Anon How many times do you have to do a skill to stop being afraid of it?

[Anonymous Post]

I have struggled a lot with back handsprings off and on, mostly due to injuries, family issues that made me miss practice, and bad coaching(happened many times over 4 years, in that order. The bad coaching was the hardest thing to get past because I stopped practicing it because I wasn’t allowed a trampoline or a spot. Things are better now.) I’m finally in a good place. I have it on trampoline, and have my own trampoline so I can practice everyday by myself with no pressure(I didn’t have one before). I still struggle to do the first one each day (this was part of the problem before, The longer I go in between practicing the harder it is.) and get really scared. So, my question is how many times/how long does it take until I can do it on my trampoline super comfortably without getting scared, and be able to try to move it to a different surface. Moving on before the fear was completely gone has caused me to undercut and hurt myself because I was too terrified to do it properly and getting hurt made me more scared. I need the motion to feel as normal as a cartwheel before changing the surface can feel safe and I would really like to be able to get it on floor! If anyone has had a mental block/fear of a skill how many times did it take you/your kid to feel normal doing the skill after getting it?

 

[Adultgymnast]

I (an adult) , started learning It a year and a half ago and it took me 6 months to do It on any surface by myself. I practiced a min of 3 days a week for at least one hour. I also had bad coaching and I’m working on perfecting it. But when I learned my coach didn’t let me use a bouncy surface , i did it down the cheese. It does take people longer to go from the tramp to the floor for sure. The tramp option may be better bc you get to correct form and make it perfect before the floor

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

I really don't know cuz im in the same situation..putting a reply in here to follow the thread lol

 

[Trying_to_tumble]

For me, it took around 2-3 months of practicing falling into a bridge under a mat before no longer feeling afraid. I got a lot of mental blocks with a skill as simple as that. Now I can fall into back bend anywhere, in the gym or on concrete (not the safest thing to do, but you get the point). But then again, I am very slow learner. I wasn’t necessarily afraid of going backwards but I was afraid of going backwards on anything other than a very thick mat.

I am currently learning a BHS with a very heavy spot, my coach told me if I feel way too freaked out, it’s best not to try it without one. She says I should feel extremely comfortable with a light spot before trying it on my own.

Couldn’t really give any advice, other than to trust your gut feeling….if you don’t feel safe doing it, don’t do it. When I wasn’t completely ready for a back walkover I pulled a back muscle and was out of gym for more than a week (luckily it was a small injury).

Good luck!