Jump Up

 Jumping & Landings, Level 1, Shapes  Add comments
Nov 202011
 

Jump Up

 

The basic idea of this drill is teach the gymnast to jump up and back with a control landing. 

This drill might sound easy, but there are many key points to the drill that the coaches need to make sure the gymnast has mastered.

Objective

  • Learn to use arm and legs to gain height.
  • Learn to control the landing. 

Prerequisite

  • None 

Equipment

 

Mats

Height: 10-30cm

 

Execution

coming soon… 

Stage 1 – Setup

 

  • Stand tall with arms above your head.
  • Stand in front of the mats with a distance around 10cm.
  • Look straight ahead.

Stage 2 – Contracting Part I

 

  • Slowly bring your arms down along the side of your body.
  • Bend your knees as you bring your arms down.
  • Keep looking straight ahead. 
Note: Some coaches prefer that the arms come straight down in front of the gymnast. I use both methods depending on what I’m trying to accomplish. If the arms come down along the side of the gymnast then we are working on jumping high, if arms come down in front of the gymnast then I’m usually working on getting jump back distance.

Stage 3 – Contracting Part II

 

  • Continue bringing your arms down until they point at the ground.
  • Start falling back a little. 
Note: There is something about this illustration that looks wrong (can’t put my finger on it). When I found out, I will create a new illustration for this stage.

Stage 4 – Extending Part I

 

  • Quickly raise your arms towards your ears.
  • As you raise your arms extend your legs at the same time.
  • Both arms and legs should extend with a quick burst. 

Stage 5 – Extending Part II

 

  • You should be fully extended at this point.
  • Falling a little bit backwards in the air.
  • Jump as high as you can.
  • Body should be completely straight.

Stage 6 – Mat Contact

 
  • Your legs should stay straight until you have contact with the mats.
  • Do not lick your knees, we want to be able to bend them to help absorb some of the landing. 

 

Stage 7 – Landing

 

  • Arms move forward and a little bit outwards. This will help stop the backwards momentum.
  • Bend your knees as soon as you have contact with the mats. 
Note: This is a very important step and one that a lot of gymnasts get wrong. Experience has shown me that a lot of new gymnasts will actually lock their knees and land with completely straight legs. That is not what we are aiming for! The gymnast needs to learn how and when to bend their knees so they can absorb the impact.

Stage 8 – Finishing

 

Stand tall with your arms straight above your head.

Wait 3 seconds before leaving the mats.

Note: We finish in the same position as we started! 

Spotting

It is important to remember a couple things when spotting:
  • The coach should only spot, meaning they should not actually do the drill for the gymnast. Let the gymnast do as much as the drill as possible and do not help with more than what is needed.
  • Spotting should be avoided. Only spot when gymnasts are learning new skills or for safety reasons. If a gymnast is having difficulty executing the drill then the coach should consider new drills that help the gymnast improve the area they have difficulties with.
  • Spotting can turn into a bad habit for gymnasts. If gymnasts are being spotted all the time they will be dependent on a spotter and have a very hard time doing the skill when their is not a spotter (this is true for all skills and very common)

Spotting Method 1 – Visual Help

 

This is one of the more easy spotting methods there is, the coach stands in front of the gymnast and shows a mirror image of what the gymnast should be doing.

This coach can see the gymnast executing the exercise and can stop at any time when something needs to be corrected. 

 

Common Mistakes

Coaches teach gymnasts how to do skills correctly, but most gymnasts learns how to perform the skill correctly when coaches corrects their mistakes. This is not wrong, this is actually how gymnasts learn. This being said, it is very important that coaches corrects mistakes all the time. If a gymnast continues doing the same mistake over and over then they will be good at doing that drill with that mistake and have a difficult time later correcting it.
  • Always correct mistakes
  • Correct the first mistake you see the gymnast do (even if it is before the actually drill, i.e. the gymnast forgets to stand tall with arms over their head)
  • Correct only one thing (sometimes two if they are related)

Mistake 1 – Looking Back

 

Looking back is probably the most common mistake a new gymnast will do. When this happens, stop the gymnast right away and correct them and start over. Looking back will cause the body to twist and if the gymnast does every time when they practice then this will end up being a bad habit that the gymnast will have a hard time getting rid of. 

Mistake 2 – Timing Arms and Legs

 

This is one of those exercises were arms and legs need to be timed correctly or else you will get a takeoff with very little power. A lot of times new gymnasts will start lowering their arms, but not bend their knees. The opposite happens too, were the gymnast bends their knees but the arms just stay up.

There is a very easy fix to this mistake. The coach should stand in front of the gymnast and do a mirror image that the gymnast should follow. Do the  first part of the exercise very slowly, so the gymnast can clearly see what is going on. If at any time the gymnast doesn’t follow you then stop and correct them and then continue. 

 

Warning

Any activity involving motion or height creates the possibility of accidental injury, paralysis or death. The equipment and instructional materials are intended for use ONLY by properly trained and qualified participants under supervised conditions. Use without proper supervision could be DANGEROUS and should NOT be undertaken or permitted. Before using, KNOW YOUR OWN LIMITATIONS and the limitations of the equipment. If in doubt always consult your instructor. Always inspect equipment for loose fittings or damage and test for stability before each use. We will not be liable for injuries or consequences sustained from the use of the instructional materials supplied by us. Use common sense!
Be Sociable, Share!