beginners guide to tumbling for cheerleading cheerleading

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BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TUMBLING FOR CHEERLEADING By: Jessica on August 5, 2011 - Readers Comments: (7) Stand facing forward, with one foot slightly in front of the other and your arms straight up over your head. Exhale, tighten your abdominal, and begin bending forward to place your hands on the ground (fingers pointing forward). Prepare to lock your elbows when your hands hit the ground. Bending them during this move will cause you to collapse. As you place your hands on the ground, use your momentum to kick your back leg up into the air. Make sure you control your kick; if you kick too hard you’ll just throw your entire body over. To maintain your balance, keep your hands flat and shoulder-width apart, with your fingers spread out slightly. As your first leg is approaching a vertical position, you should kick your other leg into the air as well, shifting your weight to your arms and shoulders. Your movement should stop when your entire body is in the vertical position, with your legs together and straight and your toes pointed. Try to hold your weight just slightly over your shoulders. To dismount, you can somersault, split down or make up your own move! Tumbling For Cheerleaders Week 1 – The Basics Get tips for more tumbling moves in the free Tumbling for Cheerleading Guide, available now! Tumbling is a form of gymnastics that requires athletes to use their bodies to flip, twist, roll and jump. Tumbling is most often used at cheerleading competitions and during gymnastics routines at the Olympics, but dancers and other stage performers also tap tumbling to give their show a ‘wow!’ factor. To excel in tumbling, you must be disciplined, skilled, fast and strong. You also need to have maximum flexibility and stamina. This week, I’ll cover three basic tumbling moves: the handstand, cartwheel and back bend. These three moves are fundamental to tumbling, and you’ll be using the techniques that you learn from them when you perform any advanced moves. Before you start, remember that it is important to always be safe! Use mats, training equipment and spotters until you have practiced and mastered your tumbling moves. Don’t forget to properly stretch and warm up before practicing and performing any tumbling moves. How To Do A Handstand Handstands are the gateway for tumbling! They are great for learning balance, and practicing them even helps build your core strength and perfect your form. Watch your form and positioning; try to be as straight as possible. Keep your back from arching, or hips from bending, by tightening your stomach. Once you’ve mastered the moves, try holding your handstand for a few seconds longer each time you do it to build strength and improve balance. How To Do A Cartwheel SEARCH OUR SITE SEARCH OUR SITE CAST YOUR VOTE CAST YOUR VOTE Does your team exchange holiday gifts? Yes, we use a secret-Santa system. Yes, we do one big white elephant exchange. Yes, everyone gets something for each person on the team. Yes, the team members all pitch in for a gift for the coach! No, we do not do any official gift-exchanging. Vote View Result Popular Popular Recent Recent Comments Comments Tags Tags Now Available: The Complete Guide To Tumbling For Cheerleading September 02, 2011 Should This Cheerleader Be Allowed Back On the Squad? October 28, 2013 Myth Busted: Cheerleaders Aren’t Athletes February 11, 2013 How To Do Basic Cheerleading Motions Part 1 November 11, 2011 Having Trouble Impressing Cheerleading Competition Judges? December 20, 2010 Everything You Need to Know About HOME SITEMAP FOR CHEERLEADING BLOG CHEERLEADING UNIVERSITY Cheerleading University Cheer News Cheer Uniforms Cheerleading Apparel Spirit Building Cheer Lifestyle Lowest Price Guarantee Beginners Guide To Tumbling For Cheerleading | Cheerleading Blog 12/5/2013 http://www.cheerleadingblog.com/beginners-guide-to-tumbling-for-cheerleading/ 1 / 4

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Page 1: Beginners Guide to Tumbling for Cheerleading Cheerleading

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TUMBLING FORCHEERLEADING

By: Jessica on August 5, 2011 - Readers Comments: (7)

Stand facing forward, with one foot slightly in front of the other and your arms straight up over your head.Exhale, tighten your abdominal, and begin bending forward to place your hands on the ground (fingerspointing forward). Prepare to lock your elbows when your hands hit the ground. Bending them during thismove will cause you to collapse.

As you place your hands on the ground, use your momentum to kick your back leg up into the air. Make sureyou control your kick; if you kick too hard you’ll just throw your entire body over. To maintain your balance,keep your hands flat and shoulder-width apart, with your fingers spread out slightly.

As your first leg is approaching a vertical position, you should kick your other leg into the air as well, shiftingyour weight to your arms and shoulders.

Your movement should stop when your entire body is in the vertical position, with your legs together andstraight and your toes pointed. Try to hold your weight just slightly over your shoulders.

To dismount, you can somersault, split down or make up your own move!

Tumbling For Cheerleaders Week 1 – The Basics

Get tips for more tumbling moves in the free Tumbling for Cheerleading Guide, available now!

Tumbling is a form of gymnastics that requires athletes to use their bodies to flip, twist, roll and jump. Tumblingis most often used at cheerleading competitions and during gymnastics routines at the Olympics, but dancersand other stage performers also tap tumbling to give their show a ‘wow!’ factor. To excel in tumbling, you mustbe disciplined, skilled, fast and strong. You also need to have maximum flexibility and stamina.

