Fear of doing handstands?

[PinkFeather]

Hi, I'm new here.
So a couple months ago I started a Tumbling class. I wasn't very strong ( I'm still not ) so it was hard for me to do handstands or anything much for that matter but my coach had me doing handstands and trying to do cartwheels right from day one. ( I have no idea if that's normal or not, never took a Tumbling class before. ) After just my second Tumbling class I followed my coach's advice of using couch cushions to practice on and I was practicing handstands when I fell wrong ( my mom, who was watching, said it looked like my arms gave out under me ) and hurt my back. Luckily nothing was broken or anything, it was just a sprained muscle, but it took awhile to recover and now I'm absolutely terrified of doing handstands again. I had to quit the class to recover and I haven't taken it back up again because my mom was recently diagnosed with cancer, but I really miss Tumbling and would love to start it up again one day, the only problem is that I'm too scared to! My fear has escalated into just being afraid of being upside down and a fear of breaking my neck if I were to fall, I don't know what to do.
Has anyone else had a fear like this? What did you do to get over it? And is it normal for a coach to have you doing all that from the very first class? :/

 

[MaryA]

I am only the mom of a gymnast, not a coach or a gymnast myself, but I do know that fear is something that every gymnast faces, especially after a bad fall (and sometimes for no apparent reason at all) so you're definitely not weird or anything. Even though this is a stressful time for you and your family, if getting you to tumbling isn't too big of a burden on your parents, I would say that you should definitely take it up again. Exercise is a good way to help your body deal with stress. Let your coach know what happened when you fell and let him/her know about your fear. A good coach will be patient and will help you take baby steps toward doing handstands again. Not only will you be having fun tumbling again, but you'll feel good about facing and overcoming your fears!

Good luck!

 

[PinkFeather]

Thank you for the advice!

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

Yes it is completely normal for a coach to teach those skills on the first day. Honestly the only thing they could've done besides that would be forward rolls and she might've skipped it on the assumption that yall could do it already. Handstands and cartwheels are the base for anything gymnastics or tumbling related.

 

[SuperGirlmlm]

Yes, starting handstands and cartwheels on the first day is very normal...Those 2 skills are the base of EVERY skill you'll ever move on to do. Though, instead of doing handstands and cartwheels at home, maybe you should condition so you can get stronger so you won't fall like that.
At my gym, we have a fears list posted on how to get over fears.
1. DO NOT AVOID THE SKILL- that will only make it worse.
2. Do the skill over and over.
3. Visualize yourself doing the skill and succeeding.
4. Don't over think-don't think, do! Clear your mind, get out there and just do it.
5. For a handstand, think, strong lunge, kick up, stay tight, spot landing
6. Remember this; if your coach didn't think you could do it, they wouldn't let you try it. Your coach believes in you.
7. Believe in yourself.

 

[PinkFeather]

Okay then, that's good to know. I mostly ask because my mom thought it was too much and didn't want me going back to the same place because of it, but if it's normal then that is different.

Thanks for the list!

 

[Moxiegrl83]

Us mom's worry about our kiddo's You can tell her it's perfectly normal though, and even in beginning rec classes they start with cartwheels and handstands (against the wall if needed). I don't know how old you are, but when DD5 started gymnastics, they had her doing the same thing. I'm not sure how you were using the couch cushions to practice, if you were just falling flat on them I guess that would work, but it would be pretty tough to do the handstand on the cushion, it's too thick and uneven. A panel mat against the wall is what my little one uses when she does them at home.

 

[PinkFeather]

That definitely sounds better than using couch cushions. ^_^" Thanks.

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

How old are you?

 

[PinkFeather]

Why do you ask?

 

[LiveLoveTumble]

Because things like this are treated differently for kids of different ages.

 

[PinkFeather]

Sorry, I don't understand, do you mean things like the fear of doing handstands or things like my coach having me doing handstands on the first day of class?

 

[LiveLoveTumble]

Fear. The handstands are normal.

 

[PinkFeather]

Ah. Well, I'm 17.