Mechanics · The landing
The landing is the third and last part of the backflip: the moment you see the ground coming, bring your legs underneath yourself, and absorb the impact through your foot, ankle, knees and hips instead of going all the way down to the bottom. One of my clients got the set and the rotation (the first two parts of the flip) perfectly right, then hurt his knee on this last part because his legs went completely limp when he met the ground. If you are learning your first backflip and have never practiced the landing on its own, this is the part I want you to slow down for.
In the video
- Why I teach the landing on its own: the client who hurt his knee
- Drill one: jump and absorb through foot, ankle, knees, hips
- Skin the cat, the rings drill (jump up and back into an upside-down position while holding the rings): my best landing drill
- How I spot the ground (find the floor while upside down) by its color, and when I let go of the rings
- Why I want you to practice the landing separately
- Landing short: toes, full knee bend, and landing on all fours
- Strength work to add: bent-knee calf work, shin muscle (tibialis) work, dropping off a box and absorbing the landing (box drop-offs)
What I want you to take from it
- Stiffen your foot and legs as you receive the ground, and absorb through the foot, then the ankle, knees and hips. Land softly and let the energy of the jump slow down gradually.
- Make skin the cat your main landing drill: jump up and back into an upside-down position while holding a pair of rings, then come down to your feet. Jump into it with your legs and use your hands as little as possible.
- Spot the ground by its color. Upside down you see the ceiling first, so look for the color and shape of the floor, and as soon as you see it, let go of the rings. I am halfway through the flip when I let go.
- Get comfortable sitting with your full weight on your toes and in a full knee bend without pain, and land on all fours a couple of times on purpose, so you know what to do and what it feels like to land short and heavy.
- Add bent-knee calf work, tibialis work (the muscle down the front of your shin) and box drop-offs (dropping off a box and absorbing the landing, done alongside your box jumps) at the end of your leg day.
Before you try this
Stiffen your foot and your legs as you receive the ground and absorb through the foot, ankle, knees and then the hips. Do not land on your heels, and do not go all the way down to the bottom; those are the two bad landings.
Only jump off a height you can land from comfortably, without any fear and without any pain. The higher you can do that comfortably, the better.
Practice the landing separately from the flip so you get a general feeling for when the ground is coming and when to stiffen your legs. People who skip this get lost in the air.
Before you go for a backflip, make sure you can put your full weight on your toes without pain and sit in a full knee bend without pain, and that you can jump from these positions. When you come up short out of a backflip, you smash your toes into the ground.
Land on all fours a couple of times on purpose, so you know what to do and what it feels like to land short and heavy.
Keep your foot, ankle and legs strong. The conditioning already covers most of this, but add bent-knee calf work, tibialis work (the muscle down the front of your shin) and box drop-offs (dropping off a box and absorbing the landing, done alongside your box jumps) at the end of your leg day so you are strong enough to stay safe on the landing.
Practice on a soft surface with someone watching over you.
When you roll backwards off a bed or a block, set it up to be as safe as you can, soften any edge with a blanket, and stay mindful of your surroundings so you do not hit your head on anything.
I run every one of these drills band by band on the First Flip Trainer in the full progression.