Breaking falls is a project I developed to introduce a martial arts training regimen for elderly populations, in order to reduce the risk of injury from falling. Several other studies had been done through medical schools such as Yale for the martial art of Tai Chi, but I wished to utilize the art of Aikido as an example.
I first took both screenshots and video of expert Aikido masters doing things such as rolls as well as break falls.
Once I gathered sufficient footage, I modeled their actions in JACK ergonomic software to analyze their motions and the stress placed on the body.
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Once I properly modeled their actions within the software, I did an ergonomic analysis, using RULA, REBA, and NASA-TLX to examine the stress that each body part received upon falling through several methods. Specifically, I concentrated on areas which injury was most deadly to elders, such as the spine and hips.
Upon completion of the ergonomic analysis, I created an article with my findings and presented them in a mock ergonomic conference conducted at the University of Central Florida.