Basic skills needed for handsprings and aerials

[ironskeleton]

having problems with handsprings or aerials?
you might have a problem with the basic skills needed for these moves.


the basic skills
front splits (you can go w/o side splits for a while)
bridge
patience
handstand
cartwheel


*front splits are required for awesome kicks, cartwheels and all its kind (roundoffs, aerials...).
*a bridge is required for handsprings and for learning handstands without bruising your back. it isn't just about improving back flexibility either, SHOULDER flexibility is developed in a bridge. and shoulder flexibility is essential to producing an optimal golf swing.
*patience is required for life.
*handstands are required for handsprings.
*cartwheels, they sound so simple yet not being able to do one correctly makes doing aerials more difficult, and makes doing aesthetically pleasing aerials next to impossible.


Front Splits
you need a split of around 130 or so degrees in order to get a powerful (and pretty) cartwheel/aerial. but to be supercool, you need a split of 180 degrees. so go for the 180.

*******square your hips******* the most common mistake people make is not squaring their hips. so important.

wrong way

see how unhappy not having square hips can make you

correct way
(i forgot to take this picture, i'll make it later)

how you can progress if you're still far from the ground:
if your split currently doesn't allow you to keep a straight back when you support yourself with your hands next to your side, place you hands further in front of you and bend fowards from the hips, making sure you keep your back straight and hips square.
and keep relaxed! tensing up limits your potential so constanly make sure you are staying relaxed.

stop doing this


and do this


let your hips be pulled straight down, its the only way to progress and keep your hips square. always keep your center facing straight foward too!

a wonderful stretch for your hamstrings (one of the buttheads in your way from the splits) that also makes it easy for you to learn how it feels to have your hips square is this...

wrong way

the hips should be turned to where the white line would be where the red line is.

right way

my leg is dropping in that firtst one, i was super exhausted taking these.

place all your weight on one leg. lift the other leg straight back behind you and let your chest be pulled down. keep your supporting leg perpendicular to the ground, and place the opposite hand in the place the other foot is suppose to be.
notice how your hips turn out when you raise your leg and the hip of your lifted leg is higher than your other hip? to fix your hips, relax any tension in them and turn your belly button and thigh straight towards the ground. feel how your hips shifted? that is what is meant by square hips.
and your hamstring should really feel a stretch now. focus on keeping your belly button facing foward, your hips relaxed and your back leg raised as high as possible without comprimising your hip position.



Bridge
can't do a bridge? wonderful! you'll soon be able to.

wrong way


take off your socks and straighten your legs to push your shoulders over your hands. this is the most important part of a bridge.
PUSH YOUR SHOULDERS OVER YOUR HANDS!
don't worry about how far away your feet are from your hands, shortening that distance comes from increasing back flexibility.
support your weight with the heel of your hand.
keeps your elbows straight but not locked.
don't bend your back at one point, bend it evenly.
look (or try to) at your hands.
keep your feet flat and no wider than shoulder width apart.
STAY RELAXED!

correct way


always counter back bending with front bending

hah, i've never seen how silly i look like that.

to do this stretch, lay on your back, kick your legs over your head. relax your back and let the weight of your legs pull them down.


handstand
there is no wrong way to do a handstand. if its wrong you wont be able to do a handstand.

the only way to get a handstand down is to do it a thousand times with heart.

solid shoulder, core and back strength are needed for handstands. if you don't have all three, get them.


cartwheel
learn to do these on both sides. one side is going to be much weaker than the other. don't let it stay like that.

put a piece of tape down and practice on it.
start facing foward. turn a quarter turn as you place your hands down. you'll pass through a straddle handstand positition, and then you turn a quarter turn again as you place your feet down. it helps to stay straight if your keep your eyes on where your feet are going to land, it keeps you oriented.

*****do not reach foward unless you are doing a roundoff*****
a roundoff IS NOT a cartwheel that you land with your feet together.
think of a roundoff as a combination of a cartwheel and a handspring. your starting and hand position is like a cartwheel, but the direction of your momentum and how you push off the ground using your shoulders is like a handspring.

cartwheel- reach down, push up off your leg.
roundoff- reach out, push up and out off your leg.


**back to the cartwheel**
after you are comfortable with the movement, focus on making it quicker and as tight as possible, meaning you travel foward as little as possible. when you have this, add a powerful hop DOWN, this adds a spring to the start of your cartwheel and gives you more air. you should either have, or be close to, a tight aerial now.

[Jujimufu]

Salvaged upon request.

[TartanPajamas]

Nice back flexibility.

[ZoVEGA]

Just wanna say, As a gymnastics coach Its good to see some one on here that embraces the basic but VERY important aspect of gymnastics, (not saying people dont, its just nice to see it addressed) GOOD JOB! if you post anything else do let know. TANKHX {are you tippin cause you could read that. (O_o) }

[AL-X]

I didn't know that stuff about the bridge OO
nice to know =]

[Dragonic MiKe]

My cousin has that bob marley poster!

... Yes, the bridge tips are nice. I'm working on my back flexibility at the moment. :)

[notregan]

EUGH, can this be unsalvaged?

[Solfire]

This was a very good read! Thanks for the tut!

[shengoikee]

haha i remember this. dang, iv gotta unlearn aerials and get myself the splits.

[Andy Longcat]

hey Regan, nice monobrow lollllll