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Tumbling Tips
The following excerpt was taken from an article in the
USAG - Technique magazine. It gives good examples of the technical things to watch for when working on front tumbling.
 FORWARD TUMBLING
Technical pointers for a front handspring:
1. From a hurdle step, arms and hands should be quickly brought down to the floor without creating a shoulder angle.
2. The front leg should be in a lunge position to ensure an explosive push off from the leg. Be sure to bend the front leg enough for a strong push-off.
3. The hands should be firmly on the ground prior to the completion of the front leg extension.
4. The hands should remain on the ground until the feet almost touch the ground, so the body will not float in the air for long and lose important rotational power.
5. The most important body position is the end of the handspring which leads to the take-off position for the next skill. During the turn over phase, the entire body should be fully extended in an arched position. As the feet reach the ground, the point of arch must quickly shift to the upper chest so that the gymnast can be standing up on her toes with the lower back straight except in the upper chest. The arms should be brought directly upward from the floor at shoulder width and end up straight over head. This position will ensure a proper take-off position for any type of front salto following the front handspring.
Technical pointers for a front layout:
1. At the start of the layout front (which is the end of the front handspring), the body should be in an arched position only in the upper chest. The arms should be well over the head at shoulder width. It is also important to stay up on the toes at the take off point.
2. At the take off, the arms should be thrust forward and upward. It is important to establish forward momentum by thrusting the arms forward in a hollow chest position first, before the body arch.
3. Once the initial forward arm thrust is done, the arms should be spread to the side to should height. Then, the arching of the body (mainly from the upper chest) should occur immediately.
4. As the arch progresses and the chest is opened further, the head should be brought back into a proper arch position.
5. As the feet approach the ground, the arms should be brought back to the over head position and the head should be brought back slightly forward, in between the shoulders, but still kept up. This subtle movement of the head is very crucial, especially in a series of fronts. If the head moves forward in the air during the arched position, it will cause the entire body to straighten (or assume a piked position) prematurely. Then, the finishing body position will be too piked for the take-off of the next front.
Technical pointers for the layout front series:
1. Always start from a good technical handspring. Close attention should be paid to the ending body position for the front handspring and the start of the layout front. The positions which should be emphasized are:
a. Arms over head at shoulder width
b. Head up
c. Arch in the upper chest, not in lower back
d. Stay up on the toes
2. It is important to establish good forward momentum from the start. Lifting too high in the first front layout will not help to establish good rotational momentum. Rather, the first layout front should be directed forward to establish a good body rotation.
3. The precise arm action during the layout front will be helpful to keep the same rhythm during the series.
a. The arms should start from the over head position to forward thrust
b. Then they should spread quickly to the side to establish the axis of rotation
c. The crucial part of the arm movement in the series is bringing the arms back up to over head prior to the take-off for the following layout front
4. The body needs to be in an arched position from the upper chest. The most common mistake is to arch too much from the lower back area which will make it impossible to take-off strong for the next front.
5. Just prior to the landing, the heels must be pulled back in order for the feet to land slightly behind the center of mass. Obviously, this action is to keep the forward momentum for the series. During this action, it is important to tighten the lower body (particularly legs and buttocks) and land on the toes.
If you are a coach and have tips to share, please email
us.
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