Falling is common training with the Ninjitsu folks (Ninja). Most falls are at an angle. If a vertical drop is experienced, a redirect to an angle saves bones and joints and this is accomplished with a collapse of legs and then a roll. This kind of training comes with a lot of bumps and scrapes if you train on hard surfaces. Training on a good mat is a must in the early days.

I know of a redwood climber that took a 75 foot fall and survived with few injuries because he fell on a forest floor deep in duff. A straight vertical fall of only 5 feet can mess you up pretty bad with a compressed spine (nerve damage too!) and damaged supporting bones like ankles and knees joints.

So what’s up with you? Are you anticipating a fall in the future? I hope not. It’s not very pretty. As for double rope technique, tie a slip knot in your rope at least 10 feet off the ground in case you loose control of your descent. You can do the same with a double figure 8 knot 10 feet up from the ground if you are using a descending device.

Oh yes. You want to EXHALE the air in your lungs before impact. Less chance of loosing your wind.

Preparation. Lots of material available to help prevent falls. Not so much on how to be the one that walks away instead of being carried to the hospital or morgue should your preparation not be enough for some reason. I want to learn this, but I hope to never need to use it. Kinda like buying car insurance--I pay for insurance but consciously drive to avoid an automobile accident.

Thanks for the Ninja information!

Brad

I've heard of sky divers surviving parachute failure--breaks most of their bones. At what height does this become a "good" outcome of a fall? If faced with a fall from this height, how would you ideally position your body?

Brad

Honestly, you also have to choose whether you'd rather break all your bones/ be paralized or die. I'd rather die instantaneously than be paralized or break every bone in my body. I'm young and carefree and a little cocky, and that probably influences me saying that, but it's true. I'd rather not survive a fall that was going to incapacitate me for the rest of my life. If falling from a significant height, I'd try to land at an angle on my feet/legs, so that probably my legs and an arm would break, but my torso would not experience the initial direct contact with the ground. A dumpster jumping tip that I've picked up: When jumping, say out of a second or third story window, into a dumpster below, you want to land on your back instead of your stomach. Your body will automatically bend in the middle when you hit a relatively soft _object_ like the contents of a dumpster, and you want that bending to affect your abs, not break your spine.
Josh

OK,

Now you are putting us on! What the heck is Dumpster Jumping, and why on earth would anyone other than a stuntman or carreer criminal be interested in it?

I want pictures Joshua!

I'm interested in this stinky story!

Things like banner drops, billboard alteration, etc. that might require a quick escape from a height of several stories and where a dumpster might be the most available, friendly landing surface. No pictures available. Not career criminal or stuntman. Just someone who likes to have civily disobedient fun every now and then.
Josh