help with tucking for backflip

[Itasandstorm]

I need help with my backflip:eh:...i'm trying it on mats but i really can't tuck, i don't know why: when i jump i try to move my legs to my chest but i can't manage to do this before falling down (on my head:dead:)...
i tried to jump higher and in different ways (looking at a lot of different videos for finding the best tech) but i can't tuck anyway:eh:.

any tip?

[ArmouredNinja]

Are you pulling your legs closer with your hands? Could you get a video of you doing it. It could help out in helping you.

The only things I can tell you for a tuck is keep your head neutral, when you go to start, bring your arms down and bend your knees. Once you go up for a tuck, explode off your feet by jumping and using your arms. Throw them all the way above your head, and try to get maximum height. Then, at the peak of the jump, tuck your legs in by pulling in with your arms (best to place your hands at the back of the knee). Also, the faster you can tuck, the faster you'll be able to spin and land. Hold that tuck and do not bail out of it. Then just land on your feet.

Just keep practicing, but don't frustrate yourself. And if you don't land some, take a break and go back to it later.

I hope this helped at all. Best of luck.

[WilliamT]

post a vid!!!

[Itasandstorm]

thanks for the suggestions...i'll try to get maximum height tomorrow
i think that's the problem because when i tuck i'm falling down so i need more height.

PS: i haven't a camera

EDIT: using videos of my cellphose (which i can't put on pc because i lost the cable) i mage a simpe .jpg showing the sequence of what happens when i try to backflip...it is really accurate:wink:

[wi boo]

do you have any mats or foam pits or spotters who can help you?

[WilliamT]

you are afraid of breaking your neck, so you aren't jumping to your full potential. jump up as high as you can and then tuck, you cant be afraid of the move. You wont land it if you are afraid.

[Itasandstorm]

i'm actually trying on mats :wink:

yes maybe i'm afraid...i really don't know but when i think about it without doing it (like now) it seems simple, but when i jump i need time to move...tomorrow i'll try again trying to not be afraid:eh:

[Itasandstorm]

ok today i tried again...now i'm jumping a little more higher (i'm sure of this because i compared my videos), but still when i tuck i fall down...
i made another sequence of what happens now (note that i can't tuck completely even when i fall)

[Karuge]

If you do it in the same way as in those pictures....you are jumping backwards......JUMP UP!! UP!!! DIRECTLY UP!! if you jump backwards, you'll kill your momentum and end up on your head!! :tongue:

Step one: Look forwards, to a target....

Step two: Jump UP and USE YOUR ARMS!! swing them up as fast and as hard as you can as soon as you are about to jump.....

Step three: Wait for the peak of your jump.....still look forward..after you have jumped as high as you can..TUCK!! pull your knees tight against your chest as fast and as hard as you can...this will allow you to spin around your centre of gravity

Step four:.....extend your legs and land.......tahdah :juji:

[Itasandstorm]

yes you're right, but i was confused by different videos on youtube, where ppl said you have to jump up but in the slowmotion example they jump backwards...i'll try to only jump up and then tuck
another problem i found by looking my vids is that i jump with only one leg the most of the times, so i'll fix this too
thanks for the tips, i'm gonna try soon :smile:

edit: should i throw my arms behind me when i reach the peak of my jump?

[Trixter-Mike]

yes you're right, but i was confused by different videos on youtube, where ppl said you have to jump up but in the slowmotion example they jump backwards...i'll try to only jump up and then tuck
another problem i found by looking my vids is that i jump with only one leg the most of the times, so i'll fix this too
thanks for the tips, i'm gonna try soon :smile:

edit: should i throw my arms behind me when i reach the peak of my jump?
Arms should be like this..

\0 ---------head+arms
) ---------arched back
/\ ---------legs

Of course it should be a bit more angled but i can't explain it better right now because i don't want to open Paint haha.
And don't look to people with a bad technique.. A backflip going backwards is :bad: .
Look at the pro's.. Get a sampler of them, cut out a backflip from the sampler and play it in slow-motion.
That's where i copy my technique from.

[Itasandstorm]

ok i tried but still i can't tuck in air...it's strange but when i jump at my maximum height i can't tuck in time...
doh i'll try to find a spotter, even if i don't undersand how it would help me when i'll try it by myself

[Karuge]

I think you are scared....because when you get scared of it, your body freezes and locks up....or at least your movements slow down a lot :dead:

[dong]

Okay, I think when you say "maximum height" you're referring to using all the explosive power in your legs...two things here:

1) Work on your explosive power "fast, not strong!"
2) Don't overcommit your leg strength so you have no time to tuck. By the time you reach the apex of your jump in reality, that's when the legs are already tucking up and over.

This is why it's so friggen important to use those arms: every unit in your body has to be commited. Furthermore if you swing the arms without jumping backwards, the resulting tension constitutes a stall, which will make initiating the rotation easier.

First time I landed the backflip, I landed on my knees pretty much because the arms were all flopping as opposed to driving. When I fixed that, I then over-rotated and landed on my ass (a sign of maladaptive conditioning, to be sure!) When the technique's right, it's deceptively easy ;)

[Karuge]

When the technique's right, it's deceptively easy ;)

Indeed :tongue: :wink: :juji:

[Itasandstorm]

thanks for all the tips, i'm going to try later and post here my results (i hope better results). anyway i'm looking to backflip videos and trying to improve the tech *in my mind*

[broertjetim]

also a thing you have to keep in mind that fear can scew up your backflip

Like afraid from jumping high+ stalling
tucking to soon out of fear
find yourself a soft mat to pratise the backflip :)

[Ty1990]

well are you

jumping to max hieght
useing your damn armes
jumpfast and hard
dont push your head down during the tuck, instead pull your knees over.

[TKD-Man]

Also bring your knees to your chest before you start rotating! At least I had this problem that I started tucking too late.

[Itasandstorm]

i keep falling on my head...i probably need more exercise since i'm not afraid of it...actually i fell so many times i simply can't be scared anymore by breaking my neck i'm sure about this
i just reached a new height record (for myself of course), so i think that with more practice i could do better

edit: thanks for the tip, actually i'm trying to do this but not everytime i start tucking at the right moment....still need more practice...again...

[Kosha]

Hi guyes,

I'm kind of new here. Well I ve got a problem. I've learned how to do a backflip about in two weeks and i felt soooo good. But when I showed a vid of myself to my parents they were everything except happy for me. They just freaked out.(well they saw some scenes where i hurted myself and stuff) I know it's quite dangerous, its like we've got one chance to do it, even pro trickster could get a nasty injury (wheelchair forever) or maybe die. And i though if somebody could give me an advice what i have to do next. they are totally against the backwards rotations (my father had some creepy experience in the past, well he saw somebody who died because of the somersault). and i want to get better sooo bad. help me out by giving me an advice.

Thanks for reading

Kosha