Mr. Penmanparker .... a trend I notice ... everyone who has contributed to this thread and has also had some marital arts training, however little or however long ago, has been taught Better ways to fall. You, obviously, have not.

Perhaps we are not explaining ourselves well. But the fact is, falling so as to spread the impact and so as to land on least breakable parts of the body is a science, in that it has been studied, experiments have been made, and results tabulated and analyzed---for literally over a thousand years.

Since human physiology has not changed in the last millennium, nor have gravity or physics ... there are better and worse ways to fall.

Considering that these techniques were developed in Combat, where life and death were potentially the outcomes ... people took all this pretty seriously. You might not ... but then, you would have been Darwinned by some guy who bounced back up when you threw him, and then laughed as you fell badly, broke a limb or knocked your head, and lay defenseless so the guy could kill you.

I am stupid enough to clipfall from time to time---and so far have been smart enough not to ever get hurt.

I would not try to break my fall with my knee--knees break. I would not use my elbow, for the same reason. I would not extend a hand--wrists break, or the arm could be jammed back and tear the rotator cuff.

When I fall I twist my downside shoulder forward--from the waist---and tuck my chin into my upside shoulder. This way, I land on a larger area (less concentrated force) and my head isn't bounced off the pavement (doubtful that would do much harm, but proper form, and all.)

Maybe you are too old to accept that you haven't learned everything there is to know ... sometimes folks reach that point. Pretty soon we have to take their bikes away and put them in a home where they write posts about how people should ride bicycles to enjoy themselves in the fashion the poster prefers.

Or maybe ... the folks responding to this thread who have been trained to fall well, simply haven't explained it well.

Maybe go on YouTube and look up "break falls," or "Aikido--how to land when thrown" or something. You will find that there is a Lot of information about what are really some very simple concepts about how to fall and minimize injury.

The hard part is Always execution. Doing it right by instinct takes a lot of training to develop that instinct. But blindly rejecting every idea that is new you you ... that is the beginning of the end for a thinking being.

Before long you will find yourself shopping for recumbents.