Naama Arad, like me, was challenged by this Gymnastics Minute instructional by coaching legend Mas Watanabe.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
… My advice to Naama is to consider this an advanced technique. Beginners should perfect long, low backward handspring series first. (Think of a rock skipping across a lake.)
Manjak has gymnasts do many sets of 5 normal ffs every day, for example.
Much, much later you can shape the skill for specific reasons, as Watanable is doing here.
4 comments ↓
Rick, at what point in a gymnast’s development would you start training this higher, shorter backhandspring?
Yeesh. That technique is way out there. I’ve certainly not coached it.
But I do like the shorter second half of the flicflac. That gives a more vertical “attack” angle (contact position) on take-off.
Kyle Shewfelt did that, famously. It worked for him as he’s so fast twitch. … And it kept him in bounds.
” I do like the shorter second half of the flicflac. That gives a more vertical “attack” angle (contact position) on take-off.”
question:
doesn’t that presume e-x-t-re-m-e-l-y “fast twitch”/explosive takeoff?
Mas is “the man”, but sometimes he drives me crazy with this stuff……
technique, technique, technique, yeah, i understand that if you have “perfect bail, etc.” technique that your giants will be good, but dammit, if you’re strong enough, you can just pull the rings underneath you and the judges won’t know the difference……….
that said, in the immediate instance….
1. is Mas suggesting shortening the bhs into the salto?
2. is this a different technique than the ro..ff…ff,,,,
1a. if so, why?
1b. if not, what’s the difference?
2a. if so why?
2b. if not, what’s the difference?
I’d not teach it until upper level opts, or to a kid that has a high-level understanding of their body at a lower level. Even so, I’ve never had to teach this particular technique for any reason. There other ways to get great power and lift out of a BHS and if you look at elite level athletes you’ll see all sorts of differences in their ROs, BHSs, etc. if you look closely enough.
This is one of those cases where I feel you need to teach to the ability and body awareness of the gymnast. I could be wrong, but this technique could be something for me to consider for the future.
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