Originally Posted by
njkayaker
Could be. If this is the case for racers, it's even more the case for normal people.
Falling is a basic element of doing stunts (much like it's a basic element of martial arts). In neither of these are falls exactly a surprise either.
That something has an "obvious benefit" as a way of handling falls where falls are routine doesn't mean it has an "obvious benefit" in situations where falling is rare and typically surprises (or, according to some people here, mostly something that never happens).
People in martial arts already have to practice "falling". It's likely that none of them specifically practice "falling" with a bicycle helmet. It sees likely that they are satisfied with the training they already do to handle bicycle falls. That is, for them, there is zero cost to whatever benefit there might be in handling bicycle falls properly.
It would likely be hard to convince martial arts peole who also cycle to train to fall with helmets.
That's likely true. As far as I can tell, falling from a bike is or can be
exactly the same thing as the martial arts version. So I for one am not inclined to train to fall with helmets.
The question is, does the helmet make it
more dangerous? I know that I can perform several of the basic falls with the helmet on with no problem. But I'm not going to do that perfectly 100% of the time, and sometimes I'm going to miss more than others. Just how much slack is there, before the two or three inches of torque arm become a danger? Maybe, at some level, you're better off without. Perhaps, a different type or shape of helmet is preferable. These are still open questions.
I would rely on the opinion of someone well versed in those techniques, and by the same token reject the opinion of someone who wears a helmet a lot but just falls giving the the usual advice of, for example, stay loose, spread the impact and don't stick your arms out.