The Stunt Gym!

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I started my gymnastics career in 1968 as an All Around in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics.  What started as a casual interest in wanting to be a super hero because The Daredevil trained in gymnastics, turned into 4 years of high school training.  I began on the very first of my high school gymnastics team.

What began as a boyish fantasy turned into a wonderful joy as I learned to fly through the air and to enjoy the rhythmic swing of my body on the high bar.  High bar was my greatest joy in high school.  I even competed in one of the first USGF meets in Oakland, CA back in 1971. But when I graduated, I had no thought of continuing in gymnastics. As far as I was concerned that was a high school activity that was now over.

Having not developed any clear purpose for my life after graduation, I accepted an offer from my brother to move to Washington State where I worked as a salmon fisherman outside Bellingham.  After three seasons we both had enough of it.  He moved back to California, and I stayed in Bellingham. I had not realized what an addiction to my body gymnastics had created, so I went to Western Washington State College (now University) and began working out again. There I met Frank Dakin, a former  NCAA floor ex champion who ran the gymnastics program for the YMCA at the college. He gave  me  my first job coaching gymnastics.   As long as I was working out, and was still young I longed to get paid performing gymnastics, not just coaching it.

When I had heard a radio advertisement for the Spherical Miracle Circus Works in Seattle, I called them up. As it turned out the group had disbanded and were regrouping as the Floating World Circus.  I told them I had my own trampoline and asked if I could join their circus.  Greg Albert, the juggler who formed the circus, said, “Come on down.” So I quit coaching and moved to Seattle.

To continue training I audited a class in gymnastics at the University of Washington by Dr. Eric Hughes.  I asked the gymnasts if they would like to perform in the circus with me.  They all declined since they did not want to jeopardize their amateur status.  Only Jay Lavadeur was willing to join me in the circus.  So we created a doubles tramp act and some low key acrobatics.  We performed for the summer of 1977 traveling around the Puget Sound, passing the hat for our living.

In 1978 Greg Thompson sent a request to the U of W gymnastics for gymnasts to perform on stage.  This was a professional show. Dr. Hughes called me into his office and told me about the opportunity.  He also recommended several retired athletes who might be interested in the act.  So we created a vaulting routine, called the “Wacky Illwaco Brothers” and performed nightly for a year.

The dream came into my heart to form an acrobatic theater company at that time.  Later I produced two stage shows in New Jersey for a school I coached at,  Surgent’s Elite School of Gymnastics, before I left for New Orleans to train as an Elite Acrobat in Mixed Pairs.

During that time Kurt Thomas had his show team.  I contacted him, and he turned me down since I was not a former champion, and did not see my vision for gymnastics theater.  He had a show that combined theater with competition that, in my view, did not work.

All throughout my performing career, I had to coach gymnastics to make my living since performing was not full time work for me.  When I finally got too old for performing, Montreal’s Cirque du Solei had built up a reputation that spawned many other companies that now there are many opportunities for gymnasts to work for a living performing gymnastics, which I struggled to do in an era when it was not “gymnastically correct” to do so.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Competition is a wonderful tool.  I have seen gymnasts who only train for shows, both in Group Gymnastics and acrobatics, and the lack of competition scoring shows in sloppier performances.  Competition hones the athlete and brings him or her to polish and refinement. So I applaud the industry for what it has accomplished. But for many clubs, competition is the end, not the means to another end.  Why should parents pay thousands of dollars to train their child in gymnastics for a decade or more, only for them to quit the sport when they go to college?  Of course, for the women, the goal of a college scholarship is still a justification for the expense.  But even that is becoming less available.

I propose to all the gymnastics clubs of the nation to think outside the box.  Most of the coaches only think in terms of competition.  They are not thinking of life after gymnastics.  Oh sure, there have always been “Masters Divisions” of competition, but these meets are for retired athletes who are out of shape and only capable of during their basics.  They are more concerned with making a living and raising their families.

But if you train your athletes as future professional performers while they are competing, you are preparing them for life after competition. Besides, Artistic Gymnastics, is supposed to demonstrate artistry.  Artistry is more than just clever trick combinations that are pretty to behold. True artistry is sharing your heart and soul in a performance.  That is one of the reasons that Olympians in gymnastics need to be 16 and up.  Children are not capable of expressing their hearts in a routine. That requires more maturity. Cathy Rigby, Olga Korbut, and Mary Lou Rettin won the love of the world because they put their heart into their routines.   No one really cares about the big tricks.  Everyone cares about the people. If a gymnast does big tricks while performing their hearts out, then you have a winner that inspires more kids to come into the gyms.  Don’t let competition be the end of training, let it be the means to a better end, where your athletes can make a living performing in their 20’s and early 30’s.  Think outside the box.

