Cartwheel help please!

[k2bdeutmeyer]

DD (4yr) was just invited to a TAG team. She is working TOPS and some level 3 & 4 skills. The idea is that she will be ready to compete level 4 as soon as she is 6yr.

Anyway, she's had her cartwheel for a good 8-9 months now. She taught herself to start in a lunge (vs sideways). That being said, she STILL lands like a frog (sideways). I've coached for a LONG time and honestly, I have no idea how to help her fix it.

At the gym they are only working sideways cartwheels, so that's what we're doing at home right now. She frequently bends her 2nd arm, but not always. She does better when I remind her to have strong arms/stretch up tall, and to reach out away from her foot. I've also walked her through the 2nd half of the cartwheel in slow motion so she can feel it

She really wants this cartwheel and I am just out of ideas. Please help!!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

DD (4yr) was just invited to a TAG team. She is working TOPS and some level 3 & 4 skills. The idea is that she will be ready to compete level 4 as soon as she is 6yr.

Anyway, she's had her cartwheel for a good 8-9 months now. She taught herself to start in a lunge (vs sideways). That being said, she STILL lands like a frog (sideways). I've coached for a LONG time and honestly, I have no idea how to help her fix it.

At the gym they are only working sideways cartwheels, so that's what we're doing at home right now. She frequently bends her 2nd arm, but not always. She does better when I remind her to have strong arms/stretch up tall, and to reach out away from her foot. I've also walked her through the 2nd half of the cartwheel in slow motion so she can feel it

She really wants this cartwheel and I am just out of ideas. Please help!!

ready? have her land with her opposite foot first.

 

[Kiwi]

I am someone who has struggled a lot with cartwheels. The things that have helped me are: reach forward with the hands (instead of of down), keep your head down (not sticking out), push against the floor with your hands (just like you do in handstand), and begin lifting your first hand before your feet come down. It can also help to imagine turning like a wheel, with your arms and legs as the spokes of the wheel, which of course is where the name comes from. I've always done a cartwheel from a lunge, I'm not sure how you could do it sideways.

 

[NewtoGym]

What is a TAG team?

DD (4yr) was just invited to a TAG team. She is working TOPS and some level 3 & 4 skills. The idea is that she will be ready to compete level 4 as soon as she is 6yr.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

What is a TAG team?

DD (4yr) was just invited to a TAG team. She is working TOPS and some level 3 & 4 skills. The idea is that she will be ready to compete level 4 as soon as she is 6yr.

Talented And Gifted

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I am someone who has struggled a lot with cartwheels. The things that have helped me are: reach forward with the hands (instead of of down), keep your head down (not sticking out), push against the floor with your hands (just like you do in handstand), and begin lifting your first hand before your feet come down. It can also help to imagine turning like a wheel, with your arms and legs as the spokes of the wheel, which of course is where the name comes from. I've always done a cartwheel from a lunge, I'm not sure how you could do it sideways.

Thanks for those ideas! My DS (6) is taking a rec class right now and is struggling with the cartwheel! I can do a cartwheel but cannot very well explain it! The coach at the gym unfortunatley spends most of his time trying to keep a couple of the boys on task and not mucking around to be able to really "work" with them breaking down the skills!

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Okay, here is a quick video of her cartwheel. She wasn't really in the mood, so the 1st half isn't even as good as it usually is, but the 2nd half is very representative of what I usually see out of her.

YouTube - 4yr old Malea Still Working on her Cartwheel

 

[gymdog]

Because her legs are not fully straight in the last 3/4 of the skill, she is going to have difficulty straightening them at the end and getting the leverage to step in and stand up at the end. She can practice doing it over something of a small height that will likely facilitating her to be able to step in more and shift her weight and feel what successfully standing up feels like. Until balance is more developed it is hard to do a "long" cartwheel and takes more control and use of the momentum. Think about if you did a handstand then fell with your feet far away in push up position (but without blocking through your shoulders or pushing off your hands), you couldn't stand up without bending your legs because otherwise you would not be able to leverage a weight shift.

She can also practice doing a smaller side cartwheel by putting her hands on the edge of something and starting and landing on two lines that are diagonal to it (o<) the o is what she would put her hands on and the lines she will start and land on. She starts standing sideways on one line and then puts her hands down while jumping laterally to a side stand on the other line. Then have her go back the other way (practice both ways). Have her start smaller without going all the way up to handstand while she feels using straight legs to stand. Then she can try to kick higher. Then go in a straight line over something. Then try handstand (stomach facing a wall or with help) and try to step down from the handstand sideways. Then full cartwheel on the ground.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Because her legs are not fully straight in the last 3/4 of the skill, she is going to have difficulty straightening them at the end and getting the leverage to step in and stand up at the end. She can practice doing it over something of a small height that will likely facilitating her to be able to step in more and shift her weight and feel what successfully standing up feels like. Until balance is more developed it is hard to do a "long" cartwheel and takes more control and use of the momentum. Think about if you did a handstand then fell with your feet far away in push up position (but without blocking through your shoulders or pushing off your hands), you couldn't stand up without bending your legs because otherwise you would not be able to leverage a weight shift.

