Tumbling Fear

[itttybitty]

Okay so to start off, I am a guy, this is my first couple of months of cheer, and I really love it, and I would really like to get better (level 4 currently)

I would very much like to get more into tumbling (I do not have a tumbling pass in the routine, just a standing pack tuck which I am comfortable with)

My problem is mainly the fear of just landing on my neck/head. For example I will gladly do roundoff-tuck on trampolines, but on springfloor they honestly scare the hell out of me. I don't have my back handspring as its scary to me and I also haven't attempted any yet.

Another thing is sometimes I will freeze mid flip and just bail, normally having to use my arms to avoid landing on my head etc.

I have landed fulls on trampoline with bad technique and I really wanna get them, but I am afraid of trying good technique due to not having a feel for it / air awareness

 

[itttybitty]

Also would like to add if you guys have any advice to avoid this midflip bail thing I have going on

 

[Michael White]

Get an instructor. Preferably one that is strong enough to save you. (I've "caught" people up to 130 pounds, literally they bailed, and I 100% caught them and then put them down.) A spotter worth his/her salt should make you feel comfortable. Get outside your shell and trust them. Do things you don't feel comfortable doing (that's why you have a spotter).

Also, tumbling is in large part mental. I know this is the case with you, because a standing tuck is much harder than a round off tuck. Unless your round off is junk, you should 100% be able to do a round off tuck.

P.S. guys don't like to hear it, but please get your handspring. If I had a dollar for every time an athlete has said "handsprings are scary to me", I'd be rich. Handsprings are very important to a developing athlete, and to be honest, round off fulls are usually ugly. Plus a handspring should provide additional height to a following skill.

P.P.S. good luck, and most of all, have fun.

 

[itttybitty]

Get an instructor. Preferably one that is strong enough to save you. (I've "caught" people up to 130 pounds, literally they bailed, and I 100% caught them and then put them down.) A spotter worth his/her salt should make you feel comfortable. Get outside your shell and trust them. Do things you don't feel comfortable doing (that's why you have a spotter).

Also, tumbling is in large part mental. I know this is the case with you, because a standing tuck is much harder than a round off tuck. Unless your round off is junk, you should 100% be able to do a round off tuck.

P.S. guys don't like to hear it, but please get your handspring. If I had a dollar for every time an athlete has said "handsprings are scary to me, I'd be rich. Handsprings are very important to a developing athlete, and to be honest, round off fulls are usually ugly. Plus a handspring should provide additional height to a following skill.

P.P.S. good luck, and most of all, have fun.

Thank you for the advice

 

[Michael White]

Thank you for the advice

No problem! Good luck!

 

[cheer25mom]

1. Learn HOW to bail. Find a coach to teach you how to safely bail on a skill. Knowing what to do if something goes wrong makes a huge difference in confidence. My CP is a bigger, stronger female. She doesn't like being spotted, and as a guy you are going to have a tough time finding someone really capable of spotting you unless you are tiny.

2. Often tumbling is scary for guys because of a lack of flexibility, something my CP has also struggled with. It's scary when you cannot get your arms into a position to protect your head, and shoulder and back flexibility is vital to handsprings. I would work on shoulder and back flexibility before trying to get a handspring if you have flexibility issues. (Most guys do)

3. Focus on the technique. Being able to "brute force" a skill will only get you so far before you have to go back and fix the technique. My CP has spent a lot of time undoing the brute force method.


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[dat.jpp]

I know this isn't safe but I just flip onto my knees (most times I make it around onto my feet) without bailing anyway.

 

[cheersis01]

I'm no expert by any means but you should definitely get a coach for either privates or group classes. It's so important for skills and safety to learn the proper technique supervised. Be careful and keep working hard!

 

[Cavan]

Learning how to bail is honestly so helpful because it gives you your worst case scenario and you get up thinking "hey that wasn't so bad imma try again". Tumbling is not as dangerous and scary if you don't make it that way.