Warning: Stunting and tumbling can be dangerous without the correct supervision. Do not attempt these skills without a coach present.
- Never bend your arms!
- Sit, Jump, THEN Arch
- Extend through your toes
- Jump at a 45
Never Bend Your Arms!
This is a very beginner mistake, but by bending your arms you are engaging your arm muscles. These muscles are week compared to muscles like your legs or your core. By keeping your arms straight, you transfer the energy to the stronger muscles. You also protect your head from landing on the ground. Initial impact with bent arms can cause you bend even more, eventually leading to a head crashing into the ground.
You don’t need to bend your arms!
Sit, Jump, THEN Arch
Another common mistake is arching before your jump. It’s very important that you remember to follow this order. Arching before you jump, you end up losing power from your jump. This can prevent you from having enough power to get over.
This is not to belittle the sit of the back handspring. The sit is important, you should sit so that your knees are at a 90 degree angle and your back is 90 degrees to your thighs. You should look like a capital “H” without the top left and bottom right line.
The Jump should extend your body in a straight line, 45 degrees to the ground. Your body should extend fully before you begin to arch.
The arch happens in the shoulder and upper back area. You don’t need a ton of back flexibility, but some will help. Bridges with straight arms and legs will help with this.
Jump Through Your Toes
Pushing all the way through your toes will maximize the amount of power your back handspring will have. The more power you put into it, the easier and safer it will be.
Try this exercise:
Stand with your feet together and bend your knees. Now, without extending your knees at all, jump as high as you can.
Now, try the same thing, but this time allow your knees to extend and finish by pushing through your toes.
Which one was easier? Which one got more height?
If you think the first one was easier, you were probably doing the drill incorrectly. The second one allows you to use your entire leg to jump, giving you more height and power. This is the way we normally jump.
The reason this item is called “Jump through your toes” is because if you think about jumping through your toes you normally will extend your entire legs, giving you maximum power in your back handspring.
Jump at a 45
In cheerleading we want our back handsprings to be as long as possible. The longer your back handspring the more power you should have for your next trick. Back handsprings are a building skill, each successive one should be faster and more powerful then the last.
Longer back handsprings generate more power (in general). Jumping at a 45 degree angle maximizes the length and therefore the power. Here’s why:
Imagine you have a soccer ball, and want to kick it as far as possible. First you try kicking it straight out on the ground. It starts out going fast, but as it comes in contact with the ground it slows down.
Next you try kickng it straight up in the air. It won’t hit the ground at all, but it doesn’t go very far either.
It turns out that the way to get the fall the furthest is to kick it halfway straight up and halfway straight out, which is a 45 degree angle. Kicking the ball this way will prevent it form hitting the ground and stopping it too early, but will also provide a sense of direction.
The back handspring is just like the soccer ball, you want to get the most distance. Jumping at a 45 degree angle, or half up and half back, will give you the most distance. This distance translates to power, which in the end is what the back handspring is all about.
Conclusion
Back handsprings are not easy for most people. It takes practice and skill to get it. These for tips aren’t all I ever say when coaching back handsprings, but more often than not, if a back handspring needs work, it’s in one of these mentioned areas.
Remember, no written instruction can substitute for a good coach. So if you are working on your back handspring, find a good coach and get practicing! Good luck!