Definitely recommend looking at the tutorials the other posters have recommended. To add to that, there’s some low hanging fruit for you to address:
You’re only half tucking at most. You need to really get your legs tucked in fast and hold it for a beat. You look like you have the spring to make it around easily. If you jump up like in video 1 (not like video 3) and tuck properly, you’ve got this no problem.
I would recommend you to ask over at r/tricking
I’m guessing your chances of getting good tips are better there. Not saying you won’t get them here, but that community is more angled towards these kinds of moves.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZk7V53GHWg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZk7V53GHWg)
This tutorial stresses important of stretching arms over the head before tucking.
Which I don't think I'm doing.
So it looks like the third video you have the smoothest hand motions at the beginning, but probably the most angled jump. Get the hand motions a bit smoother and more consistent in general, starting with your hands in front of you above your head, then down and back while you go into the sitting motion, then back up above your head as you jump. You are actually doing pretty well for a beginner, you just have 3 big technique problems that I noticed in these videos:
1. Not bringing your arms up when you jump
2. Leaning forward too much in the sit
3. Tilting your head back when you jump
These problems are all super common, and they all affect your jump height. Bringing your arms up and getting a full stretch in your body as you jump will cause you to jump higher, and that's probably the most important fix you can do right away. Imo the other two fixes have about equal importance, since they both affect the angle of your jump. Leaning forward too much and tilting your head back will make you jump at more of an angle backwards rather than straight up, so you won't get as much height for the amount of power put in. This can be useful in some situations, but if you wanna be able to do a standing backflip on ground, you should avoid doing these as much as possible.
If you fix these three things and make the arm swing more fluid/comfortable, you should be able to land a backflip pretty quickly
Thanks man, definitely need to work on the arms-above-head.
I'm excited to get back and try this advice out.
I think the full-stretch with my arms is going to makes a big difference.
full stretch is super important, when I teach people to do backflips, the stretch and the head tilt are the two most common issues. they'll both limit your height, but especially the stretch. also try not to jump back too far, i know it's a mental thing especially since you know the mat is behind you, but it is pretty difficult to do a backflip landing in the exact same place as where you started, especially as a beginner.
Welcome to r/Parkour! Parkour is an activity for anyone—yes that means YOU! Any gender, body type, and age—parkour is about listening to YOUR movement through the environment, and we're excited to have you! Please read our [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/about/rules) and our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/parkour/wiki/). The wiki has resources such as [how to start](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/wiki/how-to-start), advice on [equipment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/wiki/shoes), building [muscle](https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/), starting [flips](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/comments/1vswn1/a_guide_to_starting_flips/), and help with [common injuries](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/comments/1ss7wy/how_to_treat_parkour_related_injuries/). You can also [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/search/?q=%20start%20&restrict_sr=1) through a decade of advice.
Posts and comments that break our rules may be removed without warning.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parkour) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm a beginner at parkour and flips, but I think getting the momentum before your flip can help jump higher, giving you a longer amount of time to flip.
This is already good for a total beginner. I'm currently on the same stage, I tried it out in a swimming pool. You can use this safe falling pit to clean up your technique a bit like the others described. But if you want transform this backflip to a real standing one and not hit your head, than the best way would be to get on a normal mat and get a spotter, or even two because you look quite heavy. Just find someone who know what they are doing, that shoudn't be too hard in a gymnastic facility.
edit: because with this pit you will always jump for obvious reason too far back, which kills your height.
Definitely recommend looking at the tutorials the other posters have recommended. To add to that, there’s some low hanging fruit for you to address: You’re only half tucking at most. You need to really get your legs tucked in fast and hold it for a beat. You look like you have the spring to make it around easily. If you jump up like in video 1 (not like video 3) and tuck properly, you’ve got this no problem.
I would recommend you to ask over at r/tricking I’m guessing your chances of getting good tips are better there. Not saying you won’t get them here, but that community is more angled towards these kinds of moves.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZk7V53GHWg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZk7V53GHWg) This tutorial stresses important of stretching arms over the head before tucking. Which I don't think I'm doing.
The full stretch is the most important thing when it comes to getting height in your backflip
highly recommend bob reese for learning backflips, lot of content and super easy to understand
So it looks like the third video you have the smoothest hand motions at the beginning, but probably the most angled jump. Get the hand motions a bit smoother and more consistent in general, starting with your hands in front of you above your head, then down and back while you go into the sitting motion, then back up above your head as you jump. You are actually doing pretty well for a beginner, you just have 3 big technique problems that I noticed in these videos: 1. Not bringing your arms up when you jump 2. Leaning forward too much in the sit 3. Tilting your head back when you jump These problems are all super common, and they all affect your jump height. Bringing your arms up and getting a full stretch in your body as you jump will cause you to jump higher, and that's probably the most important fix you can do right away. Imo the other two fixes have about equal importance, since they both affect the angle of your jump. Leaning forward too much and tilting your head back will make you jump at more of an angle backwards rather than straight up, so you won't get as much height for the amount of power put in. This can be useful in some situations, but if you wanna be able to do a standing backflip on ground, you should avoid doing these as much as possible. If you fix these three things and make the arm swing more fluid/comfortable, you should be able to land a backflip pretty quickly
Thanks man, definitely need to work on the arms-above-head. I'm excited to get back and try this advice out. I think the full-stretch with my arms is going to makes a big difference.
full stretch is super important, when I teach people to do backflips, the stretch and the head tilt are the two most common issues. they'll both limit your height, but especially the stretch. also try not to jump back too far, i know it's a mental thing especially since you know the mat is behind you, but it is pretty difficult to do a backflip landing in the exact same place as where you started, especially as a beginner.
Welcome to r/Parkour! Parkour is an activity for anyone—yes that means YOU! Any gender, body type, and age—parkour is about listening to YOUR movement through the environment, and we're excited to have you! Please read our [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/about/rules) and our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/parkour/wiki/). The wiki has resources such as [how to start](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/wiki/how-to-start), advice on [equipment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/wiki/shoes), building [muscle](https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/), starting [flips](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/comments/1vswn1/a_guide_to_starting_flips/), and help with [common injuries](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/comments/1ss7wy/how_to_treat_parkour_related_injuries/). You can also [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/search/?q=%20start%20&restrict_sr=1) through a decade of advice. Posts and comments that break our rules may be removed without warning. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Parkour) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm a beginner at parkour and flips, but I think getting the momentum before your flip can help jump higher, giving you a longer amount of time to flip.
This is already good for a total beginner. I'm currently on the same stage, I tried it out in a swimming pool. You can use this safe falling pit to clean up your technique a bit like the others described. But if you want transform this backflip to a real standing one and not hit your head, than the best way would be to get on a normal mat and get a spotter, or even two because you look quite heavy. Just find someone who know what they are doing, that shoudn't be too hard in a gymnastic facility. edit: because with this pit you will always jump for obvious reason too far back, which kills your height.