Beginners Gymnastics question...cart wheels.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

DD5 is taking gymnastics...took tumbling last year.

I am very intrigued with how they practice certain things to prepare their bodies to learn specific skills.

She does those goofy looking cart wheels that really aren't cart wheels....she is practicing around the house right now saying her teacher said to practice a soft landing and to not do a handstand....now I think I finally understand the goofy cart wheels.....

But does anyone know what this means?

(by goofy cart wheel--she looks like a frog crossing hopping across a mat on 2 legs (her arms/hands).)

 

[SillyMe]

DD5 is taking gymnastics...took tumbling last year.

I am very intrigued with how they practice certain things to prepare their bodies to learn specific skills.

She does those goofy looking cart wheels that really aren't cart wheels....she is practicing around the house right now saying her teacher said to practice a soft landing and to not do a handstand....now I think I finally understand the goofy cart wheels.....

But does anyone know what this means?

(by goofy cart wheel--she looks like a frog crossing hopping across a mat on 2 legs (her arms/hands).)

That's how they learn. She'll eventually get it. My dd6 started tumbling/gymnastics when she was 3yo. I thought she'd never be able to do a cartwheel the right way. Just like that, literally, she got it. She has a mat at home, which helps. She tumbles constantly. She kept practicing and then one day she was finally able to do it.

 

[leighe]

You would be surprised at the end skills some of the early exercises can lead to. I was a gymnast for years and when I first started on the "mini-team" ( I was probably 5 or 6) we spent hours doing things we called "donkey kicks" - I couldn't even attempt to type out an explanation of what they are. Anyway - eventually "donkey kicks" built skills we needed to rebound from a roundolf (I'm not sure if that is spelled correctly) into a backhandspring or tuck or something like that. So when we were ready to put the two together we already had the "donkey kick" motion mastered and it made the transition very natural feeling. I'd guess that what the point of the cartwheel-frog thingee is.

 

[mom2grace]

You would be surprised at the end skills some of the early exercises can lead to. I was a gymnast for years and when I first started on the "mini-team" ( I was probably 5 or 6) we spent hours doing things we called "donkey kicks" - I couldn't even attempt to type out an explanation of what they are. Anyway - eventually "donkey kicks" built skills we needed to rebound from a roundolf (I'm not sure if that is spelled correctly) into a backhandspring or tuck or something like that. So when we were ready to put the two together we already had the "donkey kick" motion mastered and it made the transition very natural feeling. I'd guess that what the point of the cartwheel-frog thingee is.

LOL! DD4 takes gymnastics at school, it has a physical fitness focus vs. becoming a gymnast, but they do donkey kicks all of the time! Now I know why. They also do those froggy cartwheels!

 

[mom2rb]

I am a coach. When a young gymnast tries to do a " real " cartwheel before she is ready, she will probably land on her head. Then she will not want to do it anymore. This way she gets to strengthen her arms and learn body awareness. You don't want to let her kick up to a full handstand yet for the same reason.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks..I just thought it was cute and wondered and when she was saying..."Okay now...you do this and land soft", just made me wonder.

They do what look like planks on the wall...to get strong for the headstands and handstands.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

She'll probably be an expert before you know it. DD is almost 5 and hasn't been in gymnastics since she was 3, but she taught herself how to expert cartwheels over the summer. I've never even been able to do one!