When the Olympic games in Beijing began the FIG president Bruno Grandi had said that he intended to change the rules again to encourage artistry and control difficulty for safety’s sake.  I suggested that tumbling be separated from the beam and floor and restored as a separate event in Artistic Gymnastics as it was in the 1960’s.

But difficulty is in all events. The trend since the 1976 Olympics has been to see difficulty continue to increase.  The increase in difficulty resulted in changes in equipment, such as spring floors and vault tables and the widening of the uneven bars to both accomodate this difficulty and to increase safety.

What place does difficulty have in artistry?  Is difficulty simply an execution show piece of virtuosity, or is it an addition to artistry in performance?

Years ago I was in a rock and roll light show we called “Palantir” in the San Francisco bay area while in high school.  We did local gigs and our great claim to fame is that we had a chance to be the light show for Big Brother and the Holding Company, but after Janis Joplin had died.  This gave us a chance to brush shoulders with some of the big guys in the industry.  While talking with one of them who understood the future of lasers in light shows, he made a profound comment that has stuck with me ever since.   Many amateur rock shows would run strobe lights continuously.   That created a disturbing and mind numbing experience for band and audience alike.  He said, “The strobe light should be used once as an accent then put away and not used again for the rest of the night.”

That was a tremendous observation in artistry.  There is a place for the strobe light, as a highlight at some point in the show as a flash of lightning is in a thunderstorm.  This is true for difficulty.  A truly difficult stunt should be the highlight of the routine. The accent that stands out as the signature piece of the gymnast.  Routines that are filled with constant difficulty are like the mind numbing effect of the strobe lights in a rock concert.  Worse yet, the audience becomes immune to the difficulty like the drug addict who needs a higher high to get the satisfaction it had when he first became an addict.

The spiral since 1976 has continued so that great gymnastics becomes ho hum as the need for an even more difficult and dangerous trick is looked for.   If Bruno Grandi is serious about encouraging artistry, then the rules on difficulty need to be adjusted to penalize too many difficult stunts, and new rules drafted that reward maturity and artistry in performance.

Artistry demands maturity.  The controversy of the underaged Chinese gymnasts would be exposed easier if the rules forced mature artistry.  Children can not express artistry, only craft.  Craft is execution. They can be told like robots what to do to create the venear of artistry, but they have not reached the maturity that true artistry demands.  It is only in the late teen years as young adults that they become aware of what artistry really is.

So Bruno, penalize too many difficult stunts and reward artistry.

This question is on the mind of every gymnastics school in the world.  The industry is based upon the 4 year cycle of the Olympics.  When a favorable games occur with good television coverage of gymnastics, many little girls and some boys get excited and enroll into gyms all over.  That enthusiasm is sustained for about a year, maybe two.  Then the reality of how hard gymnastics sets in and many get discouraged and quit. By the third year a dip occurs and by the fourth year the bottom is touched.   But then the games occur and the cycle starts all over again.

The amount of enthusiasm an Olympiad generates for the sport is dependent upon several factors.  Was there a star?  That is an athlete who was very charismatic that kids want to emulate?  Was there drama?  A close contest, or, as in the case of Kerri Struggs, a demonstration of heroic character when she vaulted again after injurying her ankles.  Was there prime time coverage?  There are now several gymnastics disciplines being contested in the Olympics. Trampoline and Tumbling and Rhythmic Gymnastics  had joined Artistic Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics several years ago.  Yet I have not seen these events broadcast during prime time.  They have not grown (to my knowledge) significantly yet because of being in the Olympics.

So in these games let us consider the questions I have proposed.  Is there a star?  Well Nastia Liukin did win the gold medal in the AA, so that helps.  But she does not have the star quality of charisma.  Mary Lou Rettin had a huge impact on the industry because she is a bubbly delightful person, as well as a gold medalist.  Nadia Comaneci was an incredible athlete that really boosted the sport, but that was at a time when excellence was not as high, and she set a new standard.  She definitely did not have the charisma.  Shawn Johnson does have the charisma which is why I think she also got the media coverage. But she is a silver medalist and in the world of the Olympics, only the gold medalists are remembered.   So I am hopeful that Nastia will have an influence on the business, but I am not greatly encouraged.

