Back Handsprings

[flipflopdreamer]

Is there anything I can do to get my BHS? I haven't managed one after over 3 years and I was wondering if there was anything to do to help speed the process.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Unfortunately, a BHS is a skill that needs to be coached hands-on. Which means there's little I could do to help over the internet.

Good luck, though!

 

[JBS]

Geoffrey is right. It's very hard to give advise without knowing exactly what the problem is.

Some basics:

1. Make sure you have a good bridge and back walkover.
2. Work on your jump...many times a good jump is all that is lacking.
3. Do lots of strength and have your coaches spot you as much as possible.

 

[flipflopdreamer]

My problem

I had a real problem with my jump, but that has been resolved and now the problem is that I'm not pulling my shoulders back at the right time. How can I fix this?

 

[hammy]

try this to help:
Jump back onto a big mat (at least 3 feet high)--do a nice stretched jump with your arms up by your ears. try to have your hands hit the mat before the rest of your body.

That is--if you're talking about having trouble opening your shoulders at the correct time. Hopefulyl this'll help.

 

[gymbabisMom]

WE do lots of Nestea plunges. I have my kiddies stand on the floor at the edge of the resi pit and sort of lean back swing the arms and jump back, the object of the game is to have shoulders touch first and hands to touch the line in the middle of the pit. They seem to get the timing of the arm swing pretty quickly. Also when one of the other coaches is working with her girls, who are mostly much larger teens, she does a lot of work on the belt over the tramp. She tells them to visualize the golden arches and for some reason they really relate to that. lol.

 

[JBS]

WE do lots of Nestea plunges. I have my kiddies stand on the floor at the edge of the resi pit and sort of lean back swing the arms and jump back, the object of the game is to have shoulders touch first and hands to touch the line in the middle of the pit. They seem to get the timing of the arm swing pretty quickly. Also when one of the other coaches is working with her girls, who are mostly much larger teens, she does a lot of work on the belt over the tramp. She tells them to visualize the golden arches and for some reason they really relate to that. lol.

Love the visuals...kids relate much better to things like that. The belt is a great tool for anyone. Depending on the tension of the ropes...you can give the gymnast a very large or almost non-existent spot. Used correctly, it can help a gymnast get rid of a lot of fear. It's easier on the coaches, too.

 

[gracefulone]

We used to have belt. it ws great. IDK where it is anymore though. Our coach always told us to think of a rainbow.

 

[gymbabisMom]

Yeah, a belt makes spotting a 150lb kid way easier. I noticed our compulsory coach using it with some of her pre-team littles the other day too. It seems like they have to think about where what goes more, because the belt doesn't throw your legs over for you. Also it helps them think about keeping their elbows close to thier ears so they don't get caught in the ropes.

 

[cheer_chik]

Is there anything I can do to get my BHS? I haven't managed one after over 3 years and I was wondering if there was anything to do to help speed the process.

I would try to help you but I can't do one myself, I've gone to gymnastics a couple time but, I need a couple more practices! I can do a backband flipover a couple time in a row, but that's not exactly a back handspring.
If anyone has any thing to say that would help, please tell me.

 

[JBS]

I would try to help you but I can't do one myself, I've gone to gymnastics a couple time but, I need a couple more practices! I can do a backband flipover a couple time in a row, but that's not exactly a back handspring.
If anyone has any thing to say that would help, please tell me.

Make sure you have a great jump. I always tell my gymnasts to play basketball (just shoot the ball, play HORSE). Everyone thinks I'm joking, but the jump is the most important part of a standing BHS. Shooting hoops forces you to jump all the time and it's fun.

JUMPING, JUMPING, JUMPING...other things for leg strength and increased vertical jump...jump roping, bike riding, running, swimming, dance-dance-revolution.

By using your free time (fun time) in an athletic way...you could really help out that BHS. Be as active as possible all the time.:jump:

 

[9bob8]

i can just say try them on a trampoline

some of my friends can dothem on tramp butnot on ground.

 

[EmmasMommy]

My daughter just started doing these and I think what helped her was just a lot of hands-on spotting while she built the muscle memory to do things, along with some drills/exercises for shapes.

When she first started doing them with a spot, the skill was done in slow motion with the spotter holding pretty much all the weight and stopping her at various stages to correct her shape. Then the spot got lighter and lighter and lighter until she doing them on her own.

Now we are working on her hand placement (she needs to get her hands to turn in a little to make the "Hershey Kiss") and her form overall still needs some work, but she's only been working on learning the skill for 3 months and doing them by herself for a little under a week. So far so good.

It's really important to do the drills and to practice with someone who knows how to spot correctly. Don't underestimate the drills either because muscle memory will help and also you want to form good habits WHILE you are learning the skill. If it's possible, you may want to see if you can get some private lessons to work on this skill?

Also maybe talk to your coach to see if there are any drills you can do specifically for what you are having a hard time with. I admit I don't know what 'pulling shoulders back' means. My daughter's problem has been more with hand placement so we never addressed that.

Also I should mention she's not doing them on the floor yet (only the trampoline) so if you are doing them on the floor there might be more to this that we haven't been through yet!

I hope all the feedback you got here helps. I am not a coach (nor do I play one on TV) but since we've just been through it I thought I'd weigh in with what I thought helped her the most and how she learned. Take my feedback with a grain of salt though!