This week, I’ll cover three basic tumbling moves: the handstand, cartwheel and back bend. These three movesare fundamental to tumbling, and you’ll be using the techniques that you learn from them when you perform anyadvanced moves. Before you start, remember that it is important to always be safe! Use mats, trainingequipment and spotters until you have practiced and mastered your tumbling moves. Don’t forget to properlystretch and warm up before practicing and performing any tumbling moves.

How To Do A HandstandHandstands are the gateway for tumbling! They are great for learning balance, and practicing them even helpsbuild your core strength and perfect your form.

Watch your form and positioning; try to be as straight as possible. Keep your back from arching, or hips frombending, by tightening your stomach. Once you’ve mastered the moves, try holding your handstand for a fewseconds longer each time you do it to build strength and improve balance.

How To Do A Cartwheel

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CAST YOUR VOTECAST YOUR VOTE

Does your team exchange holiday gifts?Yes, we use a secret-Santa system.Yes, we do one big white elephant exchange.Yes, everyone gets something for each personon the team.Yes, the team members all pitch in for a gift forthe coach!No, we do not do any official gift-exchanging.

VoteView Result

PopularPopular RecentRecent CommentsComments TagsTags

Now Available: The Complete GuideTo Tumbling For CheerleadingSeptember 02, 2011

Should This Cheerleader Be AllowedBack On the Squad?October 28, 2013

Myth Busted: Cheerleaders Aren’tAthletesFebruary 11, 2013

How To Do Basic CheerleadingMotions Part 1November 11, 2011

Having Trouble ImpressingCheerleading Competition Judges?December 20, 2010

Everything You Need to Know About

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Page 2: Beginners Guide to Tumbling for Cheerleading Cheerleading

Stand with one leg forward and slightly bent at the knee and your arms straight up over your head. Reachtoward the ground with the hand that matches the forward leg, turning your entire body to the side slightly. Atthe same time, you should be kicking your back leg up and out.

Your other hand should hit the ground immediately after the first, and you should be simultaneously kickingyour other leg into the air. Your hands should land flat with your fingers facing away from your head. Keepyour legs straight and your toes pointed throughout the move.

Keep your momentum to follow through the entire move. Your legs should stay apart, in a “V” position, for theentire move.

As your first foot reaches the ground on the other side, you should begin lifting your leading hand, followedby your other hand. This will give you natural momentum to complete the move by pulling your second legover until that foot reaches the ground as well.

You will land in the same position you started in, just opposite. You will be facing the other way, and the legthat was originally the back leg will now be the forward leg.

Start standing straight, feet shoulder-width apart, arms straight over you in the air. Do NOT start this movewith your arms crossed over your chest. You won’t have enough time to get your arms in the correct positionto catch you.

Raise your arms and start to arch your back and reach behind you. Your arms are going up and over yourhead, and your head is beginning to drop behind you (so that you are looking behind yourself upside down).

Continue this movement, reaching for the ground. Let your hands hit the ground to catch you, and keep yourhead off the ground. Your arms will be close to your ears, with your thumb closest to your temple, your pinky

The basic cartwheel is an extension of the handstand. The entry is switched from front to side, and you useyour momentum to follow through after reaching a vertical position.

It is important to make sure that your weight goes completely up and over. If you are staying close to ground,and not passing through a vertical position, you are not doing a cartwheel correctly.

How To Do A Back BendThe back bend is fundamental if you are hoping to do advanced tumbling like back handsprings and backtucks. Don’t rush your body when you are learning this move; you need to make sure you are doing it right.Keep stretching and practicing and you’ll get it!

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Page 3: Beginners Guide to Tumbling for Cheerleading Cheerleading

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furthest from your temple and your fingers spread and pointed toward your feet. Keep your heels firmly onground, don’t go up on your tippy toes.

To release a back bend at a basic level, you can just lift your head and lower yourself by bending your kneesand elbows.

Try a one-handed cartwheel. You’ll always match the hand you are using to your leading leg.

Pause your cartwheel in the middle, when you are in the handstand position.

If you can do that, instead of resuming the cartwheel, try transitioning from the handstand position to abackbend.

Once you have mastered these basic moves, you can start combining them to make the move more complex.Here are some moves you can try that will help you craft your technique into controlled skill:

Make sure you wear the correct cheerleading shoes and practice wear when you are learning how to tumble.Your shoes should be flexible and supportive, and your practice wear should be tight-fitting so your body won’tget tangled in extra material.

Keep practicing these moves, and I’ll see you next Friday to go over the steps for the next level of tumblingmoves!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JessicaJessica brings her experience as a gymnast, dancer, team athlete and campcounselor to Cheerleading Blog as an editor and contributor for Fitness andFeature articles. Jessica lived in the Chicagoland area, where she received aB.A. in Marketing, specializing in Journalism, before moving to San Diego.Jessica has a fish tank at her office and at home, is addicted to music andcan't resist french fries.

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