learning tumbling

Hey guys,

I am very interested in adding some tumbling into my training routine. Currently I train m,t,th,f, working on my hand balancing, l-seat, Front and back levers, and planche. I practice my handbalancing for around an hour on my non training days.

Basically, I was wondering what would be a good way to incorporate some tumbling skills into my training and what skills should I begin with? I am a novice so any advice would be awesome! Also I plan on training on my own, no coach! Thanks, Justin

I am looking for the same kind of advice and recommendations. Currently trying to teach myself a little bit of very basic martial arts tricking. Not going easily to say the least. So, in the meantime I am working on rolls, kip-ups, cartwheels (which I do horribly right now) and leg swings and twisting leg swings like 360 crescent kicks. Not much,  but it's something and it at least might prepare me better for future acrobatics (if I can learn them that is).

I'm afraid the answer's not one you're going to want to hear:

Join a gym, and find a coach.

I was going to do that over this summer - that is, until I broke my clavicle 

When it heals up, I'm going to join my local gym once a week and find someone who can help me get down basic skills - a friend has said that's what he did, and he's progressing very well.

There's some stuff I've learned by myself - tornado kicks, 360 crescents and so on, but I don't think I can go any further unless I get some help. Would be good to learn some basic apparatus work as well.

http://drillsandskills.com/articles/

Cartwheel article, and articles on backward/forward rolls besides the free HSPU which goes over HS.

There are probably about a gillion videos on youtube.

Stick to rolls and cartwheels and you shouldn't get a Darwin award.

I'd work in right after a light general warmup. You could do it after mobility 

See I want to learn some basic tumbling as well, (handsprings and roundoffs) but I don't think I'll be able to learn without a soft mat and maybe a foam pit to land in.  I'm thinking I can maybe get handsprings down the hard way by learning to go from stand to bridge to handstand and back, then just speeding the process up.  But that's a pretty naff way of doing it.

Do lots of shoulder stretching. Handsprings will need them.

 I would not do handsprings without an 8" thick mat. 4" still are quite uncomfortable adults to land on their backs on. 

 Front Handsprings are safer than back handsprings though, but again landing on your back will knock the wind out of you or not feel very good.

 If you want to start working on limber stuff, that's not as bad. Their is still some danger but not as much as a handspring. Work elevated bridges and wall bridges and when you can kick into a handstand against the wall and not crumple, you can kick and walk down the wall as you walk your hands away from the wall.

If you can get access to a pool, you can practice all the handsprings you want and you don't have to worry about a neck injury. It's basically like a self spotting mechanism and pretty fun. I didn't trust a spotter after a neck injury so I used that and a gymnastics barrel (which are ridiculous expensive).

Blairbob said:

 I didn't trust a spotter after a neck injury so I used that and a gymnastics barrel (which are ridiculous expensive).

Yeah, I saw one of those gymnastics barrels in an episode of Walters and Shieff.  I'm not really sure what you would use one for, but I'm pretty sure it's not what they were doing with it...

Currently in the same position as OP.

What I've been doing for starters is just practicing BHS from a bridge off a stall bar(any elevated platform will do), check out the video for an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vukYQAsEi4c

Although, nothing beats going to a gym, I had a coach perfect my cartwheel and round-off which I would have not been able to do on my own.

I've also just been introduced with a fascination to tricking so I may give that a whirl, feel as though it will be a good supplement to all this.

 Basically a HS snapdown from an elevated bridge rather than a lunge to HS.

 Fine drill. If anything focus on landing with the hands and arms up rather than done by the sides. Feet snap down/thru, hands push away from floor to ceiling.

 

Blairbob said:

 Basically a HS snapdown from an elevated bridge rather than a lunge to HS.

 

 

 Fine drill. If anything focus on landing with the hands and arms up rather than done by the sides. Feet snap down/thru, hands push away from floor to ceiling.

 

Ahh ok, going to start doing this right away, thanks!

Any recommendations as to what I should progress towards now for learning the BHS on my own?

P.S: the slapping of the hands on the ground within the video is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu thing called a break-fall which I have ingrained a habit in doing, I'm not angrily smacking the floor. 

 I didn't notice that though I just did see you do it again as you were going to lying on your back prior to pushing into the elevated bridge.

 I am familiar with how during a backward breakfall in BJJ or Judo they slap the ground. In Koryu ( Classical ) jujutsu we don't in our system but I would have to check with other koryu styles to see if they omit the slap as well ( I've been told they do  ). I've been told slapping hard ground on urban surfaces just hurts, lol. Tatami has more give than asphalt or concrete.

 What I am talking about is how your arms snap down to your sides as you land on your feet from the snapdown from bridge. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sTlB3fi7G4

However, there is another drill where you purposely snap the arm downs to increase rotation as the body becomes shorter since the arms are not outstretched. I would teach this later on after the basic handstand snapdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmQDHwWdgLw