Human Head Position and Movements in Gymnastics

I found this video by amelieblanton really interesting, as I see similarities with extreme sports (skateboarding, snowboarding, bmx etc) and of course with some of my own problems flipping in the gym. Watch, then go thank him for making it and subscribe like I did.

Showing how the use of the head can either restrict or enhance the movement objective, I’ve realised why I struggle so much with btwists and backfulls. Actually, maybe more of my troubles are within my head rather than the physical movement of it! But hey, that’s another story.

With kids at the skatepark, learning to turn on the ramps, I tell them ‘Your head is the steering wheel for the body, turn your head first to face the direction you want to go, then your shoulders, torso, hips, legs, feet and board will follow’. The advice always works and soon they are getting higher and higher up the ramp.

I also recall similar advice when learning to snowboard. The coach telling me, ‘use your eyes to turn’. That sounds stupid, but I know what he meant. The eyes influence the body in micro movements, which will reflect in the objective. I have since adopted these words of advice in my teaching on the skateboard… I often hold up pinched fingers together and insist riders make the tiniest of adjustments for an improvement and normally it is enough to make a big difference.