What starts the Hollow body position during landing in the Round Off?
My coach told me to "snap your toes down"? Is that true?
(a) Do I snap my toes down, and let the legs initiate the hollow position?
(b) or does it come from back muscles?
(c) Last she said sometimes, it easier to get into a pike position, and then get eventually into a hollow body position later
Trying to see if this is true, or any coaching variations, I am willing to learn
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So, let's clarify a few things. "Hollow body" basically just means hips tucked under and ribs pulled down towards the hips, which means it always comes from the abs; there's no other way to do it.
As for the snap at the end, I think often too much attention is given to the snap and not to the elements surrounding it, which is what
@Aussie_coach was getting at. Getting the feet under is the result of two things, with one being a far bigger factor than the other two:
1) THE BIG ONE: Angular momentum. This is the technical term for rotating power. Once your hands leave the floor, you have a certain amount of rotating power, and nothing you can possibly do with your abs, your back, your feet, or anything else will change that until your feet contact the floor. This angular momentum comes primarily from the push through the legs at the beginning of the roundoff, and to a lesser extent to push off the hands in the middle of the roundoff. Speaking of which....
2) The push off the hands. This part of the roundoff does two things: it adds to your rotating power, and it pops you up enough for your body to rotate, resulting in the feet "snapping" under your body.
In my opinion, the best way to get a good snap down at the end of the roundoff is not to try to get a good snap down. A good snap is a symptom of having the rest of the roundoff correct; if you're focusing on pike/hollow/whatever, you're not focusing on the parts you actually need to focus on.
So what can you do to build an effective snap? Well, first thing is to work on a really stretched out cartwheel. Make it almost comically long. Focus on a super-aggressive push off the back leg as you lunge into it.
Second, take that stretched out, as-long-as-possible cartwheel, and when you turn it into a roundoff, shorten it right at the last moment, bringing your feet as close to your hands as you can.
Third, and perhaps counterintuitively, slow down the connection between the roundoff and the backhandspring. You don't want to land the roundoff and instantly take off for the BHS; you want to land the roundoff, then sit back, THEN push off for the BHS.