Line #69 Main/BladeBrake


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9	[[quoteright:200:[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/damian_bladebreak.png]]]]
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11	The character is using a blade as a brake or an anchor to stop their movement. This is done by ramming the blade into a wall or [[SwordPlant the floor]], depending on direction of the character's movement. Bonus points if the movement is not stopped abruptly and long sparkly "skid marks" occur; the weapon may carve a long gash in the surface until its wielder comes to a halt.
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13	This is more difficult than it looks for being such a common trope. In real life, a blade big and heavy enough to serve as a brake would require a bigger and heavier wielder, and it's ''their'' momentum that matters. Planting the sword is easy, but it's equally easy to lose grip of the sword or even damage/break it from the sudden stop unless both wielder and weapon have fantastic strength and durability, respectively. It's theoretically TruthInTelevision, but not nearly as easy as RuleOfCool would have you to believe.
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15	A variation is when the character slows their fall by stabbing their blade into a tall banner (or, on a sailing ship, the sail). The "stab the sail" version shows up in a bunch of old pirate movies and was busted by the ''Series/MythBusters''.
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17	If the weapon is later used as a perch, to swing back up into battle, or to climb off of, it's a SteppingStoneSword. Not to be confused with the manga ''Manga/BrokenBlade'', or with [[BreakableWeapons literally breaking a sword]].
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20	!!Examples:
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22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25	* Deunan does this with a military knife in some ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}'' incarnation to prevent herself from sliding down a very high dome.
26	* Chane Laforet of ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' uses a pair of daggers to stop her fall off of a ''moving train''.
27	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'':
28	** In the Eclipse, when Guts falls from the side of a tower covered in living faces, he stabs his dagger into the tower so that he slices through a long swathe of faces on the way down, eventually coming to a stop from the friction. He then uses the dagger as a climbing pick to drag himself back up, causing much bleeding and wailing from the faces as he does so.
29	** When Guts fights the Kushan wizard Daiba in the harbor of Vritannis, Daiba uses a water spout to throw him into the air, to such a height that even the water below won't save him from the fall. Schierke manages to snap him out of his armor's mindless berserk mode just in time for an IndyPloy: he uses the incredibly broad blade of his {{BFS}} to steer his fall by air resistance, targeting the mast of a ship. He uses the sword to tear through every bit of mast, yard, and sail he encounters on the way down, coming to a very rough yet non-fatal landing on the deck.
30	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' loves this trope. A few times characters have done a blade break [[RuleOfCool IN MID-AIR]]. (Justified, since Soul Reapers and Hollows are spirits who usually ''run'' on air.)
31	** Kenpachi stabs his [[EmpathicWeapon zanpakutou]] into a wall once after Ichigo knocks him back.
32	** Ichigo does a long one in his fight with Ulquiorra just after the latter unleashes his Resurreccion, [[SwordPlant stabbing the roof they're fighting on]] while he repairs his mask. It doesn't seem to slow him down, though, and he eventually just pulls his sword back out of the roof to block the next attack.
33	* Lancer of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' stops himself from dying [[TheyKilledKennyAgain again]] in ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'' by assisting his dragster brake with stabbing the floor of the car and the ground using Gae Bolg. He still crashes, but survives this time around.
34	* In ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'', the Count uses his sword to stab the rocks, saving his butt after falling off the ClockTower's hands.
35	* A horizontal version in the anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'': Clare has gained SuperSpeed but [[TooFastToStop can't control it]], so she slows herself down by stabbing the ground.
36	* Happens in ''Anime/HighlanderTheSearchForVengeance'' where the hero gets thrown off a skyscraper. Doesn't work, mind you, and he still goes plummeting to his would-be-death-if-he-wasn't-an-immortal.
37	* ''Manga/InuYasha'': When Inuyasha first encounters the Wind Tunnel, he rams Tessaiga into the ground to prevent himself from being sucked into it. In one of many amusing examples of just how alike the two brothers really are, when Sesshoumaru first experiences the power of the Wind Tunnel, he reacts in exactly the same way (and since he's holding Tessaiga at the time, he even uses the same sword).
38	* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'':
39	** When Ryuko Matoi falls through a trapdoor, she tries to slow her fall by sticking her blade into the wall, but it doesn't work and she hits the bottom hard anyway.
