TumblingTIPS™

Home Page
About us
Store
Camps
Find a certified coach in your area
TumblingTIPS
Feedback
Mailing list
Links
Policies

Handspring Ends on Knees


Hey Coach Wayne-
I am an instructor for a jr.peewee cheer team and a girl on the squad can do a back handspring but always lands on her knees if i don't spot her enough. What do you think she is doing wrong and what can help her. Thanks!


Hey,
:-)

The handspring to squat is caused by a weak handstand and poor coordination in the EXIT from the handspring.  If you look carefully at a well-formed handspring, you'll see that the handspring is a HANDSTAND-based skill.
To get your student off her knees, we must STRENGTHEN her handstand entrance and exit.

Instead of a two-foot snap-down. Let's modify her exit to a "step-out."

The easiest way to develop her coordination and confidence with this exit is to have her practice the "step-in and step-out" of a HANDSTAND until she is proficient.


Have her step-in and step-out of her handstand 10 times each practice, first on her right leg, then on her left. She can place her hands near a wall and lean against the wall for support. If she needs a spotter to help her safely step to the handstand and down again, she does not need to be practicing her handspring at all yet; regress until she can step to handstand against a wall by herself. If your student has NEVER done this before, she may need a spot for the first 50 handstands, but after the first 50, she should be on her own. A mat up against the wall and on the floor will make her feel more confident, but she should be PLACING her hands softly on the floor in exactly the same location each time, not slapping them on the floor. And she should be swinging her legs to the handstand and gently letting them rest against the wall for balance, not slapping them against the wall.


As a coach, you must DEMAND excellence in her simple step-to-handstand. IMPORTANTLY: To help with coordination, make sure she KEEPS her EYES focused on where she is ABOUT to contact the floor (hands/feet) when she is moving into and out of the handstand.

Once she can step into and out of the handSTAND, she is ready to step out of the handSPRING. When you spot her handspring, slow her AT THE HANDSTAND just a bit so she recognizes the handstand position. Have her stretch a STRAIGHT body in the handstand position; then ask her to step out. As soon as she realizes the handstand position in the handspring, she should not need ANY help with her exit. Whether she jumps back into the handstand position or steps forwards into it, the familiar position will be the same.

Make sure she's covering the proper distance in her handspring. The placement of the hands and feet in the handspring can be precisely selected with an unchanging benchmark.  Now you can use your tablet to help build specific strength for superior tumbling, click to find out how.  


While the step-out exit is beautiful and a valuable skill by itself, your student will still need the snap-down rebound exit for multiple handsprings and for entering backflips. By practicing her step-to-handstand DAILY with both her LEFT and RIGHT legs in the lunge she'll be COORDINATED for the two-foot landing, and it will take a load off your back while spotting. But, we'll have to save the SNAP-DOWN rebound (two-foot exit) for another TumblingTIP.

Have fun; be safe; push HARD.
~CoachWayne!

You may also be interested in the following:
(FLASH player permission is required to view animations.)
Back Tuck Progressions
Benchmarks of Excellence
Cross Arm Spot 
Gymnastics Jump
Jump, Set, Tuck
Lunge to Handstand 
Round-Off Hand Placement
Straight Body Fall


 


Coach Wayne was the Head Coach for the Savannah College of Art and Design Cheerleading team and Executive Coach of Olympic Gymnast Zuzana Sekerova. His articles, videos, and books have been used by students and instructors worldwide since 1991. Coach Wayne is available for tumbling instructor certification training. For booking information, coaches/owners should text or call 912.238.1747.

 



NEXT TIP >>>
<<< LAST TIP

TumblingTIPS Index



 

Learn to spot!
Call NOW 912-238-1747
  • Time-tested techniques
  • Handsprings, Flips, Twisting


 



Hi. I recently bought your video on how to do a better back handspring. I am a cheerleading instructor (it's my first year) and I have discovered that I also need to be a tumbling instructor as well. Although I grew up cheering and mastered many tumbling skills myself, I had forgotten the learning process and need tips on how to really teach correct form and control. I now pretend I am Coach Wayne in practice and make my girls do the drills you have taught. WOW! I saw an improvement on the first day!

 



 



NEXT TIP >>>
<<< LAST TIP


TumblingTIPS Index