can't land backflip

[Kiefus]

I don't know why, but I can only land a backflip on my knees. I'm not afraid of it all and have done plenty of them but still no cigar. People say they're so easy, but not for me...

[Wesker]

You can't because if you could you would break your neck. If you treasure your life, I suggest you seize all backflip practice forever.

[Grenkutzu]

It could be because you tuck too late, or you don't tuck hard or fast enough. As soon as your feet leave the ground, then you begin your tuck.

KNEES TO CHEST, KNEES TO CHEST!

[Mikey]

i bet (and this is a VERY common problem) that you're whipping back more than you're jumping up.

[Iikkap]

i once headplanted on a mattress, after that i was scared, and kinda like unintentionally always landed on my knees, cuz they seemed to come down faster, and i didn't wanna headplant again...

so then i was like "why am i doing this?" and did a proper one. yay.

[Danny]

It will be more usefull if you post a vid.

[jaybomb]

yeah, vid would roxor my soxorz too.

some people (like me) just dont tuck much when they back flip. this isnt that bad if your vertical jump is killer (like mine :P).
knees, despite their lack of tiny bones, are to be treated with respect because when you dont have them, im afraid that is the end for you. so yeah, my advice (untill i see a vid) is work on your jump.

[The Alien Elite]

As soon as your feet leave the ground, then you begin your tuck.


Doesn't this contradict Dogen's center of gravity tutorial?

[LodeRunner]

uhhh... unless you are able to rip your body around ridiculously fast.. ignore the comment saying you should tuck as soon as you jump. You're more likely to get hurt this way.. and land badly.

Practice just jumping straight up (not saulting) as high as you can, using your arms swinging for momentum.. do that a few times, then do a backsault and force yourself to do the same take-off.

Another thing that might work is take a few steps forward and then force yourself to do a backsault without standing still for too long. When i was learning backsaults (not that long ago) i found that when i stood in the same spot for a while it made me lean back too much for the take-off. If you're landing a metre or so -behind- where you took off from, this is likely your problem. Hope this helps.