Tips for hands(Front & Back tuck)

[KipGirl91]

Hi,

I'm looking for tips on what to do with my hands while doing Front & Back tuck off trampoline.

When I'm doing front tuck I: try to get really high and set at the top of my jump, pull in fast as I begin to rotate; but then I always end up putting my hands down. I think it probably started as a fear issue while learning dive roll that I needed to put my hands down to steady myself and it evolved into a nasty bad habit that's really hard to kick now that I actually WANT to do front tuck.

I just got up the nerve to try back tuck off (and am LOVING it!): I'm not really refining my technique at this point, it's mostly a 'bring your feet up and over and just go for it' back tuck.:tongue: I have stuck it once, but I again have the habit of putting my hands down as I'm landing. I'm making it all the way over, and landing on my feet, but right now it's a hands and feet landing.

The coaches I've talked to said things like: If you your hands coming down, try and pull them up as soon as you can; bring your hands right in close... any other tips?

 

[gymnast16]

Some tips might be to jump and get hieght with your arms up. when u are ready to flip and rotate, pull them into a tuck position, around your knees

 

[KipGirl91]

That's what I'm doing, I can get really high, but especially with my front tuck, even if I'm really high, I still put my hands down. And if I try and tuck them around my knees, then I don't really rotate. I guess I feel like I need them to help drive me over. I can start really good, I guess what I need is 'how to break a bad habit'.

 

[teena82]

Does your gym have a harness with ropes or bungees? I found that very helpful with getting over the fear factor of doing back tucks.

When you're doing the fronts when do your hands go down? Before or after you flip? I'd say start with your hands over your head. When you get the height throw your arms forward, tuck your chin, and grab your knees. Try to remember that if you don't make it all the way around on a front, most likely you'll just land on your butt.

We have a girl in my adult class that's afraid to do fronts and land on the tramp. So they push a sting mat under her while she's in the air to give her something softer to land on. But again, when she doesn't make it around she just lands on her butt.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

The front tuck I'd have to see, but putting the hands down on a back tuck almost always means underrotating. There are two likely causes for this.

First, the takeoff. There are about a million things that can go wrong on the set for a back tuck and I'd have to see it to know which (if any) you're doing, but the first thing you should focus on is fixing whatever problems are occurring in this phase. Common problems include loose core (resulting in excessive arch), loose knees (resulting in knees buckling on takeoff), and insufficient open in the shoulders and chest.

Second, preparation for landing. The natural tendency is to throw the arms up when you spot the ground; however, I've always been a big fan of the trampoline-style kickout; that is, you should first use your legs to adjust for rotation (ie kick to a layout if you need to slow your rotation) but keep the arms by the sides until the feet actually contact the landing. The easiest way I've found to think of this is to slide your hands from your shins to your thighs -- and then KEEP THEM THERE until your feet are on the floor.

If you could provide a video, I could probably be much more helpful.

 

[CoachTodd]

I'm with GT. Without a video, it would be difficult to speculate what may or may not being going wrong.
example: If you are getting high off the floor for the front tuck and bringing your knees to your chest while bringing your arms down, you aren't generating any rotation since the bottom half of the body is going the wrong direction. A video would be the best idea. You may find that filming the skill may even let you see the correction yourself.

 

[KipGirl91]

Ok, thanks everyone! I wish I had read this before Saturday and had a chance to try it out, our classes just wrapped for the year, so I won't be able to get on again until the 2nd of January. I'll try and get a video then - while I'm waiting, I noticed on Saturday that another habit I have is looking behind me to the right as I begin to flip, so I end up twisting over(not in a good way) landing kind of sideways. I did that when I was learning back handspring too. I find if I make a concerted effort to look to the left it helps, but otherwise it's really sloppy. Any tip for that too?

In reply to Teena82, we have one, but it's broken, I REALLY wish it was fixed! The fear factor(for once) isn't actually a problem with my back tucks. I've always wanted to do them, and now that I'm trying them, I love it! I had some coaches/ gymnasts give me advice about the landing, so I'm not afraid to do it. My hands are coming down as my head comes into the rotation, before my feet get over my head, if I'm not mistaken.


CoachTodd, what you said about lack of rotation due to my knees coming up to my chest is COMPLETELY true, I had another coach tell me the same thing, and that they need to be behind(?) you to help drive the rotation(correct me if I'm wrong, it was a couple weeks ago). However, I didn't quite understand how to do that.

I'm not really sure about the technical aspects of my tuck, right now I'm mostly just 'going for it' with advice from other coaches who already know how to do back tuck, no formal coaching lessons.