Coaches Back Handspring- Back Handspring Trouble!!

[Nessa373]

I am a Level 9 gymnast, and my series on beam is a Bhs Bhs. You'd think I would be able to do a good Bhs on beam by now, but unfortunately, I have lots of trouble with them. I learned them incorrectly, and I've never really been able to fix the problems thats caused. I posted a few videos of myself- here's my series on a good day

Good Bhs Bhs - YouTube

And a bad day...

Bad Bhs Bhs - YouTube

I'm even more confused because when I do them on the floor, they're fine, but sometimes when I put them on the beam they just go all wrong. Here's one on the floor

Bhs - YouTube

I would really appreciate being told the differences between these two series and what corrections I can make to become better at them. I have been having trouble with this for a long time, and I really need the help. Thanks so much!

 

[gymnastgets10]

Well, I never did a backhandspring series on an actual beam and am only a pre-team coach now, so take this with a grain of salt. But I listened to my coaches criticizing my teammates' series for years. I'm actually really interested in what someone like dunno has to say. However, this what I see.

I saw the same problems with both the "good" and "bad" series.

1. You bend backwards too much before you jump in your bhs and then jump hard straight down and throw yourself on your hands, which makes it heavy and hard to connect. On the floor, you jump a little sooner, so it's lighter, but you could still jump sooner there too. Not squatting quite so much and trying to jump high instead of back might help with that

2. The "throwing yourself on your hands" is even more pronounced in the 2nd bhs because you break your body angle coming out of the first. You start to lever out of your handstand well, but then break the angle - when your second foot is just about to hit the beam, your chest is still way too low - pause the videos and then click around :06 in the first video and :02 in the second to see what I mean. This kills your momentum and makes you bend even more before jumping on the second bhs. You should have a relatively straight line from your hands to your back foot the whole way down, finishing upright and totally ready for the next bhs. Handstand stepdowns to straight jump and hstd bhs might help with that.

Hope I'm not way off base and that at least some of this helps!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

the first 1 is okay. the 2nd you are jerking your chin in to your chest and not looking at your hands first then feet. what the poster above is saying is caused by you jerking your chin in. stop it. look at your hands first and then your feet just like in the first one.

 

[iwannacoach]

The good bhsx2 has a much better 1st handspring than the second handspring. What I'm seeing is that your positions are pretty good in the air on the second one, so it probably feels "just right". Things are pretty good on the hand catch as far as direction, square, and alignment, but you collapse just a bit during the step out and lift, or non lift, from the beam.

Dunno noticed the chin position, and that will cause a slight collapse, but I'm thinking the chin tuck is a reaction to something done earlier. I think what caused a pretty good series to get a little uncomfortable is the timing into the air on the second bhs..... it's rushed into the air, and that puts you in a ready to catch position and state of readiness with the beam still about a foot lower than you'd like it to be, which puts you in the position of having to wait what seems an eternity for that dang beam to get close enough to actually grab it. Well, just like any other beam worker you hate to wait, so you rush to the beam by drawing your legs over, and that turns you into a dart being drilled into the beam.

This is the most common cause for wild wobbles, that never fall off when they look like they should. It happens on perfectly directed, aligned split leaps and jumps, and causes lost CV all over the place. And hey, don't even get me started on the many gymnasts who rush the ending to finish a full turn. Kinda funny about those darn turns, they wobble all over the place but seldom come off the beam because hmm, maybe there was nothing wrong with them at all, except that rush to get it over with.

WHOOPS! Guess who just got lost in a rant.

Geez, and I said it was a pretty good series? Heck yeah, it's a great series with respect to the stuff that usually gives you girls fits of trouble....... like direction, square, alignment, and hand position. So try this..... calm down a bit on the second bhs, and let it flow away from your first bhs hand placement using the momentum you established while starting the first bhs. Really, it's kinda like coasting on a bicycle..... all you have to do is steer.

So go to the floor for a set of ten series and concentrate on how little energy the second bhs takes. Move to the floor beam for another set of ten and force yourself to reproduce the same rhythm and energy level as you transition from the first bhs into the second. While you're working that set of ten, hear these words, "It really is as easy as IWC says"...... because it IS that easy.

Just to make sure I've said it enough..... It's a pretty good series, and it's gonna be a work of art as soon as you learn to guide the skill while it 'does itself' in the same rhythm you use everywhere but beam...... the floor ex mat, the basement floor line, the stretched jump rope in the back yard, the.... well you get the idea.

So 373, try dunno's correction first because it's more direct. If that doesn't click choose the next one in line that makes sense to you, and the next, and keep going until you find the one that makes it as easy as it should be.

 

[stargazer]

From your video on floor, it looks like you are splitting your legs quite late (I'm guilt of that too) and that's causing you to come down hard on your hands, and making your elbows bend a bit. Think about being in a normal handstand versus a handstand with a 180 degree split, I know that technically it's the same amount of weight but due to your body position it will feel different. Try to do two things: Split your legs as early as possible while also throwing your arms back with your shoulders at your ears so that you land with a tighter body position. I've found those two corrections improved the flow of my handsprings, along with the look and feel of them because I wasn't hitting the beam/ground so heavily with my hands. Hopefully that helps!

 

[iluvgym]

These are all good corrections. Keep working on your shoulder flexibility as well, that will help too.

Finish your downward arm swing so you can swing them all the way up and back after (into the back handspring). Looking at your hands is SO important, because if your chin is tucked down it makes your shoulders close and you will pike. Don't you feel like when your hands touch the beam that your shoulders are leaning forward? It's mostly because your chin is down.

Have you practiced back handsprings from the floor up to a folded panel mat? Also practicing back handsprings to a handstand and falling flat to your stomach may held as well.

Good luck!