Most clear-headed people would agree: falling isn't fun. But that may change next week as former Hollywood stuntman Shaums March offers to teach people how.
The mountain bike coach and owner of Mad March Racing said he can teach anyone how to fall properly during a one day clinic at Brennan Park Recreation Centre on Friday (April 9).
Workshop attendees will capitalize on the decades worth of experience March acquired by being a pro-racer and Hollywood stuntman.
"I think [with] my background of the last 20 years of extreme sports - motor sports, mountain biking industry - I do understand how to fall and how to fall correctly."
The mountain bike aerial awareness course was first launched a few years back for the Mad March Racing team, but March said he's had so many requests for another clinic he's opening it up to the general public.
During the workshop, participants can visit seven stations to learn how to roll, tumble, flip and fall using mats, trampolines, balance beams and even a stunt bike.
March covers basics, like how to spread your load when you fall so you don't land on one hand and break a wrist, as well as more advanced tips like how to jump off your bike in one direction and push your bike in the opposite direction - known as a West Coast dismount - so you can land safely.
If all goes as planned, attendees will also have the opportunity to ride a stunt bike into a wall to learn how to safely plunge over handlebars.
March said it's not a matter of if you'll fall but when, so everyone should learn how to fall and reduce the likelihood of injury.
"We all need to be aware that crashes do happen and if you're not ready for a crash you can get hurt very seriously," he said.
"It's not about closing your eyes and putting your hands in front of you."
March said the workshop gives participants the tools they need to understand what they need to do to prevent serious injury. The worst thing someone could do when they are falling, according to March, is close their eyes, tense up and trying to avoid the fall.
"We found a lot of people just weren't very fluid when they fall and they fall like a sack of potatoes."
Although March has gone through a few formal training stunt sessions, he said much of what he knows about falling safely he's figured out for himself.
"I've had quite a few injuries, so I've learned the hard way."
The workshop is open to people of all ages, cyclists or not. People are never really taught how to fall and information like this could really help anyone out, March said.
"It's going to be a fun aerial awareness course that will let people break loose and play with jumping around. It's making people aware of their body."
The workshop starts at 3:30 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m. on Friday (April 9.) Attendees can show up any time and start the round robin station circuit but March estimates it will take a person about an hour to work through all of the stations.
Hayes disc brakes, T-shirts, jerseys, Mad March gear and Tantalus gear will be up for grabs in a raffle scheduled for 5:30 p.m. No pre-registration is required, but the workshop costs $25 per person.
Visitors can also bring their own bikes to Brennan Park Recreation centre workshop and get an experienced Tantalus mechanic to ensure their bike is in tip-top shape for the spring.
