Shoulder Rolls - The Simplest Way to Learn Spatial Awareness

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Here’s a great move to get you started; the Forward Shoulder Roll
00:00 - The importance of spatial awareness
00:25 - Great move to train It
00:54 - The forward shoulder roll shoulder position
03:05 - Looking through the window
03:57 - Lifting the hips
05:02 - Walking your toes forward
05:44 - Completing the roll
06:25 - Trouble shooting the roll
09:04 - Rolling into a squat
09:47 - Combining two rolls
10:17 - Bear walk to Forward Shoulder Roll
11:03 - Rolling things up. :)
In this video I break down the Forward Shoulder Roll into 5 easy steps along with troubleshooting and bonus variations.

[@seankerby5482]

Ryan gets GIGANTIC points for mentioning Systema. That IS where I learned how to roll, using the same rolls Ryan is using in this video.

[@TheInfantry98]

Performing a proper ukemi (shoulder roll) saved my life and spine when I was rear ended at 80 mph while riding my sportbike. I went flying at 80 mph but was able to Perform a proper ukemi which definitely saved my spine. Don’t get me wrong, I was still bouncing off the asphalt but rolling was a massive save since my entire body absorbed the impact instead of just my spine. Rolling saves lives.

[@gmbfit]

Learning to fall safely is an important skill, for sure.

[@seahorizon9222]

The best forward roll tutorial I ever encountered. Thank you so much Ryan

[@ryanhurst3068]

Thank you!

[@TheTjames77]

I love the way you break everything down into easy to follow instructions.

[@gmbfit]

Thanks :)

[@billpapa]

Learned to roll at 42years old with an older version of this one. It has been a game changer and one of the best tools I have to oil all the squeaky parts in my body 😅

[@gmbfit]

Right? Total underrated move that makes a huge difference :)

[@TheInfantry98]

I’ve done shoulder rolls since I was 7 yrs old when I started martial arts. I’ve been training for 28 years non stop throughout stages of life. I agree that proper shoulder rolls teach good spatial awareness for average people. It’s super fun to shoulder roll over high walls or fellow people who drop their head into their chest while standing up. Rolling over high obstacles or clearing distance very fun.

[@ryanhurst3068]

Yes! So many fun and different ways to practice rolls. :)

[@TheInfantry98]

@@ryanhurst3068 Amen to that

[@jamesmunroe6558]

This is so helpful. Thanks so much!

[@JohnnySabu]

Amazing video and very well explained. Thanks!

[@gmbfit]

Glad you dig it

[@intasartaqvi]

I am learning . Today evening , I will try . Thanks for explaining in detail .

[@gmbfit]

Glad to hear this!

[@evkw08]

great teacher you are!😀🥰

[@gt2978]

Really nice explanation!

[@spelling_ax]

That was fun! Thanks!

[@noneofyourbizmthfr7699]

Excellent!

[@mritzs5142]

saving this one for sure

[@sitientibus]

Freaking AMAZING!

[@gregoireborel700]

Excellent tutorial, I needed another explanation after trying that move in the Vitamin program. I always had a sore neck after doing this, now I know why, thanks! The variation with the Bear is awesome, I'm looking forward to integrate it in my sessions!

[@gmbfit]

Right on - lots of practice is the key :)

[@lonewolf00000]

Can you please make a video on forward roll?

[@JOVI08]

Great tutorial ❤

[@diodexyy7090]

great video

[@gmbfit]

Thanks! I love this move :)

[@user-hi1mj4mc3w]

Fantastic breakdown. Would be great to turn this into a series of progression including obstacles, from running. Many thanks 👍

[@gmbfit]

That's not something I practice, but I believe there are some great Parkour-focused channels that have already covered this thoroughly.

[@thall3827]

I watched this video and was like ok, I'm gonna practice this, it doesn't look that hard. I discovered that I'm not the same on both sides. My neck mobility is crap. And I can NOT lift my knees into the air. I have a LOT of work/practice to do.

[@gmbfit]

We have videos to help with all of that on our channel :)

[@CICORIA977]

In all this years your quality contents keep growing as your grey beard hair :)

[@gmbfit]

hmmm, maybe I need to quit making videos...

[@CICORIA977]

@@gmbfit Good try but I'am not playing any video and I'am still turning gray

[@gmbfit]

dammit

[@vapili]

fantastic tutorial. thank you! I am having a bit of trouble with the shoulder i am rolling on. As the shoulder is internally rotated and i'm upside down, i find myself applying pressure on that arm in order to stabilise better (as in pushing the top of the palm into the ground). This creates weird tension pain.. maybe in my rotator cuff(?) Can you think of a correction/visualisation/exercise/reasoning? thank you!

[@gmbfit]

Could be that you have a shoulder impingement and need to get it looked at. Here are some things you can do once you get the ok to work on it. gmb.io/shoulder-pain/

[@vapili]

@@gmbfit i most definitely have shoulder impingement.. agree. Thank you for this fantastic resource. Already working many of them. But some are new to me and i will try them.

[@northlondonkyokushin-karat9659]

❤️❤️🙏👍

[@alexking6058]

I can't really train them too much and I can't find any good advice on how to improve that. We did them recently in a boxing gym, we were asked to do a couple in row and I could do it easily if I didn't start getting dizzy and sick from any type of spinning almost immediately. I remember feeling a little bit sick for almost the entire rest of the training. It's frustrating because it is limiting in training some movements and it can negatively impact my whole training session like that. I also feel like it's getting worse as I age, but I'm 37 so not that old and I can barely do a couple of spins before I start feeling it. Some people said you just have to train it and get used to it, but that seems like I might just keep making myself sick for no good reason. Others have said you need to keep looking at one spot like dancers, but others have said that is a bad advice, not to mention that's probably not that applicable to something like a shoulder roll, so I don't know :/ .

[@gmbfit]

It's not the end of the world, and you can overcome it, but it will take work. Will you do it? I've taught hundreds of people who had vertigo and nausea when inverting, and the key in 99% of cases is to gradually work up to it. Start with the very basic movement shown here and don't roll fully over. Do them a bunch, slowly. Breathe and look around you when you do them. Do it as often as you can and gradually go a little further and stay semi-inverted a little longer. If you do that, you'll be able to figure it out from there.

[@alexking6058]

So you can get used to it. Good to know, thanks for the advice! :) @@gmbfit

[@gmbfit]

@@alexking6058 It's more than getting used to it. It will take deliberate and gradual training.

[@RoyalGuard4619]

Damn bro, you like Floyd Mayweather against that floor

[@gmbfit]

Ha! Taking that as a compliment

[@jonathancobb3522]

padding helps to

[@gmbfit]

It won't make your roll better, but it will make your bad rolls less painful 🤷‍♀️

[@jonathancobb3522]

@@gmbfit your bound to do a bad roll every now and then

[@gmbfit]

@@jonathancobb3522 sure, so let that feedback from your environment instruct you when it happens :)

[@jonathancobb3522]

@@gmbfit i totally agree i just probably roll with padding until i feel more cormtable with the rolls

[@gmbfit]

@@jonathancobb3522 Right on - I'm kinda being a hard-ass to make the point, but I do get that most people will enjoy the practice more with some padding, especially in the beginning. I just bristle at the idea that it should be *necessary* :)

[@LyricalInjectionRec]

Systema

[@gmbfit]

You do understand, of course, that shoulder rolls exist outside of systema... right?

[@PatriciaWangui-be5te]

You're perfect

[@gmbfit]

hahaha, please explain this to my children :)