WAG Connecting Round Off to BHS

[Aero]

In order to get a long, low, fast backhandspring, the gymnast's center of mass needs to be significantly behind the feet when she initiates the BHS. By bending the knees, she allows a slight delay between landing the roundoff and initiating the BHS, and during that delay the CoM can fall further behind the feet, allowing for greater horizontal acceleration. I've also found this method extremely effective to avoid the forward knee buckle you often see in low-level backhandsprings; rather than emphasizing a fast RO-BHS, I emphasize a long one, and often tell kids I want them to make this transition slower (which, counter-intuitively, results in a faster BHS.

I completely agree with Geoffrey on the Center of Mass concept. Regardless of how good or bad the gymnast's round-off is, if the majority of the gymnast's weight is behind her feet upon take off for the back handspring, it will be long. However, a strong, technically correct round-off sets the stage for a much more powerful and effective back handspring. I always make sure my athletes have very high rebounds in their round-offs before I have them connect back handsprings. This is essentially because a round-off back handspring still requires a strong rebound, just not upwards. You're simply changing the direction of the rebound so it travels backwards, long and flat.

I also second Geoffrey's recommendation of Gerald George's Championship Gymnastics book. It is one of my most precious coaching resources, and I continually reference it.

 

[Ruth]

This is what my dd's coach did and it worked very fast for mm dd. Elevate block (knee high will work). She asked my dd to do hansand from the floor onto the block. With spot she had to go back snapping her fit together on the floor then immediate back handspring. She could do ROBHS the next day. The drill of handstand (onto the mat) then bhs.