Fear

Hey all, Apologies if there is already a topic to this effect, I'm new to posting on this forum although I've been lurking for a while.

I am terrified of backward rotations. No matter how much I will myself, I just freak out half way through. A little history is in order. I used to be very serious about my gymnastics training back in the day, competing at a state junior level. During routine training when I was 16, I had a moment of doubt during a floor routine, crashed on my head and shattered my L4 vertebrae. Subsequently I ceased training of any sort for about the next 5 years. I dabbled in a bit of recreational gymnastics at Uni, stayed fairly fit, and active, but I did no back exercises due to flaring pain, and I lost a lot of strength and flexibility.

Roll Forward, I am now 30 and have been training gymnastics, pilates and associated bodyweight conditioning seriously for the last 2 years. I have re-gained all my strength, and in some ways surpassed my previous abilities. I still have a long way to go to get my flexibility back, but trying is fun.

Anyway, despite having the power and form, I cannot do backsaults without a spotter. The spotter doesn't even have to do anything, just having them there gives me confidence. But every time I try to do a backsault on my own, either following a roundoff or even into a foam pit, I just freak out halfway through the rotation and open out trying to land on all fours like a cat. This seems to happen on a subconscious level, as if my body won't respond to what my mind is telling it to do.

Sorry for the long post, but can anyone else relate, or offer advice for getting past the fear factor post injury?

When you visualize yourself doing the movement, what do you imagine? Yourself falling? Can you visualize yourself doing the skill successfully without problems? Have you tried relaxing and focusing on something else before the move? As you're already aware, you are reacting to what happened in a previous injury by trying to 'protect' yourself at a crucial point in the move. Sometimes this kinda thing is a matter of finding the right mental trick, but it's sometimes a process that takes time to retrain your subconscious.

When I was four I nearly drowned and the next couple years after had some really bad experiences in swim lessons (being misplaced into a way advanced class, etc). From that I developed a bit of hydrophobia, specifically of submerging my face into water. Oddly, I never noticed this until I was 17 or 18. It took a lot of exposure and mental-visual retraining but I managed to overcome the instinctal fear. In my case it was a multi-year process. For you, it may be easily resolvable with trying the right mental imagery.

Karen D. Cogan has written some literature specifically on gymnastics sport psychology. You might find her helpful. Good luck!

Cory

how about you have the spotter there but they step 1 foot (the measurement) back after every attempt?

This might help,

ED