40	** When the stairs Ryuko and Mako are climbing suddenly flatten out, Ryuko grabs Mako with one arm and sticks her blade into the floor. It works.
41	** Sanageyama somehow manages this with a bamboo sword and a concrete wall.
42	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Sasuke does this a lot with his katana. Other characters do it with kunai, as well.
43	* Asuna of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' does this after [[ArtInitiatesLife the wings Haruna gave her]] expire a tad earlier than she expected. Note that her sword is [[{{BFS}} big enough]] that she can simply [[SteppingStoneSword stand on the blade]] rather than just hang from the hilt.
44	* Subverted when Zoro does this in the 7th ''Manga/OnePiece'' movie after being dropped off a tower. Turns out his sword is ''so sharp'' it [[AbsurdlySharpBlade cuts straight through the tower]] and barely slows him down!
45	* Not exactly a weapon, but Elie in ''Manga/RaveMaster'' sticks her arm in the ground after being used as a FastballSpecial by a bad guy so as to avoid hitting any of her friends. Of course, she breaks her arm, but it works.
46	* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': A very strange example occurs when Ranma finally reveals himself [[SexShifter in male form]] to his mother. They're both falling off a cliff into water, and he embeds Nodoka's ''still-sheathed'' katana into the cliffside to [[BladeRun land foot-first on the handle]]. [[HopeSpot When Ranma thinks he can keep his transformation secret]], Nodoka bows down in gratitude, causing the blade to unsheathe, dropping them into water that [[WaterTriggeredChange turns Ranma into a girl]].
47	* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': When Akira is searching for relics in a {{Precursors}} skyscraper, he [[PhlebotinumBreakdown suddenly loses contact]] with his VirtualSidekick Alpha and is ambushed by a cyborg terrorist who outguns him. To try and reestablish contact with Alpha, Akira jumps out the window, uses the LostTechnology katana he got from a friend to slow his fall, and does a WallRun back up at his opponent using using his PoweredArmor's StickyShoes and BulletTime, before [[ChargeIntoCombatCut the scene cuts as they clash]]. Akira wakes up after falling unconscious, his opponent having been too scared of him PlayingPossum thinking WhatTheHellAreYou to finish him.
48	* In ''Literature/ReZero'', Subaru jabs a sword into a cliff face to arrest his fall. However, even though it drops his momentum to non-lethal levels, SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome happens when the blade breaks, causing him to free fall the last few feet.
49	* In ''Anime/RidingBean'', Bean's CoolCar has this type of assisted braking in the wheels.
50	* Kanbei does this with his katana early in ''Anime/SamuraiSeven''.
51	* In episode 10 of ''Anime/SandsOfDestruction'' Morte uses her sword as one when she and the rest of the World Destruction Committee are forced over the railings of a tower while fleeing robots.
52	* In ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'', Yuji falls through a ragged hole in the floor on top of a building. Shana dives after him, grabs his hand, and halts their fall by thrusting her blade into a steel girder on the way down.
53	* Maka, from ''Manga/SoulEater'', loves to do this with Soul. She once tries to do it to prevent the BigBad escaping from an underground prison. The Absurdly Sharp Blade of Soul's must have gotten pretty battered being dragged through the earth like that.
54	%%* Kamina did this in the ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' OVA.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Comic Books]]
58	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': Damien Wayne's [[TrainingFromHell origin story]] in the ''ComicBook/New52'''s ''ComicBook/BatmanAndRobin2011'' #0 shows him blade-braking a skydive (after cutting his own chute) with two katanas in opposite walls of an icy crevasse. [[TykeBomb He's not even a teenager yet]].
59	* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': In ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} vs. ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' #2, Hawkeye has temporary super-strength and gets knocked off the edge of the building. He slows his path by jamming two arrows into the wall and sliding down, gouging furrows in the wall till he stops.
60	* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': In a variant, Old Lace uses her ''claws'' to slow Chase's fall. Amazingly, Molly predicted this.
61	* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': Wolverine occasionally does this with his claws as well. Ditto for ComicBook/{{X 23}}.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Fan Works]]
65	* After taking inspiration from TV, Nav uses this in desperation in ''Fanfic/DiariesOfAMadman'', to stop himself from falling down a mine shaft. He's quite surprised when it works.
66	* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'': Raythor stops his fall in the Abyss of Shadows by striking the wall with his sword, slowing his descent long enough for him to take a hold of the wall before the sword breaks.
67	* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Katana does this by stabbing her swords into the ceiling when thrown skyward by Mei's rampaging robot.
68	* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': During one of the VR games they play in Episode 18, Iggins does this to avoid Gaz dropping him into a pit of lava.
69	* While falling down an endless pit with the other Phantom Thieves in ''Fanfic/BlackStarPersona5'', Akechi pulls this off with, of all things, a ''LaserBlade'', thanks to the Metaverse's ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve nature. Ryuji even complains about how little sense it makes, but Akechi reminds him that they really shouldn't dwell on how impossible the feat should be, lest they make it wear off.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Films — Animation]]
73	* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves'': Aladdin slows a fall down a cliff face using his father's knife. His opponent gives chase using WolverineClaws.
74	* Prince Charming does the "stab the sail" variant in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime''.
75	* Used by Cloud in the climactic battle of ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren''.
76	* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'': Diego tries to use his claws to stop his momentum during the ice slide scene. It doesn't work.
77	* When Victoria performs her SuicidalGotcha in ''WesternAnimation/TheSteamEnginesOfOz'', Lucila and Heflin jump after her, only to find themselves plummenting off a cliff. Lucila arrests her fall by digging her claws into the cliff face and sliding to stop. Heflin is not so luck (or quick witted).
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
81	* Creator/ErrolFlynn does the "stab the sail" version in ''Film/AgainstAllFlags'' (in a clear homage to Creator/DouglasFairbanks in ''Film/TheBlackPirate''). Brian Hawke is cornered in the rigging of the ''Scorpion'', with pirates coming from three directions. He walks out across the yardarm and stabs his rapier into the sail, and then rides it down to the deck. This was apparently the only stunt in the film Flynn did not do himself.
82	* ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'': As Alita and Hugo are falling from the cable leading to Zalem, Alita grabs Hugo and slows their fall by wedging the Damascus Blade into the side of the giant cable.
83	* Batman uses his gauntlets for this effect while rescuing Ducard in ''Film/BatmanBegins''.
84	* The "stab the sail" technique originated in the 1926 silent movie ''Film/TheBlackPirate'' starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
85	* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
86	** In ''Film/{{Aquaman\|2018}}'', Arthur uses his trident in this manner to escape from Orm's armlock and manages to maneuver himself above Orm to kick him into the lava floor, which Orm narrowly avoids.
87	** In ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', Steppenwolf uses his axe on the walls of the tunnels during the Battle beneath Gotham harbour to slow down his fall.
88	** ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'': As Jotunheim is crumbling around them, Harley Quinn uses her javelin [[spoiler:(that Javelin passed to her upon his death)]] to stab a concrete wall and spare herself from falling.
89	* The Fairbanks scene is referenced in ''Film/TheGoonies'', when Sloth comes sliding down the sail via blade brake.
90	* ''Film/GrampsIsInTheResistance'': At the climax, Super-Resistant makes his BigEntrance by stabbing a swastika banner with a dagger and sliding down. He flubs the landing, though.
91	* ''Film/IntoTheGrizzlyMaze'': When the bear attacks Rowan and Kaley in Kaley's tent, it starts dragging the entire tent away with them inside. Rowan draws his hunting knife and digs it into the ground to anchor himself, so the bear drags the tent off him.
92	* In ''Film/LastActionHero'', The Reaper does the "stab the sail" with his scythe at the movie premiere.
93	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
94	** In ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', Black Panther uses his claws to slide down the side of a building during a chase.
95	** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'':
96	*** When Thor gets thrown around by Hulk in the arena, he slams one of his swords into the ground to cease his momentum.
97	*** During the escape from Sakaar, Valkyrie jumps from spaceship to spaceship to incapacitate them and plants her sword in one of them to prevent falling off.
98	** ''Film/{{Black Widow\|2021}}'': When Natasha is sliding down the rapidly tilting floor in the crashing Red Room, she jams the blades of both her kama into the metal floor to arrest her slide.
99	* In ''Film/PacificRim'', a damaged Gipsy Danger plants its sword in the ground during the Final Battle [[spoiler:to avoid being knocked over by the shockwave of Striker Eureka's nuke detonating.]]
