Instruction: TECHNIQUE OF THE SWITCHLEG BACK WALKOVER By Charlie DuBois and Renee Hendershott with comments and approval from Vannie Edwards and Audrey Schweyer who are both members of the USGF-WTC Thi s is a sk ill w hi ch is more o ft en d o ne in co rrectl y than we ll. Most o ft en, we see o ne leg st icki ng up i n th e air and the o th er do in g all th e switching ... seco nd split aft er gymnast has b egun desce nt o ut of sk ill. Accordin g to.Mrs. Schweyer, if th e gymn ast we re d o in g th e skill in thi s mann er fo r a co mpul sory such as th e o ne described in th e Elit e co mpul so ry tex t, it wo uld be d ifficult to give credit fo r th e element at all ! (There wo ul d b e d educti o ns fo r in suffi cient se p arati o n of legs, failure to show splittin g pos iti o n b efo re and aft er th e hands tand, and failure to show th e hand stand o r in ve rt ed su p po rt p os it io n.) U po n t he suggesti o n o f Mr. Ed wa rds, we w ill give yo u a pi cto ri al d emon st rat ion o f how th e sk ill sho uld be d o ne. (Co rr ecti o ns are w rit ten in ca pt io ns below each pi ctur e fo r sli ght tec hni ca l and amp li t ud in al erro rs.) M rs. Schweye r wo ul d make sli ght deducti o ns und er tec h n iq ue o r amplitude fo r in suffi cient split and ' inco rrect hand st and . Good t imi ng is il n essenti al in gredi ent in th e perfo rmance o f thi s sk ill , combin ed , o f co urse, w ith upp er bo d y co ntrol and leg fl ex ib ility. If t h e arms are dow n to beg in w it h, th e lea d leg sho uld be raised as th e arm s move to a stretched pos iti o n ove rh ea d (Fi g. 1). A gymn ast work in g to optim al am p litu de sho ul d be ab le to lift th e leild leg as hi gh as her head befo re go in g over into t he back bend. The eyes fo ll ow t he hands from t he ho ri zo nt al in fro nt to co nt ac t o f th e hand s w ith t he f loo r. A t th e mo m ent th e we ight tra nsfe rs to hand s upon con tact, th e suppo rt leg leaves th e fl oor. Thi s enabl es the gymn as t to m ove qui ckl y to att ain a straight and taunt sho uld erto rso -hip ali gnm en t in th e fir st split p os iti o n. Show th e firstl !lO째 split pos iti o n (F ig. 3). Brin g th e legs togeth er to show a goo d stretched hands tand (Fig. 4). (Head mu st not be pull ed up to the back w ith face pa rall el to floo r as so ma n y gymn asts do. Th is makes it hard if not imposs ib le to ach ieve a stra igh t- bod ied handstand.) Then swi tch legs to a 180 0 sp lit oppos it e to the origin al sp li t. (F ig. 5) Th ese t hree pos iti ons ... sp lit. .. handsta n d ... secon d spl it.. mu st all be shown wh il e the gy mn ast is in a co ntro ll ed st raigh t backed handstand. Far too often, t he seco nd sp lit co mes af ter th e gymn ast has beg un her desce nt to her landi ng foo t. W ith co ntro l, and maintain ing the sp lit pos iti o n, lower th e lea d leg to fro n t sca le o r ara besqu e pos iti o n (Fi g. 6-7-8 ). Keep han ds, sho ul ders, h ips and fee t in a straight li ne. (Thi s is as was descri bed by Mr. DuB o is. W hen I took 1he ph o tos, I had th e gy mn ast co m e o ut In a true arabesque posit io n to show an att ract ive var iati on.) As i n good back wa lkove r tech ni que .. . upper body rises before free leg lowers. Model is Bodnar Be ll student Pho tos by R. Hen dershott
1. lifted foot should be as high as nose. Pull IIpper back forward a little for better posture. This can be done to full height only and a lot of thigh strength. Do develope's daily to increase this.
5. 1600 split is possible here too.
2, Weight must be transferred back with should ers directly over hands. lifted leg shou ld be in 160 0 split and push-off is now.
6 , l eg sho uld be held up to show control.
3. 160 0 split is possible here. Head should be between arms so straightbacked hand stand can be achieved.
7 Torso is lifted whil e leg is kept re latively hi gh. Bod y should be stretch ed and tightened.
Move head to between-arm position for straighter handstand.
6. Front of torso looks rounded. Pull in abdominals more to stretch and straighten torso.
4.
Approved by Vanni e Edwards Audrey Scheweyer
GYMNAST Apr. '74
35