for your safety. It is their responsibility.