Going on toes in backbend stand ups + FRONT WALKOVERS

[acrogymnastics]

1. I go on releve (in dance) or on my tippy toes every time I stand up from a bridge. Is there any way to change this? i think it looks sloppy.
2. How do you kick over with straight legs? I can kick over with bent legs and I can only do it if i push off in this weird way.. I cannot tendu (in dance) or have my leg straight pointed right off the ground and then kick up with straight legs because i fall back down immeidately.
3. How do you connect a kickover into a back walkover? I'm a bit scared to do it.
4. How do you stand up out of a front walkover? thanks!

 

[LilyChow7]

Sounds like you need to practise breaking the skill down as you are not quite ready for the skill together. Focusing on a leading toe rather then knee. Practise having your feet raised in a bridge and kicking over from there.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Going on your toes to stand up from a bridge may be due to a lack of shoulder flexibility or even more often a lack of hip flexibility. It is hard for us to know without seeing a video. A lot of your challenges seem to be walkover related so flexibility may be the key.

For shoulders you need to work on increasing the shoulder flexibility without putting too much pressure on your lower back, so just doing lots of bridges is not going to help. Stretch your bridges with your feet on a raised surface, this will take the stretch out of your back and towards your shoulders. You can place both hands on a surface like a trampoline else of high beam and push your head down towards the floor and hold this stretch.

Good flexibility in the hip flexors are one of the most important aspects of good walkovers and bridges, but often not enough attention is paid to this area, which means you will have to compensate elsewhere in your body. Lots of splits are good, but make sure you are sitting up in your splits and not leaning forward towards your front leg, otherwise the stretch will go into your hamstring, rather than your hip flexor.

Both the bridge kickover problem and the standing up from bridge problem should be solved with better flexibility.

For your front walkovers, make sure the foot you are landing on in landing underneath your body and not in front of your body, otherwise your weight will be off balance and you will fall backwards also make sure you land on a straight leg, bending the leg will also push you off balance and you will fall backwards. Push up through your body, bringing your head up last with your arms to your ears, if you put your head forward, you will also fall backwards.

 

[Splash123]

What @Aussie_coach said. A lot of the issues you mention will be helped by improving hip and shoulder flexibility - even if they aren't the only thing causing the problem.

 

[acrogymnastics]

Thanks for the replies.
Regarding hip flexibility, I have my right splits flat and I am very close to left and I can do a middle split. Does anyone have any stretches to improve hip flexor and shoulder flexibility? Also, in my backbend, the bend comes from my lower back, how do I incorporate my upper and mid back into the stretch?

When I stand up from a bridge, I can keep my arms by my ears and stand up no problem and I lock my knees when I stand so I don't take any steps forward or back. I just keep going on my toes, which honestly just makes it look a little messier in my opinion.

I started doing gymnastics skills at 13 and my back isn't the most flexible, but if i stretch it too much it starts to feel really sore so I stopped stretching it a lot. However, I can't even do a bridge from standing if I don't warm up my back. Is this normal? My un-warmed-up flexibility (especially in my back) is very poor and I have to go through a really long and intense warm up in order to be ready to do tricks..

 

[Splash123]

@acrogymnastics to improve the flexibility try the stretches/drills that @Aussie_coach mentioned above as these are the kind of things that I usually find works for flexibility problems

 

[Splash123]

Also, to make sure you are stretching your hip flexors properly in left/right leg splits make sure you are sat up straight or even leaning backwards toward your back foot as if you lean towards your front foot you won't stretch very much