Balance Beam Dance Skills Archives - American Gymnast and Ninja

One Quarter Turn Jump Drills

amgym — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:55:53 +0000

Gymnasts that already know how to perform straight jumps up in place may begin practicing 1/4 turn jumps as an introductory drill for more complex 1/2, 3/4 and full turn jumps.

The post One Quarter Turn Jump Drills appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Full Turn Couppe Position on Balance Beam

amgym — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:59 +0000

The full turns are performed on the beam following the same technical motions as the floor exercises. The turn is initiated moving the body in one single unit from the head and shoulders to the feet where the back foot not only pushes off the equipment to transfer the body support to the front foot, but also anchors the turning direction during the push off. The Stomach and buttocks are kept tucked in aiming to perform the turn with the body as straight as possible. Making a high front kick before the full turn initiation adds flair and maximizes the skill’s set up. When the full turn is being set up, one arm usually stays in front of the body at chest height or slightly higher and the opposite arm stays on the side or a little further back. To start the skill the arm on the side should never make a jerky swing forward like it was the source creating the whole turn. It should instead flow smoothly toward its turning place often joining the other arm in front or with both arms moving up above the head.

Still Frame 1 – Notice the high kick to enhance general presentation
Still Frame 2 – Observe the body still fairly vertical as the body nears the full turn completion. Notice also the support foot still on releve.
More clips – These are two more fair full turns couppe examples performed by a different athlete. Notice the focus on showing a complete and controlled full turn ending before stepping down from the couppe.

The post Full Turn Couppe Position on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Full Turn Passe Position on Balance Beam

amgym — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:58 +0000

This is a fair full turn in a passe position showing a good effort to show a controlled one foot balanced ending. Notice how the turn is created from two feet as the weight support is transferred forward to the turning foot.

Still – Observe the turn being performed on a tall releve and the body support vertically on top.

Also, a vertical passe ending right before concluding the skill, bringing the free leg down.

The post Full Turn Passe Position on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Full Turn with Horizontal Straight Leg on Balance Beam

amgym — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:57 +0000

The goal in this challenging variation is to perform the turn around with the leg held horizontal. To begin, turning the back leg does not kick straight forward, but starts with a side sweeping action to help create the turning momentum.

Still 1 – The gymnast is beginning her side swing.
Still 2 – The vertical turn in releve with leg horizontal.
Still 3 – The skill completion with the straight leg still horizontal.

Observe a couple more examples of this full turn variation with a C level value

The post Full Turn with Horizontal Straight Leg on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Full Turn with Stag Leg on Balance Beam

amgym — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:10:56 +0000

The gymnasts’ goal while performing the full turn with the front leg in a stag position is to complete the skill with the leg still in a horizontal line. The gymnast should also bring it down with control instead of dropping the leg down too early during the turn. The stag leg must be turned out.

The post Full Turn with Stag Leg on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Fourth Position Full Turn on Balance Beam

amgym — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:55 +0000

Some gymnasts and coaches prefer to begin the full turn from a lunge position, others from a regular step forward, and some like to start the full turn from a fourth position. Here are several passe full turns beginning in a fourth position.

Observe how the gymnast centers her body weight support evenly between the two feet with the legs in a demiplie. Consistent success in any type of beam turn depends on placing the center of mass as vertical as possible on top of the turning foot.

The post Fourth Position Full Turn on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Full and a Half Turn on Balance Beam

amgym — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:54 +0000

All of the turning skills on beam are performed in a fairly tall releve like on the floor. A proper full and a half turn finishes with the free leg stepping forward at the skill conclusion. Stepping back like in this example is a sign of the body’s center of mass not being correctly placed very close to an imaginary line. The line runs from the center of the head to the body support on top of the turning foot.

Last clip – This is a fair example of a full and half turn in passe position – a challenging beam maneuver.

The post Full and a Half Turn on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.

Back Full Turn on Balance Beam

amgym — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:53 +0000

This is an example of a rarely seen passe full turn, where the skill is initiated moving the body support from a lunge or fourth position toward the back leg. Before the gymnast spends time working odd turn variations, they should master the regular couppe and passe full turns.

The post Back Full Turn on Balance Beam appeared first on American Gymnast and Ninja.