This is a bit of a weird midnight topic, but I've always wanted to do front/back flips and the like. But I really don't have the bottle to try it. I think most of the reason for this is because I'm scared I'll break my neck or back. An even stranger question now... has anyone here ever landed on their neck/back or seen someone do this? Is it actually fairly rare to break your next/back?
Front/back flips
- Thread starter Inazuma
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Consigliere
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Practise on a large bed or something. 
Soldato
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I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you had some kind of soft mat to land on.
I messed up many times learning it whilst breakdancing. I've landed on my face, upper and lower back many times and it's fine on something as thick as a mattress as long as you don't ever land square on the top of your head.
Backflips are a lot easier to learn as you have momentum in the right direction and land on all fours if you mess up.
Get professional help though, don't just go and do it.
Backflips are a lot easier to learn as you have momentum in the right direction and land on all fours if you mess up.
Get professional help though, don't just go and do it.
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I done that when I was nine or ten, however it was from a tree
(not doing a backflip, simply hanging upside down and fell)... I was fine apparently, although I don't remember a thing from that weekend
Man of Honour
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Practice on a trampoline
A decent guide is here: http://www.poweriserpages.com/forum/empty-t453.0.html
Burnsy
A decent guide is here: http://www.poweriserpages.com/forum/empty-t453.0.html
Burnsy
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Back flips are much easier to learn though, you can see where you are going to land and it's easier to compensate
Burnsy
Back flips are much easier to learn though, you can see where you are going to land and it's easier to compensate
Burnsy
Quite frankly, I completely disagree with that. I had a trampoline for years and nearly everyone I knew could do frontflips, but none of them could do backflips because they were too scared they'd not get enough momentum and land on their head/face.
Being able to see where you land doesn't have much to do with it at all.
Back flips are much easier to learn though, you can see where you are going to land and it's easier to compensate
Burnsy
Backflips are incredibly easy. With forward flips you have to gain momentum from somewhere (either running, falling forwards and landing low or throwing your arms forwards).
???
It's the same with backflips. You don't just stand there and flip backwards, you have to swing your arms back and get a lot of momentum.
Also: http://www.break.com/index/failed-backflip1.html
Slightly OT, but does anyone remember that nutter who tried to karate kick over a speeding car doing about 100 mph? This was YEARS ago, on TV.
He messed up and caught his foot on the windscreen. Sent him spiraling over and over and I think shattered the windscreen, and probably his leg.
He messed up and caught his foot on the windscreen. Sent him spiraling over and over and I think shattered the windscreen, and probably his leg.
Soldato
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Wear a helmet. 
The power from your legs and you back straightening is very easily transferred into the momentum you need to do a backflip. As you come up from a crouching position quickly you can easily feel this.
He was running forwards and didn't crouch at all in that video.
Trampolines are nothing like doing proper standing flips, anyone can just get on a trampoline and flip both ways with the confidence and zero training.
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Get yourself a mat and a mate to stand at your side. Your mate should have one of their arms out horizontally to support your back, the other can grab a leg and bundle you over their horizontal arm which acts as a pivot point for the spin.
This generally gets you used to throwing your weight backwards and over your head. Once confident you can get the force yourself, your mate can just use their arm as a pivot point.
Remember to warm up before you try any flips.
This generally gets you used to throwing your weight backwards and over your head. Once confident you can get the force yourself, your mate can just use their arm as a pivot point.
Remember to warm up before you try any flips.
I wasn't posting that in response to your comment, rather it was just a post generally aimed at this particular topic.
It's the same in the respect of being able to see where you are going/landing, which is what he was talking about.
EDIT: Failed backflip compilation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=schUmMHZxp8
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Oh c'mon, there's only one way to do a backflip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjqf9BQU_dQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjqf9BQU_dQ&feature=related
I agree. Almost everyone I knew as a kid could do a frontflip, but only the gymnasts could do backflips. I used to go to trampolines in the summer, and it's a lot easier to start off on one than on solid ground.