100	* In ''Film/ThePirateMovie'', a parody of ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', at the end of "The Pirate King" song, the Captain uses his dagger to slide down the main sail, hits the deck, turns and says to Ruth, the nurse, "Sew that up, love!" Her expression shows that this wasn't the first time it's happened.
101	%%* Will Turner uses this in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' when the Kraken attacks.
102	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Jango Fett has retractable blades in his gauntlets, apparently for exactly this purpose (they're too short and oddly-shaped to be much good for anything else).
103	* ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' has Sentinel Prime do something like this to slow his descent down the side of a ''building''.
104	* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
105	** ''Film/XMen1'': Wolverine averts a fall off the Statue of Liberty by hooking one of the points of the statue's crown, then spinning around it to land on top. The point falls off only after he's done.
106	** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' has the title hero do this to make a hard turn on a motorcycle. Interestingly, it's one of the rare times his claws don't just go clean through.
107	** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Psylocke narrowly survives what would have been a fatal fall by using her energy sword to slide down a building. [[spoiler:It still takes her out of the fight, though, allowing Mystique to impersonate her.]]
108	[[/folder]]
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110	[[folder:Literature]]
111	* In ''Literature/TheLastCommand'', the third in Creator/TimothyZahn's ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Luke Skywalker pulls a trick like this with his lightsaber. Specifically, he uses the saber only to cut a groove in the wall, grips it with his other hand (which he's wrapped in layers to for protection), and cuts a curved path to control his speed.
112	* In ''[[Literature/{{Redwall}} Marlfox]]'', a boat is stopped from [[InevitableWaterfall going over a waterfall]] when one of the heroes wedges [[ThunderboltIron the Sword of Martin]] in a crack in a rock.
113	* In ''[[Creator/MatthewReilly Scarecreow]]'', Mother uses a knife in this fashion to stop herself from sliding off a mahogany boardroom table that's hanging out a window on the 39th floor of Canary Wharf whilst fighting a bounty hunter, with a helicopter hovering a few metres directly underneath. It's [[RuleOfCool that kind of book]].
114	* Student Assassin Pteppic uses this to survive the Emergency Drop in ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}''. He stops his fall by jabbing a knife into the course of mortar between two lines of bricks, and holds on for dear life.
115	* In ''Rise of the Fallen'', book two of ''Literature/WarsOfTheRealm'', the angel Validus combines this technique with the angelic power of translation to slow his fall down the side of a building. Essentially, he pulls pieces of the building ''into the angelic realm'' while sticking his blades into them.
116	[[/folder]]
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118	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
119	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E3RobotOfSherwood Robot of Sherwood]]", Myth/RobinHood makes his BigDamnHeroes arrival at the Sheriff's castle by sticking his knife into a tapestry and sliding down to the ground.
120	* In ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'', Eiji henshins midfall from a skyscraper and proceeds to embed his Tora Claws in the building to slow his fall.
121	* ''Series/{{MacGyver\|1985}}'': [=MacGyver=] once got down from a catwalk by sticking his pocket knife through his wallet (as a guard) and then that through a curtain.
122	* ''Series/MythBusters'' tested the pirate movie version of this, where one uses a blade to slide down a sail. Myth busted. Specifically, too sharp a knife cuts too well to slow a person down, and no matter how sharp the knife was, hitting the seams in the sail caused the knife to jump out of the sail no matter how prepared the holder was. Also, as one of the historians pointed out, the guy who spent weeks ''making'' the sail would murder you when he found out.
123	* In ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', Mike is presumed to have perished in an early episode by plummeting into a ravine. It is eventually shown via flashback that the Magna Defender -- who was already down there -- rescued him this way, although it was only [[GrandTheftMe to steal his physical body.]]
124	[[/folder]]
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126	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
127	* Stabbing the sail (referred to in-game as "Ride the Sail") is one of the tricks that the Rogers swordsman school teaches in ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea''.
128	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Monks are [[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/monk.htm#slowFall implied to do this]] with their ''fists'' (said fists are strong enough to pierce an iron golem's body at that point, though) in their ability to stop any fall with a wall at level 20 (20 being the normal level cap). The first edition said "as long as they are close enough to touch", implying they would grab the wall to slow their fall to non-lethal speeds. [[UselessUsefulSpell The cheapest infinite use magic items in core does this without the need for the wall.]]
