Back Handspring

1 – Basic information and Tutorial –

The nearest skill : Back bridge
Required skill : –
Helpful skill : Back bridge, Standing back flip, Handstand
Popularity(1-10) : 10
Difficulty(1-10) : 2
Difficulty in men’s gymnastics : A

Back Handspring is one of the most popular skills in acrobat.
People do a back handspring after a round off to get a better back flip most likely.
Also, you can surprise your friends by itself alone.
You should note that a back handspring is a preparation for a flip after that.

Tutorial of Back Handspring

2 – What is good Back Handspring? “Rotating much but hasn’t rotated yet so much” –

This is the same as a round off (for flips directly).
Good Back Handspring has good rotation, because rotation of a Back Handspring makes rotation of a flip after that.
However, good back handspring requires that it hasn’t rotated so much when your feet touch the ground.

While you are punching the ground, your body continue rotating and when takeoff, your body has rotated more than when you started punching.
And at the moment of takeoff, your body will be vertical to the ground and you can jump higher.

Therefore,  your body shouldn’t have rotated to the vertical position to the ground.
“Rotating much but hasn’t rotated yet so much” is required.
This is the same as Round off (for flips directly).

3 – What we should do for “rotating much” –

We can increase rotation of a Back Handspring by 4 ways.

1. Swing up your arms and upper body

By swinging your arms up and swing your upper body while you’re on the ground, you can get rotation.
(cf. Swing your arms and upper body)

2. Jump with your back arched

By jump with your center of gravity shifted, you can get rotation.
(cf. Slightly arch your back and jump)

3. Swing down legs while your hands are on the ground

These two ways are based on the same principle.
Swinging your body while you’re on the ground initiates rotation.
(cf. Tip2(common) : Swing your arms and upper body)
(cf. Appropriate swing direction of your body)

4. Pushing the ground by arms

By pushing the ground with your arms, you can get additional rotation.
There are two ways to push, one is by extending your bent arms and the other is by using arms like a jamming rod.
(cf. Slightly arch your back and jump)

Note that you cannot get rotation in the air though you can increase rotation speed by making your form more efficient for rotation.
To arch your back makes more efficient form for rotation but doesn’t give you any additional rotation.

4 – What we should do for “hasn’t rotated so much” –

This is the same as a round off (for flips directly)
How can we resolve the paradox that a back handspring has good rotation but hasn’t rotated so much?
Solution for that has 2 ways.

Solution 1 Make time for rotation shorter

Even if a back handspring has good rotation, if the time to rotate is shorter, the back handspring cannot complete rotating.
Then, how to make the time to rotate shorter?
The solution is to make your back handspring lower.
It is the same as a flip.
If your back handspring is lower, your feet reach the ground earlier.
To make your back handspring lower, you should spread your arms wider and sometimes bend your arms.
People tend to bend their arms in a back handspring when they didn’t get enough run-up and they push the ground with their arms and get additional rotation.

In addition to that, you can take another advantage of lower round off.
If your body is closer to the ground, you can punch more.

Solution 2 Make your body bigger in the air

If your body is bigger, you rotate slower.
Therefore, you can get “hasn’t rotated so much”.
The detail is in Connect Round off or Back Handspring to Back flip .

5 – Summary –

To be a good Back Handspring, “Rotating much but hasn’t rotated yet so much” is required.
And for that, you should get additional rotation properly in each phase and make the back handspring lower and your body bigger in the air.