Cartwheels, Forward & Backward Somersaults

[Scott Pelton-Stroud]

Hey GB!

 

I'm picking up some basic tumbling to do in my days off between GST workouts, so I'm working on cartwheels and the forward & backward somersault. I don't want to drill bad habits, but I don't have a coach, so I thought I'd ask for people's critiques on my form in these basic skills. Videos below.

 

Cartwheels:

 

Somersaults:

 

The backward somersault feels the least smooth for me at the moment. I think I am putting too much pressure on my neck and head as I was getting a headache during the session (and they are both a little sore after the session, too). I am also having troubling pushing with my hands in the middle of the roll (I usually fall to my forearms, as seen in the first couple of reps). I think I got a hang of the push a bit more in the later reps, but it still feels clumsy.

 

Any help on any of the moves would be much appreciated!

[Alessandro Mainente]

i'd like to see your carthweel from a back view or front view, not side view. aside that you need to hold the legs straight all the time.

how is your handstand?

[Kai Liow]

Strat the cartwheel with feet together, take a step forward and do a quarter turn to put your hands down. If you cant picture this, find a video of a gymnast doing them.

[Scott Pelton-Stroud]

I will redo the cartwheel video tomorrow morning, trying your form cues and shooting from the front (and maybe another side shot, to make sure I keep the legs straight.

@alex87, I can't do a freestanding handstand, but I can walk forward in a handstand for up to 15-20ft. My wall handstand is decent, I think, but I can't hold it for super long. I guess the new handstand challenge will be a good test! Flexion is good, dislocate is pretty good, (active) extension is pretty bad.

 

In the meantime, does anyone have any thoughts on the somersaults?

[Blairbob]

 Somersaults are decent. You really want to wrap into as tight of a ball and tuck in the forward somersault.

 I'd like to see you work on pushing the arms straight out of the backward roll. Hands hit the floor flexed and push them till they are straight. This is usually worked by working down an incline mat or off panel mats so gravity assists. Without said mats, a spotter will do some work or just do it and hope it fixes itself one day.

 if you really want to be gymnasticky, start in a standing hollow. Chest in, chin down. Not really a big deal regarding yourself.

 Headache might just be the inversion. I played around with these on my trip to CA and AZ and got pretty darn dizzy as it been so long.

 Cartwheel. Such a tricky element. For an everyday person, it's fairly decent.

 I do not teach forward cartwheel from a lunge preferably until the side cartwheel is mastered on a line. It's skipping ahead and complicating the maneuver by adding the 1/4 turn in and 1/4 turn out. It also can hide the ability to move completely through vertical.

 So, here we go.

 1. Keep arms in handstand alignment. If the gymnast has the flexibility to keep the shoulder open (without arching the lower back or pushing the chest out), the arms should stay vertical. That angle should not open to the side. Handstand trainers which don't allow the arms to go wider or having gymnasts hold foam cubes and squeeze between their arms and ears are useful in this endeavor.

 2. Deep side lunge. Which means deeper step to the side.

 

 3. Cartwheel (and handspring) is not initiated by the arms reaching down to the ground rather than the first leg kicking causing the body to lever towards the ground. Think of a T-totter. No angles should break and the body should move through a T-position.

 

 4. Reach out farther. Again this is fixed by never letting the arms break handstand vertical alignment.

 

 5. Cartwheel should pass through handstand.  Don't leave your hands on the floor coming out of the cartwheel. Push through the shoulder and maintain HS alignment. I - T - I

 

 6. I think possibly you are reaching to a bit outside of your center line. This is fixed by doing the Cartwheel on a line and focusing on deep lunge and reaching out. Often we will have gymnasts step over or reach foam cubes or use feet and hand placements. This is even done on Balance Beam (though sometimes we might shorten up the cartwheel if the gymnast is on the tall side).

 

 7. Cartwheel on second side is pretty darn good. There is very little difference from each side.