Mental Block with Back walkovers

[ellzgym]

Hi, at the moment I am learning front walkovers on the beam, I really want to learn back walkovers too though. I used to be able to do back walkover on the high beam but then they started to get really dangerous, I was twisting as I was going back and had to bail out of every one.

And the other thing is, every time I finish a lesson and I go back to gym the next lesson I always need a spot to get me doing back walkovers. I just cannot do it without that spot. My coach now refuses to spot me anymore on them because she says I'll never be able to properly do them by myself if I always need a spot for the first one.

So how can I get over this fear of leaning back and putting my hands on the beam, twisting and needing a spot for the first one all the time?

Please any replies would be great because I really need to learn this skill because I want to learn back handspring and so on, on beam as well.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

If you're twisting when you do it, you'll need to go back to the low beam or the padded beam so that you won't get injured. Once your walkover is solid on the low beam, you can start returning to a higher beam. I had a friend who wanted so badly to catch up with the other girls who were working level 6 skills, she would do billions of backwalkovers on the medium or high beam just to show she wasn't afraid...but she twisted her shoulders every time, and the coach made her go back to the low beam and do them properly...it was pretty scary to watch her.

About needing a spot: do you mean you are too scared to go for it the first time? As someone with a back that does not always cooperate, I always warm up BWOs on a line on the floor, then on the low beam to get the "kinks" out. When I can make them on the first go on low beam, I'll start just warming them up on floor before going to high beam, to get ready for competition. Make sure your walkover is ready to go on floor every day, though, because if your back is cold, that back walkover on the beam sure won't feel good.

 

[gymnasticslvr21]

I am working on this skill too. When I am doing these I imagine I am just doing them on the ground so I don't twist or bail out. You should take them back to low beam for a while till you gain your confidence back. Also what I do is stick two panel mats on the side of the low beam so it is about level with it. This way you don't have to worry about your hands staying on the beam. After you build some confidence you can slowly unfold the panel mats until your not using them at all. Good luck!

 

[ellzgym]

Hi, I can't even do a back walkover on the low beam without twisting or needing a spot first. I get so fed up with myself! But I really want to learn it, I don't know why I they just started to get dangerous but they did. I can do it perfectly on the floor, straight legs, hips square so on but when I step onto the beam its like a completely different skill. I just can't lean back, I know that I'm not going to hurt myself, and if my hands missed the beam, I'm not going to fall far (only about 6 inches) but still I freak out. My coach called me a psycho. But I really really really want to get this, so any other advice?

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

If the mental block is on low beam as well, then you definitely need to do it with a spot. If you have poor shoulder flexibility, it could make it hard for you to put your hands together on the beam, even if your floor BWO is fine. I would try doing it with the mats around the low beam, with a spot if you must, and then slowly stacking down the mats.

 

[ellzgym]

Yes but my coach will not spot me any more so basically its either do it or don't do it and I really want to do it. I'll try doing it with 2 mats on the side, that could work. But I think I'm twisting because my hands are in the wrong position, so maybe I should switch to a different hand position? I know of 2 ways to do it and at the moment the one I'm using isn't working. The one I use at the moment is: hands together with fingers hanging on to the sides of the beam and thumbs next to one another in the middle. But one hand keeps on going in front of the other a little and its causing me to twist and bail out. So maybe I should use this one: both full hands on the top of the beam with left hand in front a little bit (if you get what I mean), I will do it will left hand in front because that is the hand opposite to the leg that goes back.
Just another quick question: When should my first leg come back? For me it usually comes back as I'm leaning back like on floor but I'm seen some people leave their leg behind them and don't bring it up until there hands touch or just a split second before their hands touch.

Btw, I don't have poor shoulder flexibility so I can always get my hands together on the beam, I've never ever missed the beam with my hands so I don't know why I'm afraid. I think once I got one of my hands on the beam but missed with the other one and had to twist out of it but it wasn't scary. When we do shoulder stretches and my partner pushes my arms above my head with my hands together they can almost touch the ground.

I usually just go for it and clear my mind and do it (say round off flip sault on floor), but if I do that on beam I'm scared that I will miss my hands with the beam because I'll have a blank mind and won't be concentrating. And if I do miss the beam all I'm going to do is fall 6 inches with my hands, I'm such a psycho and its really annoying me! It doesn't help that my coaches call me stubborn and a pyscho!