129	[[/folder]]
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131	[[folder:Video Games]]
132	* The Abyss Watchers from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' weaponize this for increasing their maneuverability with their {{BFS}}, it also resembles the movement of a wolf hunting its preys, [[spoiler: just like their founder, Artorias.]]
133	* All ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' games since ''Warrior Within'' have the Prince doing this with a wall hanging.
134	* Lady does this with a bayonet in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening''. How she managed to then get it ''out'' of the wall and get down the rest of the way safely is a mystery. Dante's done it at least once, but he usually doesn't have to thanks to his inherent gravity-defying skills.
135	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Lightning does this to regain her balance after a Behemoth knocks her away, and naturally since she's a badass, it works.
136	* After the first phase of ''VideoGame/{{Ghostrunner}}'''s first boss, the Ghostrunner breaks his fall to the bottom of the arena by stabbing his cyber katana into the wall and sliding down.
137	* Kratos in ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' does this a lot throughout the series.
138	* In ''VideoGame/GunZ'', this is an available move for swords and daggers. It's one of the most basic ways to scale a wall or save yourself from falling into a {{Bottomless Pit\|s}} if you haven't mastered a more advanced technique.
139	* At one point in the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'', Henry and Ellie jump out of the Toppat space station just before launch, and Ellie stabs a knife into the side of it to slow and stop their fall. Unfortunately, this leaves them hanging off the side of the space station seconds before launch, and they end up getting carried into space where they suffocate.
140	* Terra from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' attempts to do this with his Keyblade in the secret Final Mix II video as well as in-game, and ends up taking a section of the cliff down. A whole spinning tornado of Keyblades slamming into him kind of knocks him completely off the cliff though.
141	* Featured in a ''VideoGame/Lineage2'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm19W1PKMFQ&fmt=35 trailer-movie]] where you don't ''just'' get the screeching, sparking skid-gash in the rock face, - it's also used to ''[[SteppingStoneSword leap back up]]'' for an attack. Extra points for [[DualWielding dual-wielded]] {{Absurdly Sharp Blade}}s.
142	* ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsSparksOfHope'': In her [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introductory scene]], [[DarkActionGirl Edge]] single-handedly fights off a group of [[{{Mook}} Stooges]] and ends with her planting her [[{{BFS}} sword]] in the ground to launch herself 180 degrees to finish off the final enemy.
143	* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
144	** When Jarek returns in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', it's revealed he survived being dropped off a cliff by Jax by using his axe to slow the fall.
145	** [[BlindWeaponmaster Kenshi]] does this in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' after being knocked out of a military personnel carrier in the first chapter. Lacking other options, he does this against the ''very aircraft he's hanging on for dear life''.
146	* Hotsuma in ''VideoGame/Shinobi2002'' doesn't feel like using a parachute to leap off a helicopter, and instead uses his sword like this on a skyscraper to get to ground level.
147	* All playable characters can do this in ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', but they can also climb back up the wall and go left and right. Sonic jumps up while his sword's in the wall, then pulls it out and thrusts it back in, Lancelot does the same, Gawain alternates stabbing the wall with his dual swords and Percival just runs.
148	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'' when Shing tries to use his sword to avoid being sucked into the maw of a monster. He then stabs through his foot, which works better.
149	* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland: Rise of the Pirate God'', Guybrush uses his [[spoiler:HookHand]] to cut through a ship's sails, while sliding down them.
150	* ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'': Purge() jolts Red a small distance in the direction of attack, and the Transistor is plunged into the ground, and the attack fires before the sword gets stuck in the ground, implying that the Transistor was used to stop her from travelling too far, a.k.a braking her movement.
151	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has DLC character [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] able to use his forward aerial on a wall, which can help him back onto the stage if he's launched off.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
155	* Ittosai [[spoiler:saves Sayori from the fall off the watchtower]] by jamming his nodachi into the wall, essentially destroying both sword and wall, in his [[MultipleEndings Good Ending]] in ''VisualNovel/YoJinBo''.
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Web Animation]]
159	* Used by the Meta in ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue: Revelation'' to make his way back up to the top of an ice sheet after the portion he was standing on got blown apart and started falling into the abyss below. To elaborate: the Meta saw his gun falling in the open air along with him, lunged off the falling ice block to grab the weapon, and ''stabbed the pointy end into the main ice sheet'' before falling again. [[spoiler:Grif later uses a similar technique (though unseen) when the Meta pulls him over the edge in a TakingYouWithMe maneuver.]]
