Power Tumblers/Gymnast

When gymnast do connecting skills like front handspring or round offs, their arms are always straight of course correct? But some power tumblers bend and extend out and seem to tumble waaayyy higher. Now with the feet, punching on hard concrete surfaces is incorrect. So my question is if you are doing a front handspring or a round off on a hard surface, should the arms bend? And will straight arms or bent arms that are pushing the ground away give more height and power?

What is a power tumbler?

Power Tumbling is done on a rod floor which is made out of fiberglass and springier than an Artistic Gymnastics floor. You'll see bigger and more connected tricks as I think their floors are like 80 feet long into a soft landing surface. It's not a pit but more of a firm set of mats with some give.

I think we have been over the whole the limbs bend more on hard surfaces haven't we?

They bend even on a sprung floor. You might need good video and to go into slow-mo but it happens.

Yes we have but that was concerning the feet. I wanted to know specificly about the push off the hands. Thanks! But my other question was about height. Do they generally get more height just because of the rod floor or the push? I feel a lot more power when I push but maybe that is because I am stronger with bent arms.

Arms will bend in the block but it's not something we teach to beginners, much less intermediates. You will probably see it if you slow-mo.

Rod floors are bouncier and have a different speed than an Artistic floor as well.

You'll also see bent arms during tsukahara or kasamatsu vaulting. Probably the block off from yurchenko as well. I don't recall seeing it off hand during front handspring vaulting as it's quite often the shoulder that goes from closed to open.

Thanks again Blairbob! No purposeful arms bending for right now then.