We are less than two months away from Rogue Florida, and confirmed three more speakers or teachers this week. You can check out who all is coming here.

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The snow and ice of the last three weeks reminded me of some numbers most folks maybe aren't familiar with. You see, I've always been a bit of a numbers nerd.

As a kid to keep me from causing too much trouble in the check out line at the grocery store, my mom would have me race the cashiers. This was back in the 80s, when they still had to manually type each price into the machines, one by one by one.

They would use their hands. My mom made me use my head.

On occasion I caught their mistakes, almost always overcharges. This sometimes meant ice cream or another reward.

As I got older, I kept that love of numbers and searching for where they would get me something valuable in exchange for paying attention to what they were saying.

And here is one that may surprise you - do you know what the 2nd leading cause of unintentional injury-death is in the US?

Falls.

Yes. Trips. Slips. Tumbles. Topples.

Just under 50,000 deaths per year...

and 9 million... yes, million injuries. Per year.

You might think, well, these are accidents. Nothing you can do about it.

But you would be mistaken.

Just like numerous cultures developed wellness practices around raising animals, preparing food, having healthy pregnancies... many also developed and practiced the skill of falling.

It can be a real life and injury saver.

A month or so ago, my 11 year old daughter was running out the door of our house at top speed. The door goes onto a small wooden deck and then straight down a set of stairs to the gravel driveway below.

She clipped her toe on the door frame, and started to go face first out the door onto the stairs towards the driveway...my wife and I thought for sure an imminent ER trip was about to happen... until her training in how to fall kicked in.

She tucked into a roll and found herself standing up a few feet from the stairs a moment later. She had a few nicks and a light bruise, but was otherwise uninjured. And it wasn't the first time knowing how to fall properly has saved myself or one of my children from a significant injury.

Everyone falls. But because of lack of training, not everyone gets back up.

Learning to fall is one of the highest ROI physical fitness skills any child or adult can acquire, and my hands on demo at Rogue Florida will be an intro to learning how to fall correctly, what the Japanese call ukemi.

I know a fair bit about the subject, as over the past 8 years I have taken over 30,000 falls. Dozens and dozens every practice. Two, three, four practices a week. Sometimes a few hundred in a single week.

Once you learn the basics, it is a skill you can easily (and should) practice regularly as part of your health and wellness routines. So let's get you started on this traditional skill that isn't just for martial artists, aspiring gymnasts, or parkour addicts. .

So, if you want a hands on fitness session that can save you from painful, time consuming injuries, large doctor bills, and possibly even your life, you won't want to miss Rogue Florida nor this hands on class!

Were getting down to the last of the Premium Rogue Florida passes, you can see details for those here.

John and Joel