One method of spotting the level 4 dismount

Old footage from 2011, Colorado Aerials- One method of spotting the level 4 dismount, if needed:

Round-off Turnover & developing a long backhandspring

Back handspring & round off drills for pike down technique

Bar Basics with Tom Stevens

Swing Big links to a bars clinic by Tom Stevens:

Great spotting or predictable good spotting?

A number of people seem to be praising this- non-gymnasts and gymnasts alike- due to the fantastic rescue spotting being performed....twice:

Italian gymnast Sara Berardinelli had a bit of trouble with the uneven parallel bars at the L’International Gymnix competition in Canada, but fortunately her coach was there to bail her out of trouble. When Berardinelli just missed clearing the bar, sending her spinning to the ground, Berardinelli’s coach stopped her momentum just a few inches from the mat.

Berardinelli reacts to the fall like a total pro. Despite nearly landing on her head, she immediately pops up without missing a beat and gets ready go back on the bars. She made the same mistake again, but her coach was in the right place at the right time.

 That she does this a second time and that her coach catches her a 2nd time, makes one wonder if Berardinelli hasn't hit the bar like this before during practice and he already was anticipating what might happen that first time.

Some commenters also question the coaching judgment, wondering that she shouldn't be competing this; but spend more time on practicing the technical aspect. 

The problem in my opinion is that improving upon the technical aspect of this technique isn't the primary problem:  It's teaching this kind of technique, itself- the swing through bail with no real tap and up to handstand, arch and sit-up then dump yourself over the bar kind of technique usually only seen in women's gymnastics; as opposed to the technique taught "men's style", push away from the bar and open on the bail, kick forward early and pull down on the bar, stop the feet and throw.  This type of technique is more a "true" Tkatchev, generating strong counter-rotation and not just a sit up, fall on the other side of the bar with no swing.

 Even in prelims, you can see she barely scrapes over the bar:

I know a lot of girls are successful with this kind of technique (maybe Berardinelli herself, usually has a hit more than miss percentage, too); but I think it's bad technique.

Technique for connected front tumbling

Teaching quality glides

Jason Mortimer's latest video reminded me that I had filmed a few of the level 3's doing correct-incorrect glide shapes, recently:

Also like doing hanging hollow holds and swinging hollow holds.

The crunch hollow holds at 37 seconds in Jason's video is the exact way my primary teacher used to have us do them for warm-up- palms resting face up on the knees.  Periodically through the 2 minutes, he'd demand us to crunch up another inch higher.  Having hands face up on the thighs/knees helped us have a visual of how high we were crunching and maintaining position.

Hand Placement Drills for Round-offs

 Different coaches have different ideas about round-off hand placement.

As far as I know, standard/orthodox is the upside down "T".

Illustration source

Some coaches teach both hands turned inward.

On a straight line.

Or hands straddling the line:

Power tumblers might "hop 1/2-turn":

 The common "no-no" is hands turned out.


I saw this drill the other day:

Post by GymDrills.NET.

Description:

This exercise teaches gymnasts the correct hand placement during round off and encourages to perform the movement in a straight line. This drill has a positive influence on apparatus such as Floor Exercise and Balance Beam.

Since the single floor rail only allows the fingers to face sideways, I decided to use piroullettes to play around with this drill:

What I like about the floor bar(s) over symbols on the ground or drawing an upside down "T" and other markers, is that the gymnast has to turn the hands to face the desired direction in order to grab the push-up blocks (piroullettes).

Hurdles

Backhandspring Training

Front Layout Drill

Post by Jorge Luis Quiala.

Quiala also has other interesting drills.

Similar concept:

I'm not opposed to these drill and have played with similar setups, myself.

For me, though, it's kind of an unnecessary Rube Goldsberg setup, more bucks than bang.  There are easier methods to acquire a front layout- especially if you have things like pits to work with.

This is easier and less trouble. 

 One of the drills not shown is to bounce, then flip through a hollow onto the back; then try rotating all the way to the feet without ever releasing the heels.  Then once you do allow the heel release, it rotates beautifully.

So I'm not a fan of the early heel drive.  But it still works:

Translated Gymneo TV DVD Excerpt on Backhandsprings

The quality of not just the content but of the presentation is so good,  I am seriously considering purchasing.