Was there drama?  I  think there was some, but I really can not tell because of the third factor.

Was there prime time coverage?  When the first competition began they had it on prime time by tape delay.  Then I read that there was a complaint that people were getting the results off the internet and watching the videos online of the meets.   I think, and I could be wrong, that NBC made the decision to broadcast the meets live, which meant late at night.  I am getting on in years and do not stay up late, so I made the decision to get results online instead the next day.   Children, the bread and butter of the industry, are not allowed by many parents to stay up late.  So I fear that many kids did not see gymnastics, and that is what will probably hurt the industry the most.  We needed the prime time coverage.  Instead of seeing gymnastics we saw the Michael Phelps swim show, instead.

I think we will have some increase in business, but, frankly I fear it will not be enough.  We shall see as school gets underway.  Let us hope and pray for the best.

When the 2008 Olympics began in Beijing this week, Bruno Grandi, president of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, or the FIG, which creates the rules for all gymnastic disciplines, and governs all the international competition, made a statement regarding the rules changes in Artistic Gymnastics.  According to an article posted on the NBC website :

International Gymnastics Federation president Bruno Grandi said Saturday he soon will discuss curbing some of the difficulty athletes have been packing into their routines. The federation instituted a new scoring system in 2006, and it has led to gymnasts pushing the safety envelope while seeking higher scores.

“We need attention to the difficulty increases, which are too much,” Grandi said. “I’d like gymnastics to remain artistic, that we don’t lose this part, the artistic. It is not only a sport of biomechanical performance. Expressivity must remain.

When FIG scrapped the perfect 10 system after the 2004 Olympics controversy, its new judging method made difficulty a more significant factor. Now that the current system has been used for two years, Grandi is convinced it must be tweaked.

This is both laudable and commendable. I hope he manages to regain artistry in gymnastics.  But frankly, I believe that ship has sailed.

For readers unfamiliar with the full scope of gymnastics, I wish to interject since this is a Stunt Gym blog.  Gymnastics in the early 20th century taught all the disciplines together in the YMCA’s, Sokols, Turnveriens, and the school systems.  The full scope that they taught included all the equipment events (called Artistic Gymnastics), props (called Rhythmic Gymnastics), trampoline and tumbling, partner stunts (called Acrobatic Gymnastics) and group pyramids (left to the Cheerleaders, who also abandoned them).

Competition was governed by the Amateur Athletic Union, which governed a multitude of other sports besides gymnastics.  In the late 60’s, early 70’s, the United States Gymnastics Federation was formed, which is now known as USA Gymnastics,  because they had gained the FIG sanction.  Because the Olympics only included the events using equipment, the USGF abandoned all the other disciplines to concentrate on raising American gymnastics to international standards.  In that, they had succeeded in an outstanding way.  The other disciplines formed their own international organizations, but had a hard time gaining admittance into the Olympic competition.  Finally,  in the early 21st century, the International Olympic Committee declared that only those disciplines governed by the FIG could enter the Olympics, so they all disolved as organizations and merged with the FIG.  The same merger occurred at the national levels.

Getting back to Bruno Grandi’s comments regarding Artistic Gymnastics (the six events for men: 1. floor exercise, 2. pommel horse, 3. rings, 4. vault, 5. parallel bars, & 6. high bar; and the four events for women: 1. vault, 2. uneven bars, 3. beam, and 4. floor exercise).  Artistry has suffered because of the increase in difficulty. So he is right. The problem has been the influence of television and business. Extreme difficulty draws viewers and ratings.  And the more television broadcasts there are the more students tend to enroll in our gyms, which also increases the size of competitions and revenues for the governing bodies of the USAG, in the states, and the FIG, internationally.

The new rules were created to encourage even more difficulty, not for TV, per se, but in the interest of more equitable scoring for outstanding athletes and routines.  If Bruno is serious about increasing the artistry in Artistic Gymnastics, I have a few suggestions for him.

The high bar, unevens, rings and parallel bars are still beautiful artistic events.  Reducing difficulty for safety reasons should be pursued, but will not affect the artistry of these events.  I don’t know if pommel horse is considered dangerous, apart from athletic strains, so I see no need to change difficulty there.  Vaulting has little artistry anyway since they are one shot events.  Lower difficulty there for safety reasons.  However, floor and beam need major surgery. For both eliminate tumbling passes altogether.

In the early 1960’s tumbling was separate from floor exercise.  When tumbling stopped being a competitive event in Artistic Gymnastics, AG merely moved tumbling into the floor exercise.  Balance beam had little tumbling on the beam until the 1976 Olympics.   I had the privilege to watch  Abbie Grosfeld and Muriel Davis perform their floor exercise on 16mm film at the University of Washington back in 1974, and it inspired me with a vision of an artistic acrobatic dance style that was masculine for men, and fluid and aireal for women.   There are an abundant number of floor exercise movements that have been abandoned over the years as tumbling in floor became more and more difficult.  Tumbling is back under the FIG control.  Bruno, either make platform tumbling the seventh event for men and the fifth event for women, or let Artistic gymnasts join the Platform tumbling competition that already exists.   What ever is done, I am convinced that artistry in the floor exercise and beam will not be restored until tumbling is removed from these events.

The tempo, or dynamic skills as they are now called, are the flight skills of partnering stunts. Tosses and catches, tosses as mounts, and tosses as dismounts, are done in pairs, trios and groups. The examples below are given in pairs for convenience.

Foot Pitch to Stand

The foot pitch, or foos in German, is a toss from the hands holding one foot. It can be learned sitting down first. The illustration shows the base standing up. The hands of the base lay on top of each other, and not by clasping of the fingers. The base’s knees should close together so the hands rest on the legs before the toss. The ball of the top’s foot should go into the hands. The base may use index fingers to hold the heal. The top needs to lean over the base and stand up quickly locking the leg. The second leg should come alongside the first leg, but not step in the hand.

Boost or Waist Throw Timers

The boost or waist throw can be thrown from the front or back. It also is performed by groups.  It can be done from a stand or from movement by the top.   Most throws go over the head.  When performed from a stand, both partners bend their knees for the toss.  The base needs to get under the top as soon as possible. So when bending the knees he should get his chest as low as the top waist.  When tossing the base stands up with the top who is jumping.  The lift should begin with the legs, while the top is held at the base’s chest as the base stands.  When the base reaches top of his stand, then he follows through with the arms continuing the throw.  His back should remain straight during the knee bend and toss.

Cradles or Forearm Tosses

Cradles, or forearm tosses are done in pairs and groups.  The main hold should be the hands, not the forearms.  The hands should feel the control of the body for directing the toss.  When saltos are first taught in the catch, it is easier to catch in the forearms than in the hands of a basket. All tosses should have straight backs in the base. In this jump to cradle, the base should reach for the top to catch her as soon as possible.

Dismounts

Dismounts do not have to have flight, but when they do they are dynamic elements.  Beginners start low with jumps from the knee.  It actually is a little harder than from the shoulders or thighs, but being low to the ground reduces impact when falling.  The base should turn her foot outward to brace her knee.  She needs to tighten her muscles to keep the leg still.  The top should push down directly into the bones of the base leg and jump straight up. The base should direct her flight away from her.  If the top jumps backwards, then she will knock over the base.

In building pair balances there are basic families of stunts from which to build upon. The possibilities are multiplied with the number of people participating in the stunt. Thus variations have no end. To keep it simple, then, the basic stunts are presented in pairs.

Stand on Hands and Knees

The simplest balance is for the base to get on hands and knees while the top stands upon the hips.  In all balances the bones of all partners should line up vertically.  In this stunt the top can stand on the hips so that the top’s bones line up with the hips and thighs, or upon the shoulders for the arm’s of the base and the body of the top line up.  Standing on the spine is dangerous since there is no support under the back bone.  The top can face either way or do headstands or handstands on the base. If the base reversed herself with her stomach up, then she would be in a table position, thus changing the nature of the balance.

Pony Stand

When learning stunts, many skills can be done low to the ground. Here the top stands upon the hip while the base stands with back leaning forward, braced by hands on knees. Often the base will bend her knees for better control of the balance. When learning the stunt, a pony sit is usually taught first followed by a climb to a stand. But experienced athletes can mount in a variety of ways. As with the other stunts the top can face either way, stand sideways, lunge forward, do headstands, handstands or straddle levers followed by a press to handstand, and so on.   A third can be added for bracing, or a matching pair for a symmetrical pyramid.

