Practicing Ukemi

Ukemi (falling) is always a challenge. The mat is unforgiving, though fortunately better than concrete! Last night's practice was mostly attended by less experienced folk, with sensei being out of town. One of my objectives was to learn to fall "properly" for techniques where I typically do a backward roll. Watching the more experienced take this sort of ukemi, there is a certain style, apparently "Chiba sensei style", where you make contact with one and then the other hand to break the fall. J sensei, who was teaching last night, described the motion as similar to an outrigger (a projecting frame extending laterally beyond the main structure of a vehicle, aircraft, or machine to stabilize the structure or support an extending part--from dictionary.com), where you in a sense rock from one side to the other, extending feet into the air to absorb the momentum. Practice practice.

Another question J brought up from one of her old senseis: what quality do you want to bring to this technique?