It bothers me that in USAG, compulsory RO BHs require ears covered by the arms.  It's a technique-thing.  Instead of penalizing and making that the restriction (since a short arm-swing is a viable if not superior technique to no-arm swing), I think what should be judged is whether or not the head whips back ahead of the arms in turning over the backhandspring.

Another post on clear hips

Not my preferred method of spotting clear hips, but this is one way that I don't see used often (I did it on this occasion, due to the height of the bar and my being too lazy to get a block to stand on).

Swing Big! posted on the importance of the drop, recently.  I agree that the drop is vitally important to a good clear hip.  With a proper drop, the clear hip should just fly up to handstand.

Zari's post lead me to TeamCentralGym's channel that I hadn't seen before.  I like the drill at the beginning of this video for clear hips:

It reminds me of a drill Wade Petersen showed me where the gymnast starts in front support, pushes her body off the bar and drops into a pike sit onto a block, with the bar pushed down toward the knees.

I know some coaches don't teach the clear hip as a pike but as a hollow; but sometimes getting gymnasts to think that way helps keep the hips further away from the bar (over-exaggerated corrections can sometimes get you to the end result).

I remember seeing a gymnast with beautiful clear hips, who was clearly using a piking technique over simply hollowing.  I wish I had bookmarked that, to show.

Your toes are like your fingers

Stutz...His Way

My coach in high school taught us stutz by riding the swing all the way to English handstand on one rail. 

Progression for Building a Strong Back Handspring

I like that Travis Rainer uses the octagon in such a way as to not allow the gymnast to simply be draped over it, in an arch.  One reason why I used to prefer the pac-man over the octagon was because it forced the gymnast to squeeze the butt and have an active shape change and active muscles in order to get it to move- not just sagging like a limp rag, coasting along like a passenger for the ride rather than being the driver.

My current preference these days, as far as unassisted, spotting devices is to use a simple spotting block to slide off of.  I might post a clip to better illustrate what I mean.  I'm probably the only one in the world who is doing it (and I swear, it's not because I'm crazy.  I only came up with it recently and think the results will validate and lend credibility, although it's only a drill with a specific purpose; and it alone isn't enough to acquire a backhandspring.  It is also technique-specific).

I also like Rainer's emphasis on the snap off the hands happening through the chest and shoulders and not piking in the hips.

Adding a Little Twist

This drill from Rebecca Sykes interests me because the twisting method is one Wade introduced me to where you set and instead of pulling both arms down on the thighs (or rather, pull the hips up toward the hands), you pull both hands down over one thigh.


I think I might have mentioned the story before about how we had one level 5 gymnast bouncing layouts well enough on trampoline that Wade asked me to teach her the twisting method he described to make sure I understood it well enough to teach.  So I told the kid what to do.  We didn't tell her she would be twisting.  I just basically told her how I wanted her to pull her arms down, and to keep them there tightly.  The kid landed a full and then asked, "What did I just do?"

It's a great way to introduce twisting, in my opinion, because it's simple.  No complexity with one-arm dropping first, starting out wide set, or anything else (not to say I don't like other techniques and styles).  Just simplicity.

The hands go over one thigh, like you're sticking your gluing your hands to your pocket.  From there, you can also just flex the arms and bend at the elbows if you're ready for more.

Tony Retrosi also recently posted these series of trampoline drills:

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IDP Bar Clinic (Progression to Full Out)

P-Bar Giants

Wade's been posting up some more videos as of late.





Also from Nick Blanton:


Lee Woolls:

Landing Technique and Safety

I caught a few minutes of this (and have not had time yet to study the whole thing) from National Congress when it was live-streaming on Saturday morning.  I couldn't watch it at the time, due to heading off for work.  Glad it is made available:



In addition, you can get the lecture notes here (you'll be required to provide an email address).  And also view more on landing and jumping technique for gymnasts on Dr. Eldridge's website.  Don't forget to also go here:  Beginning Core, Landing, and Jumping Technique for Gymnasts

Wade used to talk about landing with toes slightly turned in with the knees knocked together as one stable unit; I believe he made mention that the landing technique he favored was pooled from aerial ski jumpers- who have to have fantastic landing technique.

But from what I saw of the video lecture, current thinking seems to suggest that this technique appears to be harsh on the knees.  Shoulder width apart with toes facing forward is encouraged.

From Dr. Eldridge's lecture overview at National Congress

Quite simply put:  Men and women are built differently:

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