ELI5, When you see skateboarders ollie off of tall places(such as a small building), and successfully land on their board, they walk away without any injuries whatsoever, but if I were to jump off these places without a board, I would almost certainly break my legs. How is this possible.?

Question

Heres a clip of the tricks I’m talking about: [https://youtu.be/YZ1WtHigD54](https://youtu.be/YZ1WtHigD54)

In: Physics

Answer 1

The way they crumple up combined with how their board keeps moving with them on it helps prevent serious injuries. If you are sufficiently floppy your body can survive surprisingly large falls. The tensing up we do as instinct can end up injuring us more than the fall itself.

E: tenses