WAG When to push through fear?

[stargazer]

About 2.5 months ago I decided I wanted to get my front handspring front tuck on floor. I trained them for a little while on rod floor with varying degrees of success about a year ago. Also, I understand the mechanics of the skills much better now and have a significantly better block from my hands than I did a year ago, and figured I might as well try to get it on comp floor. I worked my way up from doing them into the pit (which honestly I despise, I have a thing about tumbling into pits), then onto rod floor and now onto comp floor. Most of the time they are very easy for me on rod floor, and just in the last three weeks or so I have done about 10 on comp floor. The thing is, for no reason at all, I find them quite scary. I KNOW I am fully capable of doing them properly and safely, but some days it's very very hard to get myself to stay tight out of the handspring and throw the front tuck, and not just do yet another set. In case you're wondering, both when I set and when I actually go for the skill my sets are so high I'm flipping over my head height, so that's not the issue. I know that when you're afraid of something you should generally take a step back and do the next easiest skill until you're comfortable, but I can do sets for days and days and it doesn't make a difference. How do I know when to just suck it up and do the skill, or go back to doing drills? Does anyone have any tips, drills or keywords you can suggest that might make this easier? I have a hard time not over-thinking the tuck after the handspring, and it feels so easy when I do go for it, but they still freak me out! I'm an adult gymnast (retired a year ago) so I don't need to get this skill for any reason in particular, but I really want to master it and it's driving me crazy. I'm sure the collective wisdom of those on the chalkbucket can help me out! Sorry for the novel, thanks for reading this far

 

[aerialriver]

I think it is a personal decision. I am an adult too and I find that if I give myself outs I will do less and less of the skill until I am petrified of it and stop doing it. So I have to push myself to do it. My mind will race and I panic to the point of getting dizzy and sick and I am learning how to reconize the early signs that is going to happen and I will set a number for the day like 5, I won't allow myself to get out of doing the 5 but if it gets to be too much I will stop and I condition to get my head back. There is no point in pushing yourself to the point where you are going to get hurt because you can no longer focus. You just have to find that point for yourself. Like you I will do 4 perfect ones then all the sudden panic for no logical reason. The mind works in mysterious ways!

 

[gymgymgymnast08]

If you have someone else in the gym with you have them give you a number and not let you leave until you do them. You will want to go home eventually so you will get them done. A personal favorite of mine is to say "okay you have to complete 6 FHS FT. For every FHS FT that you attempt but do not flip the FT, you have to add one more." So if you attempt 7 but only go for 5, you have 7 left instead of 5 left.
**note: if you keep bailing on them over and over then you need to stop and come back later because if you are really tired and trying to force yourself to do then, that's when injuries happen. Good luck!

 

[stargazer]

gymgymgymast08 that's a great idea! Although if I'd tried that last class I would have 'owed' myself about 30 FHS FT haha. Aerialriver I'm glad to hear you're in the same boat as me, if only we could find some magic way to get through those times when an easy skill suddenly seems so scary.
If anyone else or your gymmie has had similar problems please let me know how you dealt with them!

 

[iwannacoach]

If my impression is correct that you feel better about doing them on the rod floor, then do them there with an extra challenge. I'm a big fan of using time as a challenge, or doing them in rapid succession, so if it's allowed to tumble toward either end of the rod floor, do one.... turn around and do another. If you do them like this you'll have less time to think, and that brief instant where you can think will be spent thinking about the key moments of the skill...... like finishing the hand block and pressing your arms back and against your ears, or the snap through the top and reach into the floor for the foot block.

Occupy your mind on those urgencies, and you'll have no time for fear or confusion. I don't think that fear is something that can be pushed through by casually/carelessly telling yourself to just do it, but rather to find something you're comfortable with to work in a way that challenges you, and accumulate those successes to build confidence. Figure on spending the next two minutes trying to make three back to back passes, and then work something else for a few minutes before repeating the process. Continue like this through your entire tumbling session, depending on energy, until you've done three sets of two minute drills.

That's the easy way, and you'll be learning more about the skill as you do it instead of fidgeting and worrying half your time away.

Work hard, gymnastics easy............ Work easy, gymnastics hard.