February 9, 2011
This is a fair example of back handspring landing on two feet to a back tuck dismount. Gymnasts must know how to perform the combination on floor, and also how to perform a beam standing back handspring to two feet and rebound. The combination is trained first on a low beam with folded mats on the sides, and the apparatus end pointing to a loose foam pit. Notice how the feet are placed slightly in front of the other for the back tuck off. Placing the feet this way allow gymnasts more room to punch, and is safer too.
February 9, 2011
To perform this combination the athlete must have mastered tumbling double fulls, beam back handspring to two feet landings, and progressively learn to connect the back handsprings to back tucks, and layouts to full twist dismounts. The gymnast must also develop an increased in speed and power while practicing those combinations. Notice how the gymnast punches the back handspring to the double full dismount with one foot slightly in front of the other.
January 12, 2011
Gymnasts showing improvement on simpler drills and spotted back handsprings may be introduced to barrel back handsprings. Coaches must make sure that the gymnast does not start so close to the barrel as it forces them to undercut their jumps.
January 12, 2011
A short first flying phase from feet to hands makes it difficult to create an effective second flying phase from hands to feet. Short undercut first flying phases cause the hands to touch the floor with poor body angles to make a quick arms repulsion into a powerful turn over to the feet. Before bad technical habits get too engrained it is wise to spend time reviewing basic drills. Like this one and many others. / Coaches must train their eyes to catch all kinds of big or small mistakes. In these undercut examples the gymnast shows more turn over power. He is still missing a proper hands placement to block and repulse the floor effectively. Even minor mistakes deserve time and effort to be corrected. Every skill must be refined to the maximum. /Deep squats slow down and diminish the explosive power to begin the back handsprings. Though there are slight personal differences in general the bend in the knees must not even reach a 90 degree angle. /Deep squats and undercuts together weaken the back handspring immensely. Serious basic drill reviews must be a priority. Notice that there is not a second flying phase due to the lack of blocking and arms repulsion.
January 12, 2011
If the gymnast is having problems showing a tight arch and the coach is confident of being able to handle the gymnast's weight he places a hand on the upper back reaching toward the further shoulder area while keeping the other hand on the hamstring. When the gymnast jumps back the coach stops the motion in mid air to allow the athlete to position her body into the correct shape. If the coach is spotting on the left side of the gymnast his right hand goes on the upperback to the far shoulder area and his left hand spots on the closer hamstring. This drill also allows the gymnast to work on her head position during the first flying phase. The head should not be stuck all the way down forward nor should it be all the way out backwards. It is more desirable to aim for a neutral head position or just slightly out in the flying direction. To master the second flying phase from hands to feet the gymnast must practice different drills because this one does not offer a good opportunity for arms repulsion. No coach should attempt this kind of spotting with gymnasts whose weight they have not tested first by lifting them from a standing position to a tight arch without any jumping back. For the large majority of gymnasts learning standing back handsprings the coach must spot standing up himself and placing his hands on the middle or far side of he gymnast's lower back and the close hamstring. A coach may decide to kneel down only to spot very light or small gymnasts so he can reach under their weight better. A coach should never attempt to spot from a sitting position because he will be unable to follow the gymnast motions and move himself quickly and effectively too.
January 12, 2011
Starting to teach back handsprings without arm swings may help the gymnasts to get used to keeping the arms closer to the head in the early learning stages plus it can save the coach a couple of face slaps. Place the gymnast on a position as if they were coming from a round off or another back handspring. Because this gymnast is light and already knows the skill the hand spotting the lower back is placed on the middle instead of farther across. Coaches must only spot back handsprings from kneeling when the gymnast is so light that her weight can be handled easy from this spotting position.
January 12, 2011
Once we are relatively sure that the gymnast is not going to throw the arms out too open we can add the arms swing to their spotted back handsprings. This gymnast is trying to master a hollow turn over second flying phase instead of just piking it down. Coaches may use every training opportunity to help establish good posture habits like standing up with stomach area in and buttocks tucked in too. Starting with a hollow instead of a totally straight back allows for a more explosive upper body range of motion and mimics an effective way to connect back tumbling skills like a roung off to back handspring a handspring to another handspring or to different types of somersaults.
