Need Help With Double Twist

[Brandon]

I've been doing full and a halves for almost a year now, and they're fine. Decently high, the twist is fast, etc. But whenever I try a double, all I do is a bad 1 1/2. I have a lot of momentum going backwards(I always have to roll out of it, which never happens on my 1 1/2's), and the twist feels SO SLOW. But I only have these problems when I try the double.

My coach says I need to learn a double twist before I do double backs, so I'm anxious to get this done. I only work tumbling about 2 hours a week though, so my time is limited. Any help or advise is appreciated!

 

[o.p.t.gymnast14]

That's happened to me before to. What I did (don't know if it was the best option) was start over. Do a couple layouts with a half twist after you land then a few 1/2s with a 1/2 twist after you land, etc. I can't really do 1/2s that well because I never learned how t do one. I just went from layout to full. Keep doing that until you are doing the double. Also (if you have good 1 1/2s) just think 1 1/2+1/2, if that makes sense. Good luck!

 

[gymnastgets10]

A double is more like a full + a full than a 1 1/2 + a 1/2. When you do a 1 1/2, you can get away with throwing your head and shoulders back on the takeoff and rushing the twist because your momentum will get you where you want to go, but you can't do this with the double. It's hard to tell without a video, but you are probably rolling out of your double full attempts because you are leaning and rushing the twist even more and not really giving yourself the chance to do the double. With the double you have to have a really efficient roundoff backhandspring with the correct body position on takeoff and a floaty layout that lands straight up and down. I would practice just layouts making sure all this^ is right, and then maybe some 1 1/2s slightly underrotated (so you're leaning backward when you land), jump half turn. When you go for the double, don't rush the twist and try to think of doing two fulls instead of an extra half. Hope this helps!

 

[Brandon]

A double is more like a full + a full than a 1 1/2 + a 1/2. When you do a 1 1/2, you can get away with throwing your head and shoulders back on the takeoff and rushing the twist because your momentum will get you where you want to go, but you can't do this with the double. It's hard to tell without a video, but you are probably rolling out of your double full attempts because you are leaning and rushing the twist even more and not really giving yourself the chance to do the double. With the double you have to have a really efficient roundoff backhandspring with the correct body position on takeoff and a floaty layout that lands straight up and down. I would practice just layouts making sure all this^ is right, and then maybe some 1 1/2s slightly underrotated (so you're leaning backward when you land), jump half turn. When you go for the double, don't rush the twist and try to think of doing two fulls instead of an extra half. Hope this helps!

Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. My fulls are really high and have a quick, snappy twist, and I 'fall' for a good amount of time before I hit the ground. But my 1 1/2's usually finish the twist as I hit the ground. I'll try to pay attention to what I do during my full this week before I try the double. If I can, I'll post a video later this week. Thanks for the advise!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

yep. need to see video.

 

[Brandon]

I took a video with my dads stone age video camera of me doing some doubles into loose foam pits. I can't post it because, you know, stone age. But I can try to describe it. First thing I notice is that I'm only bringing one arm down. I twist left, so my left arm is coming in to my chest. My right arm, in an 'attempt' to bring it to my chest aswell, just bends while remaining above my head. So there's one problem.

The second thing though, was that every time I did one, I'd succesfully do the double twist. But I'd also land on my upper back/neck in the foam. So I'm over rotating a lot, and can't seem to fix it.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. Got any more?