Backwalkovers:(

[gymgirly]

so my sister is learning her bwos and she can not!!!!! pull her leeg over. everydrill, and self talk we try will not help! we have run out of ideas. could it be her flexibility or strength??????? PLZ!!! WE NEED HELP!!! SHE HAD THIS SKILL ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO AND SUDDENLY SHE JUST CANT do it. why? we have no clue! the leg just wont come over enough! we need all the help we can get!!!!!! thx!

 

[Kiwi]

What helped my DD was doing bridge kick-overs with her feet on a raised surface to begin with. When she could do those, she gradually lowered the height of her feet (i.e. using fewer/thinner mats) until she could kickover from floor level.

 

[gymnastbeth]

So... She had the skill before, and now she doesn't? It's a little hard to understand what you're saying... What Nicki says definitely works to get a kickover. She probably just needs a little more practice, go back to the basics.

 

[tumble-ready]

Maybe all she needs is a little refresher on understanding how the skill works. It is not about getting your leg over but about learning how to shift your weight. If you start at the beginning, all the weight of the body is on the ball of the foot. During the back bend part of the skill, the weight of the body is on the ball of the foot for balance purposes. When the hands touch the floor, the athlete must push with the leg to shift the body weight from the foot to the hands. The hands must be close to the feet, the chest and shoulder must be out past the hands as the hips/bootie shift through and past the handstand. The legs extend to the athletes maximum split position, not so much for deduction purposes, but because in this position it actually helps with shifting the hips/bootie past the handstand. If the front leg is not lifting, or the back leg is bent, the leg(s) are "dragging" behind and resisting the shifting.
The main concept is understanding that it is about shifting weight to get the hips/bootie over not getting the leg over. If the athlete is focused on getting the leg over, they will probably pike and this makes the hips/bootie move in the opposite direction of the skill and results in the athlete falling back to the bridge or to their back. Also, if the athlete doesn't have control of the balance during the bridge portion of the skill, the hands will end up too far from the feet and make it more difficult (a further distance) to shift past the handstand.
I hope this makes sense and helps your sister!

 

[Kiwi]

That's a great explanation. It isn't about getting over as much as getting up into a handstand split position. To get there you need to get your weight onto your hands. Once in the handstand split position, the position of your legs can be used to alter your balance forward or backward, so getting the rest of the way over is relatively simple. My DD has struggled with BWO a lot, and for her the most important thing has turned out to be getting her hands down close enough to her feet so that she can push her weight onto them. Too far away and it just doesn't work.