Pushing off with shoulders

[dlsso]

I know you're supposed to push off using a shoulder shrug for roundoffs and handsprings, but I seem to have a hard time doing that. Is there any better way to practice than just trying to do them in the skill? Any particular hand or shoulder position I should be aware of?

[Blairbob]

Handstand shoulder shrugs.

Those wallaby things in GB where you hop directionally in a pushup position.

Basic ability to move from Lunge to HS and back to lunge with shoulders covering ears. This means as you lever back, you push off your hands on floor. Lever meaning T-action like a teeter totter (hands go down, feet go up and vice versa).

Handstand snap down/thru off block&mini tramp/trampoline or off panel mat.

[dlsso]

Awesome. I'm not sure I know what the second one is, but I will start the rest immediately. For lunge>HS>lunge then, the goal is to keep perfectly straight, and the shoulder push is needed to accomplish that?

[Blairbob]

the HS snap-down/thru is a drill where I have the gymnast kick to an arched HS (really open shoulders) up a gymnastics wedge or onto a panel mat and powerfully snap their toes down piking at the hips while pushing their hands off the mat. Eventually, I would prefer their body is hollow from the chest in the snap down but at first I just want them snapping their lower legs down rather than just letting them fall down due to gravity.

Having their hands higher than their feet in the drill makes it easier and allows them for a better body shape. Sometimes, at the top of the HS I will allow the gymnast to bend their knees because it changes the leverage point in their body so they can snap hollow vs snap piked.

Here is a poorly performed HS snap down.

I would prefer the gymnast go into an arched HS. The arch is by aggressively opening the shoulders rather than arching the lumbar area of the lower back.

You'll see that she kicks to HS, then arches her back where her HS goes shallow of vertical and then pikes in the hips to pull the toes down toward the ground.

Here is another poorly performed blocking drill of the hands and shoulders. I do not teach an arm circle block on floor though I have done so before for vault.

At around 1:10 you can see a drill where the crossfitters are blocking off the wall through their shoulders in a HS.

Around 20s into the video this shows the lever T-action into the HS. That position is sometimes called a Needle Scale as well.

[dlsso]

Thanks for all the information! I started some of this today.