Once a gymnast has mastered a fair layout gainer, they can progress to a gainer full. Gymnasts should start practicing this skill from an elevated surface to a loose foam pit. The gymnast must focus on creating a good rotation during the layout. To create the desired rotation, the gymnast must swing up strongly with the free leg.
For this gainer dismount the gymnast takes off from a single front foot while the back foot swings forward helping to kick the knees and hips up to create the somersault rotation. To assure that the skill travels away enough to clear the beam, during the take-off the athlete aims to bring her center of mass forward so the dismount does not travel vertically. During the last step, the arms perform an underswing to help set up the skill. This young gymnast needs to work on her head position which is moving too far out, detracting from the tuck somersault technical lines. In general, for all back tuck somersaults, the rotation is created at take off from the trunk area. The head can be neutral or in some cases slightly out for visual purposes. Throwing the head out does not have any rotational value.
Clip 1 - For a Gaylord 2, on the last giant before the release instead of a tap over the the bar holding a hollow position, many gymnasts perform a tap, and with the body changing shapes, from the hollow candle stick to tight arch position before reaching the vertical line. One of the goals of this technique is to lift the bar rail up to produce stronger bar reactions while the gymnast also focuses on a powerful and clean sweeping through the bottom tap, and establishing visual contact with the bar. From the tight arch swing, the tap returns the body to a candle stick and the rail is let go when the shoulders are closed to reach the bar height keeping visual contact with the bar while performing a cruise action to an undergrip re-grasp.
Coaches and gymnast must always communicate what they plan to do before each training attempt. In this case, a very experienced coach and his elite athlete have agreed that the sting mats will on be slid on the bar if the release timers show signs of trouble. This coach pays close attention to each performance and is ready to slide the mats if the gymnast needs the extra support. Notice how the giant taps for Gaylord 2 and Cassinas.
As the gymnast increases the difficulty of their skills they should also continue developing their air sense to know where they are during many different skills. Another important thing to learn is to bail out safely when making a mistake that causes them to fall off the equipment. Notice how this gymnast controls the rotation of his Gaylord 2 so that when he misses the skill he safely lands on the ground.
To learn this uneven bar release the gymnasts first must develop powerful and consistent free hips to handstand. Still - The shoulder angle opening becomes a dynamic body throw as the bent wrists straighten while the hands release the rail. Still 2 - Notice how the wrists shift is combined with letting go of the bar so the body weight never settles on top of the rail which will kill the flying momentum. Still 3 - During the release initiation the center of mass must be on the side of the low bar closer to the upper rail. Notice also how the visual contact is already established at this point. Still 4 - And continuous through the whole flying phase. The amount of piking when swinging down should be just enough for the feet to clear the low rail. 2nd clip - This gymnast is still in the process of refining the skill and needs some improvement on her flying phase to diminish the amount of pike down. Check another one of her shaposnikova examples where she is also practicing shoot over timers in preparation to combine both skills.
In this spotting approach the coach is assisting from the opposite side of the gymnast's free hip initiation and helping to assure that the athlete has enough flying momentum toward the upper rail and that her body, legs, and heels do not hit the lower bar. To be able to help the gymnast move over, he is standing on a block of adequate height so he can effectively reach her closer arm and her lower back. He also has properly placed extra mats under the bar to minimize any fall if she misses her upper bar re-grasp. Before a gymnast progresses to this learning stage, they must know how to perform the flying phase clearing a single rail and landing on a loose foam pit. Also, during that earlier stage the coach spots heavier until he is sure she is clearing the bar with a great degree of proficiency.
Before any athlete starts learning a Shaposnykova release to catch the upper rail, or a Hindorf, they must demonstrate a consistent ability to perform powerful free-hip handstands. Once they have proven they are capable, they can begin training this drill where the goal is to finish the free-hip with an open shoulder angle and the center of mass slightly beyond the vertical support.
As soon as the novice gymnasts can perform regular walks across the beam with a fair level of safe proficiency they can start training different variations to develop posture balance and presentation. Like in this example showing a locked knee with the foot pointing on each step then showing the walk with the arms up on a crown instead of straight out on the sides. It is important to always keep the arms vertical. Both kinds of walks can also be performed in tall releves to increase balance development. Always focus on keeping a good gymnastics posture with the stomach and buttocks tucked in. The eyes may keep contact with the apparatus as long as the head is not dropping out of line with the rest of the body. Eventually the arms positions can be combined during the walks on each step changing from straight arms out to crown up and vice versa. The arm motions from one position to the other can be coordinated with the hands fingers and chin to add flair and elegance to the execution.
As the novice gymnasts improve their balance and confidence training different kinds of walks and other basic skills each of these activities can be refined and upgraded from simple back walks. The athlete must be guided to develop more challenging variations. In this case the legs swing backwards to a tight arch on every step and the gymnasts must focus on keeping the knees locked, the stomach in, and the arms and the body as stable as possible minimizing wobbles and hesitations.
