WAG Tips for getting both hands on the beam for a back handspring?

[Sarah_the_gymnast]

So my back handspring on beam, as you can tell by the title, has a problem.

My legs are straight, I have good height, I go straight - everything is good except for one thing.

I can only get one hand on the beam.




Because of this, I've been working on the low beam for a while, but while I've been actively trying to fix my hands, it just isn't working.



Do any coaches know drills or tips for this specifically? I've asked my coaches, but the only option they've come up with is the drop back drills, and I want to see if anyone else has any good ideas.



Also, fun, unrelated brag: I got my round off back layout dismount on beam today! Didn't go into it thinking I would even try, but I guess so Time to work fulls

 

[blue_5678]

I seem to remember you did a Korbut (spelling?) on beam for a while. Did you get both hands on the beam for that?

 

[Sarah_the_gymnast]

I seem to remember you did a Korbut (spelling?) on beam for a while. Did you get both hands on the beam for that?

Lol, yes. Both hands got on very easily, but I just can't manage to do it with a BHS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[ayyyrial]

Sometimes not getting the hands on is a height/jump issue, but I know you've done a lot of drills for height for your Korbut which is what I would recommend for this. Not sure if you've done this one yet, but you can also do BHS back onto a panel mat but also draw a line on the panel mat in chalk to work on hand placement + height.

Sometimes it's a brain issue - your body just won't put that second hand on when it knows there's a chance to put it elsewhere. Are you doing your BHS on the low beam without mats around it? If you have mats, start taking them away little by little.

If it is a mental issue then a spot can be useful - it can give you the extra second and the extra confidence to just get that hand on there.

If you have a slightly wider beam-like surface to practice on (like a beam pad on the floor that's 6" or 8" wide) you could try the BHS there until you can consistently get both hands on, and then move it back to regular low beam.