Yuri Marmerstein

Rock lift

Here’s a progression for beginners who have trouble committing to going all the way over in their cartwheels. I found this one to be especially useful for adults, trying to learn the skill.

Essentially, the cartwheel can work as an extension of a simple handstand scissor kick. There’s a lot less fear in that one since you don’t have to go off balance and travel forward.
and from there, all you really have to do is that same scissor kick, but turn the hands 90° in line with that front leg.
From there, it naturally starts to create the turn you need, and once you get confident with some reps, it becomes a lot easier to commit to going forward and over for your cartwheel.

I think this is an essential movement skill, and everyone should be able to do it, especially adults. Sometimes learning, it can be a bit tricky when you haven’t done something like this since you were a kid, so these little tips can be very helpful in the right context.

give it a try!

Quick tip for throwing your first back hand springs and getting confident with it.

One factor I found to be helpful is the amount of prep time allotted prior to throwing the skill.
it has a lot less to do with the technique itself, but rather it’s more about the psychology and mental state required to throw a potentially scary trick.

The tip is to allow yourself or your students the right amount of prep time.
I usually think of it as one to two breaths once in the spot/position that you’re going to be throwing from.
This gives enough time to settle and commit to the technique.

if the move is rushed, something is more likely to go wrong. If you take too long, you might be more likely to overthink and not commit.

obviously make sure you have drilled the technique and know what you need to be doing, but sometimes the restriction can be psychological, and little tips like this can make a big difference.

Teaching a seminar in Sydney 10 years ago, discussing how to learn and train acrobatics as an adult.

it’s not easy! There are a lot of factors against you compared to learning it as a kid.
One of those factors is just overall weight difference.

while it’s not completely necessary, having a spotter can be a massive help towards learning this movement.
adults, of course, are much harder to spot, not only because of the weight difference but many other factors as well.

how do I spot an adult for a back handspring? Especially if they are bigger than me?

The first thing I would do is ensure that they’ve done enough drills to get a feel for the jumping power and flow of the move. The worst thing somebody can do is stop in the air and become dead weight. It’s much easier to follow through the flip when you can move with somebody’s momentum, and to do that you need to make sure the student is jumping the right way.

i’m also very picky with how I teach the body positioning, leaning off balance, and jumping for this movement. It helps make things more predictable for me, and also gives the students specific instructions to follow.

when it comes time to do the move, I prioritize safety first. That means I get close enough to have the right leverage so that I can catch somebody in the air if something does go wrong.
The beginning, I would rather lift somebody more, but ensure that everything is being done safely and correctly.
When it comes to spotting a flip, like this, the hard part is not the actual spotting technique, it’s knowing how to adjust and modify rapidly when your student decides to do something random.

eventually, once we build the reps and trust, I can provide less support on the flip in many different ways. That involves less lift/pressure, or sometimes coming in and letting go at different times so the student can start to feel how to do those portions of the movement themselves, and also get feedback to see if anything is lacking.

eventually, I might do something that I call a “spirit spot” which involves no physical contact.
Learning flips as an adult is fun but challenging. Having good instruction to make all the difference.

Bridge wall walks is a top-tier back bending exercise because of the scalability.
Any practitioner of almost any level can find a variation of this that challenges them.
You can play with how far you walk your hands down, the amount of weight you put into your hands, how many steps you take, distance of your feet from the wall, etc.

Super useful movement, teaches a lot of body control, and building the capacity can help with a lot of different movement skills.

give it a try

In this video, I’m showing the same movement done in two completely different ways.
It’s just a simple arm circle, but it’s demonstrating to essential concepts when it comes to mobility training.

The first is about moving through your range of motion in a slow and controlled way. It really helps You understand the limitations of control and active flexibility within the joint, and can build some very specific strength as well.
The second one uses relaxation and momentum to be able to move at a high speed without loss of energy. This dynamic expression is something that you’ll see more commonly in actual athletic performance.

I think it’s really important to have a good understanding of both concepts. This will help you move with freedom and perform at a high-level.

of course, the mobility work is important, but sometimes it’s not enough. One item that I used to help with my recovery is the Kineon | Red Light Therapy move plus. This is a portable red light therapy device that can be focused towards a specific joint with no loss of light/energy.
Red light therapy offers a ton of benefits, and this device has helped me quite a bit with both regular recovery, as well as rehab from a couple injuries.

if you’re interested in, checking it out, you can use the code “YURI10” for a discount.