Foot Bird

Birds, or swans, refer to the top position. Birds can face the base, face away in reverse, can be on the back or on the stomach. Legs can vary, back can arch to bird’s nest, and arms can be placed many ways. The base can use the feet as in this illustration to support the top, or the hands. The base can lay on her back for either feet or hands support, or kneel, lunge, or stand straight up.

Hand Knee Shoulder

Similar to learning a headstand, the hand-knee shoulder balance is one of the first inverted skills for the top to experience.  The base, laying on her back, should brace her legs so the knees don’t wobble for the support.  There are several ways to mount.   An easy mount for the top is for her to straddle the base’s stomach. place her shoulders in the bases hands, reach between her legs to put her hands on the bases knees, then climb up with one foot on a knee followed by the second.  From the tuck she slowly opens her legs to the shoulder stand.  The base controls the balance in all balances. The top should tighten her body.

Reverse Thigh Stand

Thigh stands are intermediate skills.   It can be taught with the base seated on her knees.  Then the base can sit on a box.  After they understand the skill they can climb up without props.  The top can face the partner, face away, or perform elbow stands or handstands on the thighs.  The base can also lunge for a stand on one leg or a 2:1 (two hands on one support point).  As with all balances, a third partner can be added or more to create a vast variety of pyramid combinations.

Shoulder Stand

As the height of the skills progress, the skill should be taught low to the floor first.  The base can sit on her knees while the top practices stepping on the thigh then to the shoulder.  Then the base can either stand in second position or lunge sideways for the climb. Top should keep weight of her body over the top while climbing. Top should raise arms as she climbs to giver her a handrail when on the shoulders.  Release one hand at a time to hold the back of the calf high up in the knee pit.  Pull gently downward and brace head against the shins.  Dismount in the front.

Hand to Hand

Hand to hands are the beginning of advanced stunts.  This illustration is a bent arm hand to hand.  The top can face the base,  face away (reverse) and can vary the legs, or arch the back.  The base can hold the top at her chest or high over head. The base can move by sitting down or standing up or sliding to splits.

The top can mount the hand to hand in a variety of ways.  From a side climb to shoulders or calf mount,  or from an inlocate lift, or even from a toss from a dynamic or tempo throw.

Stunting  can be done with 2 or a multitude of people. Balances are called pyramids when 3 or more participate.  Tossing and catching partners is called dynamics or tempo in competition.

There are two broad categories of pyramids.   Symmetrical and Asymmetrical.

A symmetrical pyramid is shaped like a mirror with one half exactly like the other half.  Symmetrical pyramids tend to have a large base which narrows at the top such as the pyramids of Egypt.  Symmetrical pyramids tend to be boring to behold and are best as background pyramids.

Asymmetrical pyramids  are off balance pyramids, thus are usually more interesting to behold and are best in the foreground.  Asymmetrical pyramids often have one base supporting two performers in a trio pyramid.  Also, the middle and the tops can move to create a new pyramid.

When pyramids are built it is important that no one talks during the execution oft  the stunt.  If a problem occurs, the partner in trouble needs to say down.  That partner will be heard if no one is talking.

Symmetrical pyramids are built and taken apart in logical order.  The base begins the pyramid.  The middles climb or mount next. The tops  mount last of all.  When dismounting the top comes down first, followed by the middle, then the base comes out.  If someone shouts “down” that does not mean everyone scrambles. As much as possible, the group needs to come down in the logical order.

Pyramids, both symmetrical and asymmetrical,  need the bones to line up and for the center of gravity to run vertically between the partners.  All performers need to tighten their muscles and to properly brace themselves so the pyramid is strong and still.

Gymnastics training in the basics does not mean in forward rolls. The basics refer to the family of movements in gymnastics and to position and form. Every discipline of gymnastics has their family of movements. In tumbling it refers to rolls, handstands, cartwheels, walkovers, handsprings and saltos. On the equipment there are families that are specific to the equipment. In acrobatics there are basic movement families for partners in the dynamic and balance movements.

Position and form refers to the correct shape of the body for the family of stunts, tightness and explosiveness or flexibility needed for the movements. Basics training is ongoing year round training. Basics need to be reviewed

Rolls

Rolls have many variations: tucked, piked, straddled, as stalder presses, from handstands, from dives and from saltos. Rolling shapes and positions have specific needs for each variation.

