Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaqwells
I don't work soccer, nor football, but for me the risks far outweigh any benefit to backpedaling. Last weekend, when I tripped, I wasn't backpedaling. If I had been, the damage would have been a lot worse (possibly a head injury). Instead of tripping and falling on my knee and wrist (my wrist is still sore), I wouldn't have seen him in the corner of my eye and had time to adjust.
Looking over my shoulder, I can see the players well enough to know if there's a matchup I need to stop to focus on.
If I find myself stopped at about the FT line, and know I'm the only one back, I might back up (in a walk) the rest of the way. But only rarely and I don't know why I do it. I notice I do it more in 3 man when there's a press with a BC throw in.
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As Rut has said, the risk of injury from falling is less in soccer and football as it is ostensibly a softer surface. That being said, I'd much rather take a fall backwards or to the side than be tripped going forward. There's a much greater temptation to try to catch yourself falling forward (which is what breaks wrists) and it's far harder to both protect your head from the ground (the neck doesn't bend back as far as it bends forward) and I find slapping out with the arms to be easier and more instinctive when falling backwards.
Some of that may be that in my self-defense class, we are almost always thrown onto our back or sides so I just have more experience in it.