Flying High

Aerials


In the simplest terms a side aerial is a no handed cartwheel. Aerials are one  my favorite tricks to do,  however they took me  a very long time for me to figure out just how to accomplish.   Mentally convincing myself not to put my hands on the ground was one of the biggest battles, turns out though if you get enough speed and power in the trick you don't have time to put your hands down.   Below is a video of a gymnast performing an aerial.

So just what makes a no handed cartwheel possible?   While speed and power are key, the speed matters in the trick itself and comes from the driving leg not from the run.  That being said they can be done beginning with a run or from a standing position as shown in the video.   In order to pull this off one must keep there head and chest up while driving their back leg off of the ground.   This achieves the height of the trick.   It is very important kick/drive the back leg as long as possible while pushing as much as possible off the front leg to get the necessary speed and power for the trick. This is a little counterintuitive seeing as what is considered to be the back leg is the one leaving the ground first, and the front leg the one remaining in contact with the ground the longest.  This is captured in the picture shown.


Since many gymnasts are extremely flexible they can pull the trick off without too much height.  This is because the driving leg can whip around really quickly, meaning that since the trick rotates much quicker less height is needed.   Those who aren't as flexible can still complete the skill, they just rely on height and power more than the flexibility and speed.

There are also front and back aerials, below is a front aerial.