Learning a Roundoff Back Handspring Essay Example

Have you ever seen people doing very impressive skills, like backflips and fulls. If you've ever seen this you must be wondering how they do that because I know I do. Perhaps you want to learn how to do an easy skill. With a little practice you should be able to do it. I’ve done competitive cheer for about 6 years and I’ve been tumbling for even longer than that. My favorite skill that I can do on the ground is a roundoff back handspring. I have been to many classes to help me perfect this skill and make it look the best it could. At this moment I think my tumbling looks pretty clean and I can teach other people how to do it as well. Learning how to do a roundoff back handspring requires patience, perseverance, and tons of practice, but with that it is possible to be able to do it in a couple of steps. 

To start learning a roundoff back handspring you need some materials and background knowledge. To safely learn this it's helpful to use a type of mat to keep you safe. Without a mat you could get injured even easier. Other mats like barrels and air tracks will make this easier. Also having someone spot you in the beginning could also help. To get a roundoff back handspring you need to take a couple of steps. First being able to do a roundoff rebound is necessary. Then back walkovers with rebounds. There are quite a few drills and ways to learn these skills to make it as easy as possible. But if you are not super careful you could get hurt. So make sure you have help and the proper equipment and training. 

To begin, you have to do a roundoff rebound. A roundoff is a cartwheel but at the end your feet hit a handstand then both feet come down at the same time. A rebound is just when you jump up immediately after your feet hit the ground with your arms straight up by your ears. To make learning these easier you can practice cartwheels and handstand snap downs. A handstand snap down is when you bring both of your legs down from a handstand at the same time then rebound. Doing a cartwheel is the first step of the round off then doing the handstand step down is the second part. When some people do a roundoff it is easier for them to move their front hand next to their back hand for the handstand part of it. This allows an easier snap down with a quicker rebound but it’s not necessary. Once you have the round off rebound down you can start working on the back handspring part. 

Learning a back handspring isn't the easiest thing and it takes a lot of work for most people. Personally it took me almost two years to get a  standing back handspring but the roundoff back handspring came to me a lot easier.  There are plenty of drills and other things you can do to speed along the process.  A back handspring is when you sit, swing, and jump backwards on a diagonal to your hands then once your hands hit the ground you spring off them and push yourself back up to your feet. To start you should do back walkovers with a rebound. Back walkovers are when you lean backwards, without jumping, into a bridge from standing up, then immediately kick one foot over at a time and stand back up. Then once you land the back walkover immediately rebound as if it was a back handspring.Back walkovers can be easier by stretching out your back first.   Another drill that you can do is to get a mat about the height of your couch.  Then you stand about two feet in front of it and act as if you were sitting in a chair, push your hands behind you and then bring them forward and as you're bringing them forward jump up and back then land flat on your back on the mat. One last drill that you can do is to use the barrel mat. To use the barrel mat you have to act as if you're doing back handspring but it'll be there to catch you in case you fall. Now you can actually try the back handspring but it's safer if you have someone spotting you. Make sure that your arms are locked by your ears and that they only hit the ground for a second. Don't expect to get it on your first try; it'll take a lot of practice. Finally you have to put the round off and back handspring together. Get a running start for the roundoff then use the rebound as the jump for your back handspring. Now with some more practice you can do a roundoff back handspring. 

Again, learning how to do a roundoff back handspring requires patience, perseverance, and tons of practice, but with that it is possible to be able to do it in a couple of steps. You have to learn a roundoff, then a back handspring. Last, you connect them, so it’s all as one. If you successfully learn this you should have a clean, safe, new skill. If it doesn't work for you, keep practicing almost everyday. Eventually you will be able to do it. Don’t give up and keep practicing.