Chapter 2 - Beginning Stunts

Beginning Stunts | Seat Drop | Back Drop | Front Drop | Knee Drop | HT2BD | HT2FD | Swivel Hips | Half Turntable | Competitive Routines

In gymnastic meet competition, trampoline performers are required to go through combinations of stunts called routines. Every performer does two routines.

In each of these routines, you're allowed a maximum of 8 contacts with the bed. Judges score the routines on form, continuity, and the difficulty of the stunts.

You can use any combination of stunts in your routines, just so you don't bounce more than 8 times, But, until you become really expert, your best chance of winning is to perfect your form in the beginning stunts.

The seat drop is one of the easiest to learn and perfect. All you do is bounce to a sitting position and back to your feet.

After a few preliminary bounces, take off as if you were going to do a regular bounce.

As you reach the peak of your bounce raise your legs from the hips, keeping your knees straight.  Your  body  should  lean   backward  a
little.

Land in a sitting position with your legs outstretched and your hands flat on the bed, a few inches in back of your hips . . . your arms slightly bent. After landing in this sitting position...let your bounce carry you back up to your feet, completing the stunt. Once you get the feel of the seat drop...you can begin learning the back drop. But before doing it from the regular bounce position...try it first from a standing position by raising one leg and falling backward to the back drop position.

Then try the backdrop from a regular bounce. Let your body fall backward so you come down on your back with your legs stretched in the

Keep your feet and arms above you. Your chin should be tucked forward on your chest. After landing in back drop position . . .bounce back to your feet again. Practice the back drop until you can do it perfectly every time.

Then you can go on to the front drop. Begin the front drop with a regular bounce. But turn your body forward . . .so you come down parallel with the bed. Your arms should be out and your elbows bent slightly to the sides.

Try to land perfectly flat, with your hands, forearms, stomach and thighs all hitting the bed at the same time.

Then finish by bouncing back to your feet again. Once you master the front drop, you can work up another stunt using similar form...the knee drop. You do the knee drop by bouncing to a kneeling position, and springing back to your feet again.

As you come down from a good bounce, bend your knees so your shins and instep hit the bed at the same time. The weight of your body should be directly above your knees. After landing in this kneeling position...let your bounce carry you back to your feet. With a little practice, you'll learn good

form in the Knee drop, and you can go on to a twisting stunt...the half twist to back drop. In this stunt you start a front drop, then twist in the air so you land in back drop position. After a few preliminary bounces...begin a front drop, letting your body bend forward on the way up. But, when you reach the top of your bounce...do a half twist by pulling your outside arm across your chest. The twisting technique is similar to that used in the half pirouette.

Your twist should turn you around so you land in back drop position.

Then let your spring carry you back to your feet, completing the stunt. While you're practicing the half twist to back drop, you can also work on a related stunt...the half twist to front drop. In this stunt, you start as if going into a back drop except that you half twist in the air and land in a front drop. Start your bounce as if going into a back drop.

After taking off from the bed, pull backward with your left arm and shoulder and give your body a half twist. Your half twist should spin you forward...so you land in front drop position. Then complete the stunt by bouncing back to your feet again. Another good beginning stunt...is the swivel hips or seat drop half twist to seat drop. In this stunt you twist from a seat drop to another seat drop facing in the opposite direction. As you bounce off the bed from a seat drop position...twist your head and shoulders to the side, swinging your legs underneath you at the same time. When the twist is completed...you should land in another seat drop facing in the opposite direction. Practice the swivel hips till you can do it smoothly, with your  body and  legs straight during the twist.

Then you can begin working on the half turntable. The half turntable is a front drop with a tuck turn to another front drop. Start with a good bounce…and land in front drop position with your body hitting the bed evenly, your arms in front of you.

Then, as you bounce back up from the bed, push hard to the side with your hands. As your body begins to turn parallel to the bed, snap into a tucked position to speed up your turn. As you complete your turn...break the tuck and land in another front drop. Practice the half turntable and the other beginning stunts till you can do them all well.

Then you can begin putting the stunts together into competitive routines. You might start out with a regular standing bounce, for example.

Then do a front drop.   Bounce up again...and do a seat drop…into a swivel drop a knee drop...and end up with a half turntable. There are any number of combinations you can put together.

As you gain experience, try to develop your own competitive routines that show off your best form. If you work hard, it won't be too long before your routines are scoring valuable points for your team.

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