That one time a Somersault saved my life

Today I will tell you a story. It is a true story and I have provided some additional, tutorial information for you in case you are interested in saving your own life, using a somersault. The story is about that one time a somersault saved my life. Enjoy!

Muscle Memory and Learning to Fall

When I was fourteen years old, I had been in competitive gymnastics for years. I began as a two year old because I was an active little can of Red Bull and my mother needed a way to help me utilize my energy. I was a very serious tumble tot. Early in my gymnastics career I learned a somersault and as gymnastics became more difficult, I learned to be an excellent faller.

I am still really great at wiping out. I involuntarily practice it often and each wipe out is more successful than the last. One time, I even managed to wipe out successfully when I was doing a handstand on a roof in a chicken suit. It’s a talent, actually.

A bus, A car, A somersault

One day I was taking the bus home from school with my sister. We had to take two buses, which involved a transfer, because we were pretty mature like that. We got off one bus and noticed we had just missed the next. Although buses come on a regular basis, we had no idea of that concept. The both of us ascertained the situation was impossible to get out of without professional help. Calling Mom.

There was a McDonalds across the street that my sister and I decided to go to and borrow the phone. This was before cell phones were invented and it was a very stone-age type process. You couldn’t even check your Facebook on these POS relic phones. We crossed one lane of traffic and stopped at the median. All I remember after that is stepping off of the median and seeing headlights in my face. Then suddenly, I was on the ground. I tried to move because I thought to myself ‘what the shit are you doing down here idiot, get up! No one lays in traffic’. I really did not know what had happened. Pain soon arrived but it took a few moments.

Somersault at the right moment

My sister had been crossing the street with me and she was also hit by the same car. A young, sixteen year old driver that had slammed on the breaks, skidded and then side swiped my sister. She watched the front of the car slam into my legs, my backpack smashed the windshield and then I flew up into the air…dead-weight-teenager soon-to-be-roadkill style. My sister said that in a shocking moment during my high flying experience, I suddenly tucked into a ball, grabbed my legs, tucked my chin and began a back tuck.

Was this a good time to do a back tuck? Should I also do a beam routine?

The tucking motion in the air is something gymnasts are trained to do so that they don’t land on their head. The head is the heaviest part of the body and thus, a dead weight person would realistically land right on it. I didn’t think about doing a somersault or a back tuck. All of this happened automatically because of muscle memory and training. I rotated my body around, landed on my shoulder instead of my head and lived to tell the story.

My sister had ankle injuries and I had a few minor injuries, plus a badly broken arm. Near my shoulder, my humorous bone had broken in half and jabbed up, aligning itself with itself.

Somersault for the win

Needless to say, I recovered just fine. Both my sister and I had no life threatening injuries. I am forever grateful for my body in that moment. I could have died however my body responded in such a way that it saved my life, without any conscious intervention from me. Somersaults are an extremely useful tool because they protect the neck and head. In many aspects of life, from falling down stairs to sports to tripping on a rocking chair, I have saved myself by somersaulting out of things.

For your interest and safety, I have provided a tutorial on somersaults.