Tutorial of Back Handspring
① Before takeoff
Before take off, you should swing up your arms and your upper body.
There are some check points.
The first one
・Your shins and upper body are vertical to the ground
・Your thighs and arms are horizontal
In this position, you will fall backward but you should use that momentum backward to do a back handspring.
In the most of the cases, you don’t pass through this position.
You may extend your hip-joint and lean back earlier.
You should delay the timing of leaning back until your arms pass through the front of your chest.
After this position, face up and continue to look at your hands.
The second one
・Still your shins are vertical and thighs are horizontal
・But your arms are vertical and your upper body and the ground make 45°
After this position, you should extend your knees.
The third one
・Your shins are vertical
・ Your thighs and upper body and arms make a straight line(about 30° to the ground)
The last one
is takeoff.
You should arch your back and extend out your knees and shoulder joints.
To extend your knees out, you should push the ground long like a vertical jump, do not like punch.
If you swing your arms later than the ideal, your swing gives you more height and less rotation.
It is not good for a back handspring.
If you swing your arms late, some part of swing are used to pull your body up, and little are used to get rotation.
If you swing your arms properly, most of the swing are used to get rotation.
(cf. Appropriate swing direction of your body)
② In the air 1
In the air, you cannot add rotation.
Arch your back to increase your rotation speed in order that you wouldn’t fall forward after your hands touch the ground.
(cf. How to make your form more efficient for rotation (including improving tuck))
Also you should put strength to your whole body and let it not lose rotation energy.
Face up to find the ground and prepare to land on your hands.
(cf. Appropriate your face direction)
③ While your hands are on the ground
When your hands touch the ground, your upper body must be almost vertical to the ground.
Your back must be arched and look at the ground, face up.
While your hands are on the ground, you should swing your body downward to get rotation.
(cf. Appropriate swing direction of your body)
To do that, you should flexion your shoulders and hip-joint and make your chest hollow.
If your arms are bent, push the ground by extending your bent arms to get additional rotation.
④ In the air 2
In the air, you cannot add rotation.
Rotation speed is depending on your form only.
If you intend to do a back flip, make your form bigger in the air not to let your body rotate much.
If you intend to do a back handspring again, make your form smaller in the air to let your body rotate more.
⑤ Jump or fall on mattress
1. Intend to do a back flip
If you want to do a vertical jump only, you should lean forward when takeoff.
It is because you already have a backward momentum and rotation momentum so even if you intend to only jump, you would rotate in the air.
Therefore, you should lean forward like a front flip and chancel out the backward rotation momentum.
If you have mattress, you can jump and fall on your back on the mattress.
You should make your body straight(or slightly arch your back) and vertical to the ground when takeoff.
2. Intend to do a back handspring again
Land on both of your feet.
Or if you have mattress, you can jump backward and fall on your back on the mattress.
