Performing a flip over your shoulder, or a back flip, is no easy task. Back handsprings and back tucks are popular gymnastics maneuvers you can perform by flipping over your shoulder. In fact, many gymnastics routines combine back handsprings with back tucks. To perform a back handspring, you flip backward, touch your hands to the floor and push off with your hands to complete the flip. A back tuck is more like a backward summersault performed in the air, and you don’t touch your hands to the floor. For many people, a back handspring is an easier maneuver than a back tuck.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, more than 22,000 kids younger than age 14 were treated in hospitals for gymnastics injuries in the year 2009. You or your child can successfully learn how to perform a flip over your shoulder, or back handspring, with proper training if your doctor doesn’t restrict you from doing so for health reasons.
FIND A COACH
When you’re first starting out, train with a qualified gymnastics coach to help reduce your risk for gymnastics injuries. A good coach will help spot you, especially the first few times you attempt a back handspring. Many gymnastics coaches work out of gymnastics gymnasiums, which are some of the safest places to practice gymnastics skills.
GET STARTED
When you first start attempting back handsprings, practice on a mat. Begin by standing up with your feet fairly close together and your arms straight up directly above your head. When you’re in this starting position, mentally focus on using proper form and technique during your standing back handspring.
BUILD MOMENTUM
Build momentum by swinging your arms down past the sides of your body, keeping the arms straight. At the same time, bend your knees and tuck your chin downward. During this phase of a back handspring, you’re building the momentum you need to successfully flip your legs over and around your body and shoulders.
PUSH BACKWARD
During this phase, use your legs to push your body up and backward. Swing your arms above your head again and arch your back. Using a coach and spotter is extremely important during this phase. When you’re first starting out, you also can push backward on top of and over a soft gymnastics barrel to become familiar with the motion of a back handspring. During this phase, your body should eventually reach a position similar to a back bend.
FLIP YOUR BODY
After you push backward and arch your back, land with your hands on the mat and begin to rotate your legs and body over and around your shoulders. Your head should not touch the floor at any time during a back handspring. Using momentum from your legs, keep them fairly straight and continue to rotate them up and around your shoulders and hands until you land standing upright and back in your starting position.
Posted in: Gymnastics