Taking time off of a trick

[prosteve037]

I've been working on backhandsprings lately and I just can't seem to get them. Every time I try, I end up dropping my shoulder and/or turning my head to the right while going back. I can back tuck fine and I can whip a backflip fine but when I have to put my hands down first, I just can't seem to do them. I used to be able to at least land on my hands and pull my legs over but now I can't out of fear.

Even on the trampoline or on a mat, I turn my head and land in a reverse roundoff/cartwheel type thing.

So having said that, I was just wondering if I should keep drilling them and land horribly or take time off of doing them to keep bad habits away and do them some other time.

Thanks

[carney]

A bit of rest couldn't hurt if you feel your getting worse, And its prob smart to take that time off if so. (Thats how i lost tricks).

But my way of teaching a BHS is:

Treat your first BHS as a whip back and just touch the ground on landing!
Slowly try landing more on your hands then your feet.
Then work on changing the whip back from less up and more back. Do this gradually at a comfortable pace.
Over time you will create more confidence and feel more power and security about just jumping back on the hands and snaping your body correctly.

People may disagree with this teaching method but its worked for teaching the average person who can backflip but has no access to mats or equipment for assistence.


EDIT: also seeing as its fear, and alot of people fear landing on there head seeing as the BHS in imagination is so freaky! Thats were you need to step in and just not think, Relax your mind. Reinforce in your head its really simple. And on a spontaneous reflex just throw them. After you get 5 or so down i garentee you will stand there with a sour look on your face thinking well that was just too fucking simple. And thats how it is with alot of tricks. They maybe scary but you just need to relax know the trick and throw it. Its how i have gotten the best result to alot of my tricks. Fear is just a little bitch that you need to work through and ignoring it and not following its negative thoughts feeding you is key. Dont give it 1 second in your mind - be spontaneous - Have a new trick on the way to perfection in 5 min!

[prosteve037]

I was thinking of the same method today lol

Yours is a lot more in-depth though ^^

I think the fear comes from landing on my arms and hyperextending them :/ I was thinking maybe I can bend my arms a little more so that they're less prone to damage perhaps? The large armswing that a lot of people use throws me off and I believe it to be the reason why I turn my head out of fear for my elbows...

I see that you do exactly what I'm talking about with your arms in your bhs tut. You kind of position your arms as though you're not reaching for the ground but rather you're intercepting it.

[wi boo]

Get a giant mat or something thats about waist height, then jump straight back onto it.

You can maybe practice on one of those rounnd pac-man looking mats.

Its like the first time, trying a backflip, it was pretty scary but you just have to do it, there is really not much else you can do aside from practice the techniques, or build up to it, your eventually gonna have to just go for it.

Good luck

[carney]

I was thinking of the same method today lol

Yours is a lot more in-depth though ^^

I think the fear comes from landing on my arms and hyperextending them :/ I was thinking maybe I can bend my arms a little more so that they're less prone to damage perhaps? The large armswing that a lot of people use throws me off and I believe it to be the reason why I turn my head out of fear for my elbows...

I see that you do exactly what I'm talking about with your arms in your bhs tut. You kind of position your arms as though you're not reaching for the ground but rather you're intercepting it.

Yeah mate, Oh so you saw my old video tutorial!
Mine started off very roundish but over time it clicked if you see more up to date late 2007 early 2008 onwards i have a lot cleaner BHS.

Well you never need to have your arms Straight, And if they are how do you expect to push back off to return on your feet! So keep them that bit bent the whole time so you can land and push off straight away:wink:

If you never have been injured by it i wouldn't worry about a none existent problem, your just letting the fear get the better of you. There really is nothing to worry about!

And having a whip back should boost your confidence. Seeing as you know you wont land on your head:juji:

[brandonn]

I find myself taking time off certain tricks quite often, actually. I look at it how I looked at test questions in high school and college tests...If you get stuck on something, move on to other things and come back to it later. Maybe with your new perspective, it will be a bit easier to wrap your mind around.

With something like a back hand spring, it's important to learn this before moving on to much else. However, take this time to drill your round offs, aerials, pop 360s. if you can, try bhs's on a trampoline. really focus on stretching them out and not just doing a back tuck where your hands touch the ground.


good luck man!

[TKD_Andy]

taking time off is certainly not a bad idea.

I find that if im trying a move over and over and im still not landing it or getting the technique right, i have to force myself to stop trying it, because if you're drilling and failing, you're just drilling bad technique.

Perfect practise makes perfect ~ Ben brown

with the bhs, fuck treating it like a bflip and putting your hands down, or any other crap with mats/tramps etc, ITS POINTLESS! Just get a spotter. They'll force you to go straight over backwards and you can take it slowly and get supported. That is honestly THE best way to get a bhs down :good:

the biggest thing is not to get stressed about it; tricking is fun, and you should keep it that way. If you find yourself getting pissed off with a move that you cant do, just do something else that you can do and work them in stead, then when your ready and hyped up, try the move you've been struggling with.

[prosteve037]

Thanks a bunch guys. You guys really cleared things up for me. ;]

And @ Carney, yes I have watched your recent backhandsprings and they're pretty sexy I must say lol

I don't really have a spotter though so I guess I'll just work on something else in the mean time.

Thanks again!

EDIT: I just drilled them up the wazoo on the trampoline. I broke through the habit ^^ lol at least for right now

I'm gonna try on mat and hopefully on grass soon. I'll try to get footage of it soon.

I started with whips and just normal back flipping techniques. Then I started to do whips with my arms extended as if I was going to land on my hands like a bhs and wasn't that successful. Then I started to practice the takeoff, a 45 degree jump backwards landing on my feet (like a very low whip). This was when I started to realize that it wasn't the fear of landing on my arms that made me twist but instead it was the fear of not getting enough height/time for me to arch and place my hands on the ground without having my head smashed in :P

I drilled the jump and started to extend my arms a little over time, at first doing the typical backflip with touching the ground. I got more and more confident with it and I ended up taking off like a normal bhs. That's how I fixed it!

[carney]

Thanks a bunch guys. You guys really cleared things up for me. ;]

And @ Carney, yes I have watched your recent backhandsprings and they're pretty sexy I must say lol

I don't really have a spotter though so I guess I'll just work on something else in the mean time.

Thanks again!

EDIT: I just drilled them up the wazoo on the trampoline. I broke through the habit ^^ lol at least for right now

I'm gonna try on mat and hopefully on grass soon. I'll try to get footage of it soon.

I started with whips and just normal back flipping techniques. Then I started to do whips with my arms extended as if I was going to land on my hands like a bhs and wasn't that successful. Then I started to practice the takeoff, a 45 degree jump backwards landing on my feet (like a very low whip). This was when I started to realize that it wasn't the fear of landing on my arms that made me twist but instead it was the fear of not getting enough height/time for me to arch and place my hands on the ground without having my head smashed in :P

I drilled the jump and started to extend my arms a little over time, at first doing the typical backflip with touching the ground. I got more and more confident with it and I ended up taking off like a normal bhs. That's how I fixed it!

:juji: Good job big gun, Congrats... now keep the progression flowing, And the BHS will be your bitch in no time!

[prosteve037]

haha Thanks a bunch Mr. Carney!

btw, I added you on Myspace.

[carney]

haha Thanks a bunch Mr. Carney!

btw, I added you on Myspace.

No probs mate, Sweet as, Just accepted you :tongue: