Common Backhandspring Questions

Author: Sunni Schulz Pieschala

Published on: September 6, 2004
The backhandspring (bhs) is
probably the most coveted
cheerleading tumbling skill.
The majority of the e-mails
receive are from
cheerleaders !ho !ant to
learn or improve their bhs.
can"t teach you a bhs over
the nternet. t is also pretty
impossible to teach yourself
one# especially if you don"t have any prior tumbling e$perience. %ymnasts must perfect several skills
before learning the bhs and so must you. n order to learn a bhs safely you &'(T take tumbling lessons.
)aving your t!o best cheerleading buddies spot you !on"t really help you to learn unless you have a
competent coach to guide you.
The key to learning a bhs is to take your time and perfect each drill. kno! many of you feel you have to
learn a bhs in order to make a cheerleading s*uad and so you hope to learn in a month. 'nless you have
perfected all the preliminary drills and skills# it is unlikely you !ill learn in a month. f you have no prior
tumbling e$perience# it can take a year or more.
+ased on the e-mails have received# have put together a list of common bhs *uestions and ans!ers.
hope you !ill find ,-'. bhs /ailment/ and give it the proper /cure./
0. keep landing on my head1 2hat should do3
A. 4ollapsing in a bhs is a common problem. t"s usually the result of an improper takeoff rather than a lack
of arm strength. n the image above of a proper bhs# you"ll notice the gymnast does not jump back and land
in a perfect up-and-do!n handstand. nstead her back is arched and her legs are parallel to the ground (5ig.
6). (he doesn"t pass the handstand position until after her hands have touched the ground. f you are landing
on your head then you are probably jumping instead of pushing# pulling your legs over too fast# and landing
in a handstand so all of your !eight is on your arms. t is also possible that your head is sticking out and
your shoulders are in front of your !rists. n fig. 7 and 6 you"ll note that the shoulders and !rists are
aligned. f your shoulders are in front of your hands your !eight !ill be too far for!ard to support and you
!ill collapse. To correct the error# practice your bhs !ith a spot and have your spotter stop you in the fig. 6
position. 2ork on your flyback drills and push instead of jump.
0. keep undercutting my backhandspring. )elp1
A. 'ndercutting means your hands are landing too close to !here your feet began. A good bhs is nice and
long. To see if you are undercutting# put chalk on your hands and feet and see !here your hands are
landing. They should be a nice distance from your feet. 'ndercutting can be the result of dropping your
shoulders !hen you take off. n fig. 8 you"ll notice the gymnast"s shoulders are in line !ith her hips# not
over her knees. t can also be the result of jumping instead of pushing (remember your drills1) and thro!ing
your head back instead of keeping it in line. n fig. 9 and 7 you"ll notice that the gymnast"s arms are by her
ears# her head is not sticking out. :eep your body tight and in line.
0. &y backhandspring is crooked# ho! can correct this3
A. A crooked bhs is usually the result of the tumbler looking over his or her shoulder in an attempt to /see/
the ground. To keep your head straight# concentrate on !atching your hands instead of looking for the floor.
A crooked bhs can also be the result of pushing off more !ith one leg than the other or of reaching back
further !ith one arm. Practice those takeoff drills into a big mat and make sure your legs are s*uee;ed
together. (ometimes you can correct an uneven push by putting a piece of foam bet!een your ankles and
trying to s*uee;e your legs together and hold onto it !hile you do your bhs. f you are reaching back
further !ith one arm than the other# !ork on your shoulder fle$ibility !ith your !eaker arm.
0. am trying to do t!o backhandsprings in a ro! but can"t seem to get in the right position for the
second one. 2hat am doing !rong3
A. -nce you start to pass through the handstand position (fig <) you need to push off the ground using your
shoulders and your elbo!s. The momentum from snapping your legs over !ill also help you to land in an
upright position so you can add another bhs. +e sure you are pulling your legs over !ith your stomach
muscles# not your hips. A bend at the hips can cause an improper landing. f you land bent over and you try
to takeoff for your second bhs# you !ill either undercut or land on your head.
0. can do a backhandspring !ith a spot but "m afraid to try it on my o!n. 2hat should do3
A. 4onfidence comes !ith repetition. The more you practice your bhs !ith a spot# the more confident you
!ill become. t takes many repetitions to teach your muscles !hat to do and to teach your brain ho! a bhs
feels. =on"t rush yourself. -n that same note# you !ill probably need to /trick/ your brain the first time you
try one on your o!n. 5irst# find a place that makes you feel safe to try your first solo bhs. suggest putting
a folded panel mat in front of an >-inch skill cushion. (tand on the panel mat so you have a sold place to
push off from# but put your hands onto the >-inch mat. )ave your coach count to 9 and then spot you for
one. Then immediately step back to the starting position. +efore you have a chance to /think/ have your
coach count to 9 again and try to thro! it on your o!n. f you fail to go# have your spotter step back in#
count to 9 and do another one. The idea is to get your body to do it before your brain has a chance to get
scared. .epeat this as many times as necessary. =on"t think about it# your body kno!s !hat to do. ?ust go1
0. practice all my tumbling on a gym !ith mats but "m scared to try my bhs on the grass or on the
basketball court. )o! can keep from hurting myself3
A. ,ou should never try a ne!ly attained skill on the grass or the gym floor !ithout a spotter. -nly after
you"re confident !ith your bhs on the mats should you try it on the floor. The basketball floor and the grass
are very unforgiving surfaces and !ill not tolerate the slightest mistake. -nce you"re totally confident !ith
your bhs on a mat# try it a fe! times on the grass or gym floor !ith a spotter. +oth surfaces !ill tend to be
hard on your !rists so tape them up before you go. t"s a good idea to practice your bhs on the mats !ith
cheerleading shoes on because it feels a bit different P@'( the e$tra inch or so from the soles of your shoes
can mess you up1 Also# ABCB. tumble on !et# slippery grass1 ,our cheerleading shoes don"t have traction
on them (so you !on"t rip up your bases) and your feet can slip out from under you. f the basketball court
is slippery# spit on the soles of your shoes or spray the bottoms !ith hairspray for e$tra traction.
0. 2ill need to be able to do a backhandspring to make the cheerleading s*uad3
A. &ost junior high and high school cheerleading s*uads do not re*uire that you be able to do a bhs to
make the s*uad# although it can certainly help you make the team. f you are trying out for a school s*uad#
seek out the coach and ask her !hat skills you need to make the team. Tumbling lessons can help you !ith
fle$ibility and agility before tryouts# but don"t e$pect to learn a bhs *uickly and ABCB. attempt one at
tryouts if you can"t do it. nstead# focus on the things you can already do !ell. An All-(tar or competition
s*uad !ill probably re*uire that you be able to do a bhs plus more tumbling. The probability of you making
a competition s*uad if you"ve never cheered before and aren"t a tumbler are slim-to-none.
0. 2here should go to learn a backhandspring3
A. &ost all gymnastics gyms offer tumbling classes and some even offer tumbling for cheerleaders !hich
!ill focus on skills that cheerleaders !ill use !hile skipping over those skills that aren"t used (like
back!alkovers). @ook in your yello!pages for a gymnastics gym. (ometimes park districts offer classes
and are substantially cheaper than gymnastics gyms. f your park district or gymnastics gym does not offer
tumbling classes# see if you can get some friends together first and then offer to sign up all together. &ost
places !ill offer the class if a certain minimum of students sign up. Private or semi-private lessons are also
a good idea# but very pricey (can be D86 and up for an hour) and it is unlikely that you !ill learn a bhs from
scratch in a fe! lessons.
0. 4an learnEpractice my backhandspring on a trampoline3
A. Practicing a bhs on a trampoline is A-T a good idea. All you !ill do is teach your body ho! to rely on
the trampoline to get your body over instead of learning a proper takeoff. 2hen you do take your bhs from
the trampoline to the ground you !ill have to re-learn everything over again. A trampoline also can teach
you the bad habit of jumping instead of pushing. f you jump into a bhs instead of pushing you are likely to
fall on your head or undercut. really don"t suggest practicing any cheerleading skills (jumps included) on a
trampoline.
0. )o! is a backhandspring different from a back tuck3
A. The takeoff for a bhs and a back tuck is different. n a bhs you P'() off the ground# in a back tuck you
?'&P and @5T. t is possible to learn them both simultaneously# but it is better if you concentrate on your
bhs first since you can develop the bad habit of jumping into your bhs.
0. )o! long is it going to take me to learn my backhandspring3
A. That is hard to ans!er because it depends on your ability# your strength# your determination# the amount
of time you have to practice and your coach. f you are serious about learning a bhs# suggest you enroll in
a class that meets AT @BA(T t!o times a !eek. t is very hard to learn if you only go one day a !eek. -n
the days you are not in class# suggest you !ork on your strength and fle$ibility. A cheerleader !ith no
prior tumbling skills and goes to class one day a !eek and does nothing else during the !eek may learn a
bhs in a year or more. A cheerleader !ith no prior tumbling skills and practices several times a !eek and
sticks to a conditioning and fle$ibility routine can learn one in si$ months or less. f you already can do a
backbend# a perfect handstand and a kickover you can learn a bhs in three months. t all depends on ho!
badly you !ant to learn1
0. 2hat are some other names for a backhandspring3
A. The backhandspring is most commonly called a /flip-flop/ or a /flic-flac/ in gymnastics. (ome people
call it a /back flip/ but that is never a good term to use since some people also call a back tuck a /back
flip./ =o not use the !ord /back flip/ if you !ant to sound intelligent1