An acrobatic flip is a sequence of body movements in which a person leaps into the air and rotates one or more times while airborne. Acrobatic flips are commonly performed in acro dance, free running, gymnastics, cheerleading, high jumping, tricking (martial arts), goal celebrations, and various other activities. This contrasts with freestyle BMX flips, where a person rotates in the air along with a bicycle.
Acrobatic flips can be initiated from a stationary, standing position, but they are often executed immediately following another rotational move, such as a roundoff or handspring, to take advantage of the angular momentum generated by the preceding move. Generally, the hands do not touch the floor during the execution of a flip, and performers typically aim to land on their feet in an upright position; however, this is not required for the move to be considered a flip.
Many variations of flips exist, with their usage depending on the specific type of activity. In gymnastics, for example, flips adhere to a small number of specific, rigorously defined forms and movements. However, in activities such as free running and tricking, there are seemingly endless variations of flips, many of which are derived from fundamental gymnastics flips. As a result, gymnastics terminology is often applied to flips found in other disciplines. Flips are generally categorized according to the direction of body rotation; for example, the body rotates forward (face first) in a front flip and in the opposite direction in a back flip.
Gymnastics flips are performed in both men's and women's gymnastics on various apparatus, including the balance beam, vault, floor, uneven bars, pommel horse, rings, parallel bars, and high bar. In all cases, gymnastics flips require the hips to pass over the head. Four body forms are commonly used in gymnastics flips:
Many gymnastics flips are descriptively named based on the direction of rotation and the body position assumed during execution. For example, a front flip performed with a tucked body position is called a front tuck. When initiated from a stationary, standing position, it is referred to as a standing front tuck.
These modifications can be applied to many types of flips:
A virtually unlimited number of flip variants have emerged across various activities, many with proprietary nomenclature.
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, usually while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally recognised sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.
A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground. When performed on the ground, it is typically called a roll.
A back walkover is an acrobatic maneuver in which a person transitions from a standing position to a back bridge and then back to a standing position again, undergoing a complete revolution of the body in the process. Back walkovers are commonly performed in a variety of athletic activities, including acro dance, cheerleading, and rhythmic gymnastics. In artistic gymnastics, back walkovers are performed in floor exercises and on the balance beam.
Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are performance techniques used in professional wrestling for simulated assault on opponents. The techniques involve jumping from the ring's posts and ropes, demonstrating the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers, with many preferring this style instead of throwing or locking the opponent.
Strikes can be offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wrestlers frequently give their finishers new names. Occasionally, these names become popular and are used regardless of the wrestler performing the technique.
Trampolining terms are used to describe various positions and types of skill performed in the sport of trampolining.
An aerial cartwheel or side aerial is an acrobatic move in which a cartwheel is executed without touching hands to the floor. During the execution of a standard cartwheel, the performer's body is supported by the hands while transitioning through the inverted orientation whereas an aerial cartwheel, performer is airborne while inverted. To compensate for lack of support from the hands, leg momentum is employed to keep the performer airborne until the leading foot touches down. Aerial cartwheels can be executed while running or from a stationary, standing position. The front leg lunges and the back leg drives back creating momentum. Aerial cartwheels are also known by various other names, including side flip, side somersault, air cartwheel, no-hands cartwheels, or simply aerials.
A handspring is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete revolution of the body by lunging headfirst from an upright position into an inverted vertical position and then pushing off from the floor with the hands so as to leap back to an upright position. The direction of body rotation in a handspring may be either forward or backward, and either kind may be performed from a stationary standing position or while in motion.
A flashkick is a type of back flip that is performed in the martial art of tricking, usually performed with one leg extended and the other tucked. As with many other types of back flips, a flashkick may be started from a stationary standing position or immediately following another similar move, such as a roundoff.
A kip-up is an acrobatic move in which a person transitions from a supine, and less commonly, a prone position, to a standing position. It is used in activities such as breakdancing, acro dance, gymnastics, martial arts, professional wrestling, and freerunning, and in action film fight sequences.
Sabina Carolina Cojocar is a Romanian retired international elite artistic gymnast and singer. She became a world gold medalist with the Romanian women's gymnastics team in 2001 and is also a five-time medalist at the 2000 Junior European Gymnastics Championships.
Yurchenko, also known as round-off entry vaults, are a family of vaults performed in artistic gymnastics in which the gymnast does a round-off onto the springboard and a back handspring onto the horse or vaulting table. The gymnast then performs a salto, which may range in difficulty from a simple single tuck to a triple twist layout. Different variations in the difficulty of the salto lead to higher D-scores. This family of vaults is the most common type of vault in gymnastics and is named after Natalia Yurchenko, who first performed it in 1982.
A freestyle skateboarding trick is a trick performed with a skateboard while freestyle skateboarding. Some of these tricks are done in a stationary position, unlike many other skateboarding tricks. The keys to a good freestyle contest run are variety, difficulty, fluidity, and creativity. This is an incomplete list, which includes most notable tricks.
A front aerial is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete forward revolution of the body without touching the floor. Front aerials are performed in various physical activities, including acro dance and gymnastics. The front aerial is known by other names, including aerial walkover, front aerial walkover, front flip and front somersault.
This is a general glossary of the terms used in the sport of gymnastics.
In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are typically named according to the number of 360° rotations.
A roll is the most basic and fundamental skill in gymnastics class. There are many variations in the skill. Rolls are similar to flips in the fact that they are a complete rotation of the body, but the rotation of the roll is usually made on the ground while a flip is made in the air with the hips passing over the head and without any hands touching the ground. Rolls also help recover from a fall safely.