I just rewatched that scene. There was a considerable period of time between the fall and the grab.Zhukov said:He was grabbed as soon as he hit the ground.IllumInaTIma said:You don't have to tell me what happened in the episode. Here comes my problem. Okay, Oberyn was caught off guard, fair enough. First of all, Oberyn is a martial artist. One of the first things they teach you in almost any existing martial art is how to regroup during your fall to minimize the damage. It's called "Ukemi" in some martial arts and this is why fighters are able to toss each other around without breaking skulls and bones. The warrior of Oberyn's level must have this kind of thing memorized to the level of reflex, ESPECIALLY considering very theatrical and agile fighting style of Oberyn. So, Oberyn was supposed to be able to regroup and simply roll away from the danger. But okay, let's assume he fell down and got stunned for a moment. So Mountain grabs and lifts Oberyn and tries to punch him in the face. You know what any sane person would do? Put a palm between his face and incoming fist. As simple as that. The Mountain didn't hold Oberyn's hands, so there was NOTHING preventing him from blocking that hit. So it's double bullshit. And my suspension of disbelief can stretch only so far when it comes to even extraordinary human beings. Unless The Mountain was injected with Captain America serum it was nigh impossible for him to do all that shit after getting stabbed, cut, poisoned and tired all the while wearing a medieval HEAVY ARMOR. You know, the kind of armor that was so heavy, that it would pin fallen knight to the ground.
He's being grappled by a guy twice his weight and strength. No amount of "ukemi" is getting you out of that. (Incidentally, you're either using the wrong term there, or using it wrong.)
Likewise for being punched in the face by said guy who is twice his weight and strength and whose fists are clad in metal. Putting your palm in the way ain't gonna do shit.
Lastly, being pinned to the ground by the weight of your armour is a myth. Armour was heavy, but not that heavy. Nowhere near. Armour that heavy would render it's wearer useless and hardly able to move. Besides, the men who wore armour would train in practice harnesses that were heavier than the real thing, they'd be well accustomed to the weight.
"Correct ukemi will allow the uke to suffer the least amount of damage possible from a fall. If done correctly, the force of hitting the ground will be spread out along non-critical parts of the uke's body. By properly doing ukemi, the uke can roll out of danger and move into their next course of action without being damaged too much by hitting the ground." Pretty sure that's exactly what I meant.
And putting your palm in front of the the armored fist will do VERY MUCH shit, since now the part that hits your face is not covered in armor.