Tutorial of Front Flip (pike)
In reality, you don’t move that much(An illustration of each form is shifted to right).
The only difference between a front flip layout and tuck is just your form in the air(4. In the air and 5. Prepare for landing).
How to rotate, how to punch the ground is the same.
Ways to Practice (Running Front flip)
① Jump before punch
Run faster and jump long and low.
Don’t slow down to jump; use all the momentum of run-up to jump longer like a long jumper in track&field.
The height of your waist should be kept(the yellow line).
Put your legs forward after the half in the air.
When your feet touch the ground, you should be leaning back.
In the air, you can swing your arms neighther upward or downward.
However, note that your arms should be in front of your chest when your feet touch the ground.
② On the ground
Your run-up is transformed by frictional force to rotation in the air.
If you have only short run-up, you should get more momentum.
Therefore, you should swing down your arms.
To get higher dive roll, your waist should be above your feet.
(cf. Swing your arms and upper body)
③ Take off
To get more height, you should make your lower body vertical to the ground.
(Make your center of gravity be above your feet)
And as with standing back flip, to lean forward with your chest arched is better than with your waist arched.
Until you completely take off the ground, make your hip-joint continued to be extended.
Therefore you should have been waiting for tucking or piking.
Therefore, the angle of your hip-joint is the largest at the moment of taking off.
Also, you should look forward.
④ In the air
It is almost the same as tucked front flip, the only difference is your form.
There is no option about piking, so pike as soon as possible.
put your upper body closer to your legs and hold the back of your knees.
The things you have to do in the air is the same as a standing back flip.
In the air you cannot generate more rotation.
(cf. We don’t rotate by momentum of tucking at all)
The only thing you can do in the air is to increase your rotation speed by making your form small (more pike) and putting strength to your whole body.
(cf. How to make your form more efficient for rotation (including improving tuck))
You should get small without thinking as soon as possible after taking off otherwise you would lose rotation due to your loose muscles.
(cf. Put strength to all your muscles)
However, sometimes the notion that you should tuck as soon as possible prevents you from proper taking off.
Therefore, you may want to wait a split second before tucking(or your hip-joint may start being closed before taking off).
⑤ Prepare for landing
After you rotate enough, you should prepare for landing.
If you rotate enough and continue to pike, your face will be hit by the ground.
Prepare for landing has 2 ways, which are the opposite to the way of increasing rotation.
The one is to make your form big(unpike).
And the other one is to loosen your muscles.
In these 2 ways, you can slow down your rotation speed.
Unlike a back flip, it is difficult to find out the ground.
Therefore, you have to try again and again to know the timing of landing.
⑥ Landing
Bend your knees slightly otherwise you may break your knees if you miss the timing of landing.
After your feet touch the ground, you should bend your knees more and absorb an impact of landing.
To stick your landing, you should utilize your arms properly.
(cf. How to stick your landing)