Help With Aerials!

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Jul 28, 2012
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Can everyone list tips on how to make my aerial higher because it is too low! Thanks!!!:fro:
 
Have recently had to learn how to teach these as we now have competitive dancers training with us. The key to a good aerial is the set. You have to make sure you are setting up really high, equal or greater to the way you would for a round off.
 
Depends on how you are trying to learn it - from a full run which is more common to cheerleaders and street tumblers, a side chasse which is more common to dancers and gymnasts on floor or a step hurdle which is most common to gymnasts for beam. There are many ways taught to to throw your arms (from a cross throw to just pulling them in to your body to keep from touching the floor)but to land an aerial consistently you need a powerful lunge followed by an explosive drive of your back leg up and over your head. (What was called above the set) The chest remains up until the last possible second. Don't drop chest until after the rear leg has been powerfully driven up. The aerial should lift up and over not looking like you are throwing your chest at the ground.

I teach them standing off a fully folded panel mat first, then lower the panel mat. Lots of body position drills to get the athlete to get in the proper lunge and lift position. Usually once the athlete truly understands what their body is supposed to do and what it should look like when performed correctly, it does not take long at all to start landing the skill.
 
Doing it off of a panel mat really helped me. Basically you just have to do it off there (trying not to put your hands down, but you will) until you stop putting your hands down. Then keep doing it until that is comfortable and easy for you. Then start trying it on the floor. You'll probably put your hands down the first couple of times because it's scary but eventually you will get comfortable and stop putting them down. If you get to the floor and are really scared, go back to the panel mat
 
Doing it off of a panel mat really helped me. Basically you just have to do it off there (trying not to put your hands down, but you will) until you stop putting your hands down. Then keep doing it until that is comfortable and easy for you. Then start trying it on the floor. You'll probably put your hands down the first couple of times because it's scary but eventually you will get comfortable and stop putting them down. If you get to the floor and are really scared, go back to the panel mat to reassure yourself. Just keep practicing! For me it was very mental! It's hard to not put your hands down since youve been doing it forever and it's scary, but you just have to try. Once you do it once you learn that it's not as scary as you thought and it just keeps getting more and more natural as youdo them. I always tell myself "just go for it!" because if I think about it I freak out but if I don't I can do it easily
 
Try doing it down a cheese, make sure that you are setting really high and, keep on practicing once you think that they are really good on the cheese try doing them on floor! i hope this helped
 
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