The hand spring is a technique similar to the rail spring but generally better suited to lower
obstacles, the main difference being you take off one footed rather than two footed and you lock your arms rather than bending them. Hand springs are very easy to learn and may help to overcome the fear of trying other things such as rail springs or dive rolls. They are also very safe, and if practiced on grass it is almost impossible to do any serious damage no matter how badly you mess up. |
|
| Click the photo (above) to download a video of this technique.
|
Find a flat piece of ground with plenty of space, take a few strides forward and bring your arms straight up above your head. You should be leaning forward slightly and your right leg (or left leg if you are right left) should be stretched out in front of you.
|
|
|
In one rapid movement, throw both arms down to the ground as hard as you can. Be sure to keep your arms locked to stop your face
coming too close to the ground. The moment your hands come into contact with the ground kick your left leg up as hard as you can (or right leg if you are left handed). |
|
|
You will now have a considerable
amount of momentum to aid the rotation. Resist the temptation to try and pull
yourself back. It will feel a bit strange the first few times but you will soon get used to it. You can see my right leg is slightly behind my left as it has yet to catch up. |
|
As you pass vertical and start to fall towards the ground, bend your knees. This will ensure you land on your feet when you complete the rotation.
|
|
|
Now to get the 'spring' required to get back on your feet, push off the ground hard with your arms. There is a knack to getting the timing of this right but it cant really be explained, it just comes with practice. At this point your 'slower' leg should have caught up so you land with your weight evenly distributed over both feet. |
|
Assuming you have done the other stages correctly, you should finish the rotation, landing on your feet and leaning back slightly.
|
|
|
The final remaining momentum will pull you forwards. |
|
From a crouched position you can then bounce back up and continue your journey.
|
|
Variations
The two variations I can think of are a hand spring with a two footed take off, or a one handed handspring where you take off and land on two feet but only throw one hand down. Both of these can be done which is why I've mentioned them but both are somewhat pointless as they
don't have any advantages over the 'traditional' hand spring technique.
Rail spring - This looks very similar to a hand spring but the technique for actually doing one
varies quite considerably. Most people find it easier to learn to hand spring before attempting rail springs.
|