She can also practice doing a smaller side cartwheel by putting her hands on the edge of something and starting and landing on two lines that are diagonal to it (o<) the o is what she would put her hands on and the lines she will start and land on. She starts standing sideways on one line and then puts her hands down while jumping laterally to a side stand on the other line. Then have her go back the other way (practice both ways). Have her start smaller without going all the way up to handstand while she feels using straight legs to stand. Then she can try to kick higher. Then go in a straight line over something. Then try handstand (stomach facing a wall or with help) and try to step down from the handstand sideways. Then full cartwheel on the ground.

Great info!! Thanks!

 

[Kiwi]

Then try handstand (stomach facing a wall or with help) and try to step down from the handstand sideways.

Hmm, maybe I should try this! It sounds quite difficult. That's the hardest part of the cartwheel. I think having a short body and long legs makes it even harder. I remember it took my DD quite a while to get a proper cartwheel, and even now her cartwheel could use some more work, particularly in this standing up part.

It was interesting watching the video because she really is going into it sideways, I haven't seen this before. All the cartwheels I've seen have been going forward through a lunge and then turning the hands to the side at the last moment.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

It was interesting watching the video because she really is going into it sideways, I haven't seen this before. All the cartwheels I've seen have been going forward through a lunge and then turning the hands to the side at the last moment.

Honestly, it's not the way I would teach/coach it, but it's what they're doing in the gym, so I feel like I need to mirror that at home if we're going to work on things. I would start and end them in a lunge.

 

[gymdog]

Hmm, maybe I should try this! It sounds quite difficult. That's the hardest part of the cartwheel. I think having a short body and long legs makes it even harder. I remember it took my DD quite a while to get a proper cartwheel, and even now her cartwheel could use some more work, particularly in this standing up part.

It was interesting watching the video because she really is going into it sideways, I haven't seen this before. All the cartwheels I've seen have been going forward through a lunge and then turning the hands to the side at the last moment.

I teach a variation of a side cartwheel first (using the drill I described above where the body is moving laterally side to side, practicing both sides). No matter how high they kick, they land in a side stand. This is to practice which leg comes down first, and moving laterally to standing up.

Then they move to sort of a side lunge with their foot pointed in the direction they're going and hands turned in. I am not super strict on it finishing exactly sideways. Most kids who are close will start to do the second 1/4 turn at least a little. Direction is very important. Otherwise they will do a cartwheel but it will be awkward/not fast or the shoulders or hands will point in the wrong directions.

Eventually they need to be able to do both side cartwheel and forward cartwheel (lunge to lunge). Starting from forward lunge is the last thing I teach and it is usually pretty easy by then.

For strength they can also work on a wall walk, so stomach to wall, walk the feet up and hands in (not all the way), then walk sideways like 5 steps one way, and 5 steps back the other way. They should be able to do this without coming down or walking their feet too far down the wall.

 

[sally]

what if you grab her legs when she is up in the splits part, fix it up then help her down for a few. Let her get the feel of it done right

 

[Kiwi]

Eventually they need to be able to do both side cartwheel and forward cartwheel (lunge to lunge).

This is in my DD's floor routine. They do a cartwheel finishing to the side straight into another cartwheel 'quarter in'. But they always start in lunge, I've never seen them started with a side lunge - that sounds difficult to me, but probably only because I've never done them that way.

What has helped my DD with the standing up part is to lift her first hand earlier. Actually that has helped me as well. It is hard to stand up when you've got two hands stuck on the ground! She was also tending to drop her hands.

 

[gymdog]

It's not really more difficult. Directionally it is probably easier because the belly is already facing the way it should face, which is important for the kids (not uncommon to try to put the wrong hand down first).

 

[Deleted member D3987]

now after looking at that it appears that she cartwheeling on the wrong side. have her go right. i'll explain later after you try it.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

now after looking at that it appears that she cartwheeling on the wrong side. have her go right. i'll explain later after you try it.

She can't even DO a righty cartwheel! It looks like an average preschooler's "cartwheel". She does EVERYTHING else left (leaps, arabesque, handstands, bridge kickover, etc....).

 

[Deleted member D3987]

well, kids should learn to cartwheel in both directions. this is what average preschoolers do. she can support her body weight so possibly you have her cartwheel against a wall and then land on her left foot as i posted above.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

well, kids should learn to cartwheel in both directions. this is what average preschoolers do. she can support her body weight so possibly you have her cartwheel against a wall and then land on her left foot as i posted above.

Agreed! She does work both directions in class. I just figured if she was going to land either one correctly, it would be her good leg first, so that's the one I've been helping her with at home.

 

[NGL780309]

I don't really have any help to offer, but I just wanted to say that my DD learned her cartwheel not starting in a lunge but facing the side first. She didn't have any trouble learning to do it from a lunge and landing in a lunge. She first learned it it a dance class and they taught it that way to her. Now she will sometimes land facing the side on beam in her attempt to just stay on and make it at all cost and it drives her coach nuts because DD will say, "But I didn't fall."