160	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
161	** Ruby tends to stab her scythe into the ground to stop herself, since her gun's recoil is powerful enough to send her flying.
162	** Ren uses the blades from his weapon to stop a fall by spiraling down a tree trunk.
163	** In his Volume 3 fight with Winter, Qrow anchors his {{BFS}} to mitigate being pushed back several feet away by her attacks, wrecking a fair part of the courtyard.
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Webcomics]]
167	* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Fighter uses this trope to prevent the Light Warriors from dying after a long fall. How? [[BeyondTheImpossible He blocked the ground with his sword.]] Don't ask him how he did it; somehow it will make sense.
168	* Done after a LiteralCliffhanger in ''Webcomic/TheDreamlandChronicles'', leaving a 50-some-odd-foot gash in the stone wall of the BigBad's castle.
169	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick:'' Haley uses a wand of ''fly'' to get closer to a beholder the party is fighting, but gets caught by its AntiMagic eye. She's seen it coming, though, and has a dagger ready to plant in the cave wall and stop her fall. [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1243.html And then she starts climbing.]]
170	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': Torg jams his sentient magic sword into the wall when he's knocked into a bottomless pit, leaving him hanging there for an extended period. He's eventually rescued, but the sword's tip gets badly bent in the process.
171	* When [[KrakenAndLeviathan Divine Sea Fish Jigena]] from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' flips on its back, Ja Wangnan has to ram his [[RoyalRapier Needle]] into its flesh to not fall off.
172	[[/folder]]
173
174	[[folder:Western Animation]]
175	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
176	** Azula stabs her [[SlipknotPonytail hairpin]] into the side of a cliff to arrest her fall in "The Southern Raiders"
177	** Sokka tries to do this too using his sword, but this demonstrates why an AbsurdlySharpBlade should not be used for such.
178	** Piandao does this when he and Master Pakku come BackForTheFinale, using his sword to maneuver on a wave of ice Pakku creates while freeing Ba Sing Se.
179	* Kevin does this on a collapsing space station in the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' episode "Vendetta".
180	* Tahu does this with his sword while falling down a rock wall in ''WesternAnimation/{{Bionicle}}: the Mask Of Light''.
181	* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'':
182	** In the first episode, "[=TeddyGozilla=]", Odd jumps down to catch a falling Aelita, and then slows them both by using his claws on the side of a cliff in the Desert sector.
183	** Ulrich does a Blade Brake in episode "Bad Connection", by thrusting his katana into a cliff of the Mountain Sector -- and then catching Yumi -- before they'd fall in the Digital Sea.
184	* The "stab the sail" version is altered in ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'', episode "Shiver Me Dodgers", when the Cadet (WesternAnimation/PorkyPig) is doing it with a LaserBlade on the metal sail of a [[SpaceSailing space pirate ship]].
185	* In the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Avast Ye Eds", Jonny 2X4 slashes through the Kanker sister's bed-sheet sail with [[CompanionCube Plank]], a piece of 2x4. All this does it punch a big hole in it and gives them another reason for him to WalkThePlank. Literally.
186	* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' has He-Man doing this. [[GravityIsAHarshMistress He jumps down a cliff to catch the king who had fallen.]] "He-Man... you can fly?!" "Uh... no." (The funny thing is he didn't think of the Blade Brake until ''after'' he caught the king.)
187	%%* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' does this a lot.
188	* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': In "Princess Prom", Glimmer gives Adora a large hairpin to wear in her ponytail as part of her prom outfit. This ends up being useful when an attack leads to her falling from a ledge, and she uses the pin to stop herself from falling further.
189	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In one episode, General Grievous plows four lightsabers into the ground to resist a Force Push.
190	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind Change Your Mind]]", [[BadassNormal Connie]] does one with her sword down the side of [[spoiler:the Diamond Mecha]].
191	[[/folder]]
192
193	[[folder:Real Life]]
194	* Firemen are taught to use fire axes for this if they're working on a steep roof.
195	* This is essentially the purpose of an ice axe.
196	* During World War II, high-caliber assault guns (usually no more than siege cannons mounted on top of a tank chassis) had what looked like a dozer blade mounted on the rear of the vehicle. When fired, this blade was dug into the ground to keep the gun's recoil from sending the entire vehicle flying backwards.
197	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BladeBrake