Page 124 - AERIAL ACROBATICS & CALISTHENICS VOL. 1 (ENG).pdf

11.2 → TECHNIQUE
We start this skill with a circular movement of the legs that will produce a ro- tational energy directly proportional to the width of our straddle. The torso re- mains parallel to the ground throughout the execution of the skill. Greater back flexibility and proper timing when bending the leading leg will strongly impact this movement. The wider the straddle, the more energy and fluidity the move- ment will have. A greater back flexibility will allow us to finish the roll-up with a hands-free back balance.
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Starting Position (right-sided roll- up):
Holding a straddle back balance on the rope, with two wraps around the waist (wrapping to- wards the chest), making sure the wraps do not overlap and keeping the abs engaged:
1. We place the left palm (open hand) on the live rope at a distance of about 50 cm (20 in) from the waist, with the thumb pointing down (we need this type of grip since we will use this hand to push against the rope).
To understand why we need this type of grip: if we stand in front of the rope, to pull it toward us we would normally extend our arm and hold it with our thumb facing up. If we wanted to push the rope sideway away from us, we would usually internally rotate the arm with the thumb facing down and push the rope away from the midline of the body (left hand with thumb facing down to push the rope to our left, and vice versa).
The same will happen when we perform a right-sided roll-up, we will use the left hand to push the rope sideways away (to the left) and use that energy to help us rotate toward the right.
2. We place the right hand below the left with the thumb pointing up (we need this type of grip since we will use the right arm to aid with the body rotation through a ballistic movement).
3. Our back should be parallel to the ground, and we will maintain a constant hip flexion angle of 90o. Our legs should be straight and with a maxi- mum angle of about 135o between them.
When performing roll-ups on silks/fabric we can add more wraps around the waist to avoid slipping.
CH. 11. REGULAR/CLASSIC ROLL-UP
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