teaching BRIDGES in Gymnastics
Many children can do a back bend before they get to your first Gymnastics class.
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Some cannot. Some are not strong & flexible enough. Some are still nervous about falling on their backs.
Never force a group of kids to do Bridges. It can be a BIG disincentive for participation.
Instead challenge children to do Bridge activities. Start with activities lying over soft equipment in a Bridge position. Encourage them to work towards Bridges balancing on head, hands and feet (Wrestler’s Bridge).
The final goal is an elevated Bridge. Hands on the floor, feet up on something higher.
Never spot beginners into the Bridge position. Let them discover how to get into position on their own.
Certainly some children will never be able to achieve a proper Bridge. That’s OK.
All Gymnastics skills can be analyzed in terms of 6 movement patterns. LANDINGS we teach first and best.
It’s biomechanical analysis. Each of the Movement Patterns obeys well defined laws of physics. SWINGS, for example, are skills where the body is rotating around an external axis. Good technique is keeping the Centre of Mass far from the axis on the DOWN swing, closer to the axis on the UP swing.
All Gymnastics finish with a LANDING. The gymnast must bring all forces to zero by attenuating energy over time and surface area.
Heather and 
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