All of the turning skills on beam are performed in a fairly tall releve like on the floor. A proper full and a half turn finishes with the free leg stepping forward at the skill conclusion. Stepping back like in this example is a sign of the body's center of mass not being correctly placed very close to an imaginary line. The line runs from the center of the head to the body support on top of the turning foot.
The gymnast should twist right if his right hand touches the vault first, and twist left if his left hand touches first. It's usually a good idea to attempt most of the vaulting repetitions on soft surfaces to reduce the chance of injuries.
Successful vaults come from mastering certain vaulting components along with personal power. These components are:
The swing kick half turn is a good balance drill. The goal is to perform a high front kick and swing the same leg back while raising the support leg in a tall releve. The gymnast performs a half turn ending with that same free leg raising up as high as possible above the horizontal line. The whole drill must be performed without bending the support leg or the free swinging leg. The body is kept straight without leaning forward or arching back.
All of the technical actions required to perform the successful yurchenko full become even more important to progress and perform the yurchenko full and a half. The gymnast should always have a straight round-off with a center of mass in front of support. The body should rotate in a tight arch instead of with a loose lower back. Every new vault skill should be started on a safety pit. Never rush a gymnast to execute the vault on a regular competition mat until they have exceptional landing consistency. Watch the yurchenko full and a half a few more times.
The gymnast performing these examples is still in the process of mastering this skill. As expected, he is not training this skill to a regular competition landing mat. Like in any other yurchenko vault, the hands contact the table with the gymnast in a tight arch and with the mid-section above the feet. During the table repulsion, the arms must not be bent on purpose. By the time the gymnast is in a vertical position, the body must be straight and air-borne.
Before an athlete attempts any difficult yurchenko half-turn vault, they must master a consistent round-off half onto elevated mats. Observe in this back view how the half-turn is performed, anchoring the twist from the board. Take a final look at this back view of a yurchenko half-turn timer and notice how these type of skills require an early controlled twist without killing the turnover.
For the yurchenko half-on the shoulders are moved from a blocking position in front of the feet to slightly behind the feet. The gymnast is performing an early twist and a quick half turn to get a good amount of air off the table. The gymnast contacts the table with the hands ahead of the shoulders. Grabbing the shins is the best way to speed up the rotation. Watch a few yurchenko halfs at regular video speed.
