As on the floor the tuck jump on the beam is described as bringing the knees horizontal or higher at peak height. Taking off and landing is performed with one foot slightly in front of the other. As the gymnasts get better they can kick out after reaching the peak height of the tuck. The kick out is done quickly so the athlete has time to bend the knees during the landing. Observe this gymnast's quick kick out.
To perform this skill the gymnast must first be able to execute a front tuck from the board onto elevated soft surfaces as high as the beam. To develop the front tuck mount and to warm up the skill, the gymnast may practice runs to the spring board and perform a straight jump to land on the beam. The final goal is to perform the skill safely and consistently on the regular competition beam.
Most gymnasts learn Tsuk layouts and then progress to Kasamatsu layouts or Tsuk layout fulls. Some gymnasts progress to layout twisting vaults after mastering a fair tuck Tsukahara. Though it is ultimately up to the coach, we recommend the layout approach.
Although this young gymnast has some technical mistakes like bending his legs too early and holding the head out during the twist, he performs a correct and clear cruise to execute his tuck kasamatsu. Observe the cruise technique once more.
Sometimes gymnasts that are beginning to learn Kasamatsu or Tsukahara type vaults may get confused and go for a landing on the knees instead of the feet. This is a serious mistake that can cause a knee injury on a hard surface. Before the gymnasts try on a regular vaulting surface or even on resi mats over the pit, they must demonstrate a consistent ability to land feet first in loose foam.
To perform the round off back tuck dismount the gymnasts must become comfortable with making beam round-offs from two steps and a hurdle. As with many other beam skills or combinations, this dismount is mastered following a beam progression beginning on a floor line. In the round off dismount, one of the progressive steps is performing the combination to loose foam pits and resi mats. The gymnasts must focus on learning to rebound the take off and continue refining their tuck position during the flying phase. Notice how the back tuck take off is performed with one foot in front of the other.
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.
The arabian double requires a strong thrust of the knees and hips up to the ceiling during the setup to create a fast rotating motion. Before attempting this powerful skill on the floor besides knowing the regular arabian tuck the gymnast must be familiar with double front progressions on the pit using spring board or minitramps. Bringing the knees up but failing to do the same with the hips produces a slower rotation/. /This gymnast round offs left and twists right though he still makes a fair arabian double the skill is easier to set up with a round off left and arabian twist left round off right arabian twist right. The amount of set up blocking is related to the tumbling horizontal speed. Too much blocking for a slow speed hurts the somersault rotation. Weak hips up can also cause under rotation as mentioned before and a poor tuck position hurts the skill rotation too/. /This example has better blocking hips up action and a little closer tuck position/. Gymnasts usually warm up the arabian double with slightly over rotated single arabians. Proper basics progressions and careful air sense training are very important for safe timers or for bailing out of skills problems/. /This is another powerful arabian double tuck example/ observe in slow motion how the arm on the twisting side drops early during the set up to create the twist. This gymnast shows a very peculiar arabian double tuck grabbing position with one hand on the hamstring and the other on the knee.
These are front views of arabian double fronts. There are some technical basic round off back handspring mistakes such as not keeping a straighter forward motion toward the round off, arms bent on the back handspring, and open cowboy tuck position on the arabian. Some other basics are fine and the tumbling speed and power are very good. /Still/ The arms bent hurt the turn over quickness for punching the somersault. Round off back handspring mistakes can be improved with some weekly time dedicated to basics refinement. Great power combined with great basic techniques result in the greatest skills execution. This is a fine arabian double landing example.
Notice on these three arabian examples how minimal changes on technical factors such as speed, set up, blocking position, hips up action, tuck position in flying phase, or landing timing can make a big difference on the end result.
