Even more back handspring drills

Hi All,

I’ve been starting to prep for some upcoming clinics (refining lectures, nailing down drill lists), and one thing that everyone seems to be asking for is tumbling (often ROs and BHSs). So I thought I would share some more back handspring videos today that I really like.

Even more back handspring drills

The one thing I have to say about back handsprings that probably makes a bigger difference than anything else is not having kids do them until they can be tight in the air. That means straight jumps, jump backs, any sort of airborne drill you can think of (that isn’t a full back handspring) should be able to be done tightly (like REALLY tightly) before you have them do back handsprings on their own (or even lightly spotted). Really, waiting until they understand body tension will decrease the bad habits hundreds of times over.

This first video is a nice little series of back handspring drills, including two of my personal favorites: back handspring to stomach and back handspring to knees. The jumping up to block drill is a really great one to add to rec classes as well to get that coordination for jumping (not just for back handsprings) really early.

This second one I really like – while the gymnast isn’t actually DOING a back handspring she’s learning what the “uncoiling” from the round off should feel like. The tension from the band helps with the shape and snap. Great drill for developing shaping and muscle memory.

This third one is another great back handspring drill that I like to use especially when athletes are leaning forward too much. It’s really the quickest way I’ve found to get athletes to lean back (mostly because they’re afraid of hitting the wall).

This last one I really like for the first part of the video – I still haven’t decided how I feel about the round off back handspring drills at the end. That being said, the beginning has some really good progressions and you can see how you can go from a slow back handsprings with shaping as the emphasis to a much quicker more powerful back handspring. The back handsprings where she is snapping to push-up so hard that her hands come off the ground? That’s a GREAT DRILL.

Video 1: Cincinnati Gym

Videos 2 and 4: Zach Crumpton

Video 3: Tony Retrosi

 

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