Jenna Blamowski
EN 110
Mr. Chojnacki
Front tuck flip vs. Back tuck flip Some things can be compared and contrasted very well because they have a good amount of similarities and differences. A front tuck flip and a back tuck flip are very good examples. You can tell just by their names that they have similarities and differences. The first words “front” and “back” give away the first variation between the two. But, the endings “tuck flip” on both make it clear that there does exist conformity. A tuck flip is the most basic flip someone can perform. In any acrobatic sport, it has the lowest degree of difficulty. The first comparison one can see is the position that the flip is executed in. A tuck is a body position in which one’s knees are “tucked” into their chest. The hands are gripping just below the knee and the chin is brought in towards the neck. The shape resembles a ball, so it makes the flip happen faster. The front and back tuck flip will be done as so. The next step is the jump that one does in order to complete the flip. This is how you come off of the surface, and it brings us to our first contrast. The front tuck flip begins with feet flat and shoulder width apart on the floor, trampoline, etc. Arms should be up next to your ears and eyes looking straight forward. You will squat down for the jump but not too far. Legs should not be all the way at a ninety degree angle but close to. Also make sure your knees do not surpass your toes or else you will be projecting forward. The person must also be sure not to stick their butt out too far or else it could also throw the flip off. Following the squat is the jump, which is the explosion of the legs into the air that decides the height of the flip. Now the arms will swing down and “chop” into the flip. The hands will go from above the head to below the knee in a quick chopping motion. This will make the person spin. When they feel that their head is coming back right side up, their legs will open to land. The process for the back tuck flip differs a little bit. The stance is the same with feet flat and shoulder width apart. Arms start at the sides instead of above the head this time. The jump begins by the arms starting from the sides and circling up above the head and on their way back down to the sides, the squat happens. The knees bend close to a ninety degree angle again. The arms continue on after one full circle and finish above the head. As the arms are going from the sides to the head the second time, the legs will explode to finish the jump. Now, instead of the arms tucking in to the legs, the legs will tuck into the arms. In the front tuck flip, the arms went straight to the legs. The arms have less work with the back tuck flip. The knees will shoot up into the tuck position and basically come straight to the arms. The hands must grab below the knees when they get there and release to land. Landing is one of the most important parts of a tuck flip because if you don’t land, you can expect to face dive into the floor. The landing is the same for both flips, and is quite simple. As one feels their head coming back around to right side up, they must open out of the tuck to land flat. Keeping your eyes open is very critical for landings. As one see things back to normal, they will snap open their legs straight to hit the floor standing back up. The legs should not be locked out completely because if they come down hard it can injure the knees. The last physical contrast is the speed of the flip. While you might think that the flips would be completed at the same speed, they will not. The front flip acquires a bit of extra speed from the “chopping” of the arms. The back flip does not have any other power aside from the legs. When the arms chop, they swing the body around in a quicker motion. The leg momentum in the back flip is enough to complete the flip, but it is very rarely enough for the front flip, which is why it needs the extra speed from the arms. A common question that is raised about tuck flips is “which one is easier?” It has been proven that mentally, the front flip is easier, but physically the back flip is easier. Think about it in your head, would you rather flip over your head forwards, or backwards? Most people would say forwards because you can see where you you’re going to go, which you cannot do going backwards. But, in all actuality, the back flip is easier to do, even if it is harder in your head. The process of the back flip makes finding you center of gravity again a lot easier than the front does. You can also see where you are half way through the back tuck flip, where as the front tuck flip has a blind landing. The fear of the back flip comes because of a blind start, because people do not realize the blind landing of the front flip until they attempt it. Another sad, but true, difference is what happens is one does not complete the flip correctly. In a back tuck flip, if the person doesn’t go all the way around, they have their hands there to catch them. If they go over, it would most likely be a landing on their bottom. If one does not go all the way around on a front tuck flip, they will either land on their head, neck, or back with nothing to really lessen the impact. If they go over, they do have their arms to help as long as they realize they are going over. It is not the most pleasant part of the flip to think about, but it is better to know and be prepared if you ever do attempt it. Comparing and contrasting is the way you analyze the facts about two people, places, or things. Front tuck flips and back tuck flips are not completely the same nor completely different. Both are very specific in their process, but they are also completed in their own distinct way. I hope to have clearly distinguished the harmony and the asymmetry between these two tricks.