Cartwheels

Cartwheels should be mastered on both sides, although everyone has a favorite side. The expressions “righties” and “lefties” does not refer to the hand one writes with but which side is the favorite side. It needs to be understood when learning hurdles and stepouts. Sideways cartwheels have no connecting steps when power tumbling. Cartwheels are also performed forwards, that is with the hips square forward and finish backwards. Such cartwheels are used from a run and hurdle, for choreographic purposes, and for side aireals which are no handed cartwheels.

Handsprings

Handsprings are called that because of the after flight created from the spring off the hands for the landing. Round offs are not cartwheels, but are handsprings, having once been called Arabian Handsprings, a name that is still retained in the Arabian front flip, which is a round off half turn to front flip. Whips are actually saltos, since they are back handsprings with no hand contact, but are trained as back handsprings since they are usually connecting stunts and not finishing stunts as the saltos are to a pass.

Saltos

Saltos are the punctuation marks of tumbling. When in the middle of the pass they provide accent and when at the end of the pass they are exclamation marks. The salto is the most exciting part of the pass for it is pure flight. Saltos have to be properly blocked by the tumbler. Blocking refers to the placement of the feet on take off and landing. In take off and landing the feet should be in front of the gymnasts motion to change the motion from horizontal movement to vertical flight and landing so as not to stumble forward or backward after landing.

Training for all gymnastics by a good coach will be the learning of skills by parts.  A good coach will break a skill into several parts and use drills that help the gymnast move correctly in that part.  Gymnastic stunts take only a second to do, yet the gymnast has to make several movements in that stunt in the right order, at the right time and with the right amount of power.  The mind cannot do this.  Fortunately, the body is directed from the brain by the neural network, which gives us our feeling of touch, and is able to function in micro seconds.  Drills are used to train these nerves so that the body will do what it needs to do in a stunt automatically as a reflex.  This frees the gymnasts mind to know what is coming next in a routine.

The standing back handspring needs drill training for it to be performed effectively.  Many mistakes in the trick occur because of a lack of proper drills training.   The stunt can be divided into these 6 parts:

1. The sit and fall
2. The back dive
3. The handstand
4. The block
5. The snap down
6. The rebound.

So here we have six movements in a one second skill that has to be performed correctly in the right order, right time, right power, and the right form.  Let’s look at each phase of the skill.

The Sit and Fall

For a standing back handspring, as well as for the round off, back handspring,  the body must sit and fall backwards off balance in order for the flight of the back dive to travel correctly backwards.

The common mistake for a standing back handspring is for the gymnast to lean forward as he or she sits before the jump.  Doing so causes the flight to go up more than back.  As a result they end up with high back handsprings that land heavy in the handstand.

To train the correct beginning, have the gymnast sit on a box against a wall. The gymnast should sit so that he or she feels the wall with their back. Arms should swing down with the sit, then swing up at the same time the back hits the wall.

The Back Dive

From the sit and arm swing, the gymnast dives backward to a straight body position.  Placing a foam wedge on top of a landing mat will provide a soft landing for the drill as well as to give the sense of the angle for the dive.

The main point of confusion for a gymnast learning the back handspring is the thought that they must go to a handstand.  As a result they do not jump hard enough to put their body into flight.  The back dive is the back handspring.   The irony of the back handspring is that the lighter the jump the more dangerous the skill becomes.  The harder the jump the safer the skill and less painful the performance will be.  When doing this drill encourage the kids to go for distance on the jump.  Have them try to touch the top of the wedge with their hands.  Obviously, the wedge and mat have to be set a safe distance from the gymnast so that they do not dive past the mat.  If the gymnast is tall try placing a small stack of panel mats in front of the landing mat to increase the distance for the jump.  They should land with their legs straight and tight together with their arms straight and tight to their head.  Their whole bodies should be tight in the landing with their toes pointed.  Emphasize the toe point from the beginning of the jump, not just the landing on the mat.

The Handstand

It is important that the gymnast not rush past the handstand anxiously to get their feet on the ground.  The handstand landing has to be straight and tight.

Before doing this drill from the back handspring, have the gymnast kick to a handstand with the stomach facing the landing mat. Then they are to keep their body straight and tight as they fall on their stomach.   Teaching a back handspring presupposes that a handstand has been taught correctly first.  If the gymnast is relaxed on the landing he or she may injure their backs.  If they are landing correctly from the stand, then have them move about a body length away from the mat, or if your landing mat is large enough, have them stand on the mat for the back handspring.  Stop them in their handstand to straighten their bodies before the handstand flop landing.

