WAG FHS VS. FHS-stepout

[Jard.the.gymnast]

1. Which one do you consider easier? Why is that one easier than the other?
2. Do you teach them at the same time or do you start with one, then the other? If so which one do you teach first?
3. What are the pros and cons to each?

This because I have a good fhs, but I can't for the life of me do a fhs-stepout. Coach tells me stepout is easier, so he doesn't get why I can't do it.

 

[jamieintexas]

Make sure that the first leg that hits the ground is straight. If it is bent you will squish and lose your power. The best drill is a front handspring stepout run out, just keep running 3-4 steps after the skill. You will then feel the bend and loss of power. I teach the step out first because it keeps the hips open no “Squaty McPotty” that likes to show up in new front handsprings.

 

[raenndrops]

YG can do the stepout, but not the 2 footed. Of course, she also had a Front Tuck to a stepout before she could do it to 2 feet, lol.
That being said, since JO has the 2 footed FHS in Level 4 and the stepout doesn't start until Level 5, we teach the 2 footed version first.
Drills we do for the front handspring:
off the top of a wedge mat
over the octagon (taller girls can go over the "pac-man" turned upside down)
over an 8 inch mat turned sideways - only hands on the mat, at least 1/2 way across

 

[coachmolly]

I typically teach a FHS first, mostly to help them figure out the hurdle & block. With a fhs-stepout it's pretty easy for the kids to just do a fast front walkover. Though FHS to 2 feet does come with the ugly squat landing mentioned above with some kids. So both have their pros and cons. If a kid is really struggling with FHS, I will sometimes switch gears and try FHS-step out. But typically at that point, the problem is with the ending of the skill (squat landing) and they have figured out the front portion so we avoid the fast front walkover stage. Once a kid starts to get the hang of FHS we add in the step out pretty quickly. If a kid has a good front handspring, I think the only piece of the step out I really see them struggle with is reverting back to a fast front walkover (seems to happen more often with the more flexible kids). Though I do currently have a little one who I think might really struggle with step outs when we get there due to a lack of body tension.

For FHS who do them off the Tumbltrak-land stretched and fall to their stomach on the resi. Spotted off a panel mat "runway" to fall forward. Down a cheese mat to fall forward in a tight arch to mat stack about knee height (Spotted at first). For girls struggling with stepouts I will go back to spotting them off the panel mat "runway" just with a step out at the end.

 

[kiwi2406]

The easier one usually depends on the gymnast: if more of a powerhouse then regular FHS will be easier, if more dance-y and flexible then FHS-stepout will tend to be easier; of course there are exceptions.
I personally found that a FHS-stepout took longer to learn but is now easier.
We teach the FHS to 2 feet first because we don't really have much use for a FHS-stepout in our floor routines, Step 4 does a FHS and Step 5 does a FHS into a small run and punch front (progression for FHSFT in Step 6). So really, we put most of our time and energy into a FHS.
The pros of a FHS are that its the building block for front tumbling and is used for years- even elites use them into their front tumbles. The cons are that if you don't have enough speed and heel drive then its a really hard skill to learn.
A pro of a FHS-s/o is that its a good progression towards an aerial walkover, especially on beam, as it has more of the speed of an aerial walkover than the front walkover does.
A con of the FHS-s/o is that its practically useless on floor after a certain amount of time.
For getting your fhs-s/o have you tried it on a tumbl-trak or a trampoline? Also down a small incline usually helps a lot