The Block

Blocking is a term that has two meanings.  The original meaning was “to get in the way,” specifically with the feet when changing a forward or backward movement to a vertical movement as when flipping in the air.   As applied to the arms, however, blocking means “to push from the shoulders and wrists”.   If the handstand remains straight upon the landing, then the gymnast needs to vigorously block from the shoulders before snapping the legs down.   If the gymnast snaps the legs down first, there is no chance of a correct push of the upper torso for the stand.  If the block was performed at the right time correctly, the body should be in flight before landing on the feet.  If the hands remain on the ground when the feet hit, then there was no block.

There are many drills for working the block with the snap down.  Donkey hops, as see on the left, are blocks and snap downs done consecutively.  These are real gut busters.

The ability to block will hinge on the shoulder and arm strength of the gymnast.  If they haven’t the strength, then don’t expect them to block.  A conditioning program is vital and should begin on day 1 of any program.

The Snap Down

The snap down and block work together, so the separation is artificial.

The goal of the snap down is to bring the legs down forcefully while standing up quickly.  Using a box against the wall for the gymnast to kick to a handstand raises the athlete up, thus facilitating the stand upwards.

The main mistake of most beginners is that they fail to get their arms and upper torso up quickly from the snap down, thus causing their bodies to lean forward on the landing.   The only way another back handspring can be connected to the first, then is to squat deeply to help the body fall back again.  This is wrong and slows down the back handspring series when being learned.  Teach them to get up fast before introducing the series.

The Rebound

It should be a habit for the athletes to rebound after the skill.  In truth, correct tumbling is more rebounding than jumping.  The difference between a jump and a rebound is that in a jump the athlete bends the knees and jumps off the toes, whereas with a rebound the legs remain straight and the bounce comes from the arch of the foot and toe point.

Rebounding is faster than jumping because jumping requires more distance the body must travel with the knee bend and the straightening of the legs just to get off the ground, than the rebound which is very little movement.

The rebound should have pointed toes and feet. The arms should be up behind the ears.  The head should stay inside the arms in the neutral position of looking forward, not down.   The block and snap should have the feet land  far from the hands for the rebound.  When series are introduced the gymnast will have to learn to undercut.

A drill to help learn the rebound is to stiffen the legs and simple have them bounce on two feet all the way across the floor.

The Dream

Learning the back handspring is the dream of every beginner. The back handspring is an intermediate skill, but is considered a basic skill.  It is considered a basic skill because it is foundational to all tumbling.  But being basic does not mean that it is learned quickly and mastered readily.

Kindling the Flame

Learning a back handspring is like starting a campfire.  We all want the large logs to burn for a lasting fire.  However, if you put a match to a log, it will not ignite.  To build the fire you build a stack of wood with the smallest pieces, called kindling, on the bottom, larger pieces, called tender, with the logs on top of the stack. When you light the match the kindling will ignite first, which will build enough of a fire to ignite the tender, which will also grow big enough to ignite the log.  Notice, however, that the logs are already on top of the tender and kindling.  That way, the flame of the match goes to the log through the kindling and tender.

The comparison intended is that a back handspring has to be taught right away to beginners.  The log compares to the back handspring, but the kindling and tender compares to drills.  Beginners who just jump into the back handspring (the log) without the drills first (kindling and tender) will not have strong back handsprings.

What Are Drills?

So, coaches understand this, and begin all beginners on drills that apply to the back handsprings as well as other skills.  Drills are skills broken down into parts.  Every skill has different parts to the skills that when combined together create the skills.  So while your coach may be working you on other things besides back handsprings, trust him or her, because they are building the back handspring from the parts that they are training.

The Need for Drills in Back Handsprings

In the middle of the handspring you can see the handstand.  Handstand training is the brick of the wall of tumbling.  All tumbling skills pass through the handstand. A handstand should be straight so that the bones of the body all line up.  If the bones are in line, they can hold up to 600 lbs of weight. According to a USAG study, a typical round off back handspring performed by a properly trained gymnast increases the body weight by five times due to velocity and centrifugal force.  That means a 100 lb gymnast has a 500 lb force of impact on her handstand!  But the bones can hold 600 lbs if aligned properly.  Now imagine the bones out of line with the head sticking out and the back in an arch.

Unless the muscles are very strong, the athlete will collapse upon impact.   But even with the bones in a straight line, the muscles still have to hold them in place.  So your coach also needs to train your body in overall tightness and increase your muscle strength so they can hold the bones in place.