Expert: Chris - 5/24/2010

Question
I have a serious mental block and i don't know how to get over it. I'm trying really hard to keep trying to not think about it and its not working. I used to have a round-off back hand spring back tuck then i lost my tuck and now i can't even do my back hand spring. I'm in high school cheerleading and i can't afford loosing something that i used to be able to do in my sleep. Do you have any advice?

Answer
I'm going to start by saying I'm sorry because I know it's frustrating. Thinking about not thinking...it doesn't work, does it? I used to tumble also. I had a round-off back handspring, but then I got a mental block myself and couldn't do it anymore. My mental block was more of a problem with stunting because I'm a flyer and I never wanted to twist, flip, toss, or anything. Over the years I've gotten better with my mental block. I didn't get my tumbling back, but that had more to do with a wrist injury. I had a cyst and it hurt too much to flex my wrist. Eventually I had surgery, and it's been almost a year since then, but I was completely out of tumbling for 3 years. I was never too skilled in the tumbling area anyways, so with all that time off I couldn't get it back.

Is this mental block of yours only around tumbling or has it started to affect other areas of cheerleading? Mine got so bad that for a while my jumps got worse. How stupid, right?

Anyways, I've made a lot of progress with it. The first thing I did was visualize myself doing the skill perfectly. I'd heard about that technique a million times, and I always thought it was ridiculous. I didn't think it would help, but at that point I was desperate. So I started visualizing my twist downs (or back handsprings or whatever) and they did get easier. There's some scientific explanation for this, but I'm not sure exactly how it works. It has something to do with your brain not being able to tell the difference between the visualization and the actual execution of the skill. So if you visualize it perfectly your brain thinks that your body has done it perfectly.

Don't get too frustrated or mad at yourself. It won't help and it will only upset you. This isn't a quick process, but I let my mental block keep going on and on for literally 5 or 6 years so mine was beyond bad. Encourage yourself. Don't tell yourself you can't do it or you're afraid to do it. When you think these things your brain takes them as instructions. It's the same idea as telling your brain not to touch the hot stove. You know it will hurt or not turn out well, so your brain prevents your body from doing it.

Between visualization and encouraging yourself (and your brain), you should be able to get your tumbling back. Obviously going to some tumbling classes with a qualified spotter and appropriate equipment would be a good place to start, but I'm sure you've already thought of that. I'm sure you know how to physically "re-learn" it.

Once you do get your tumbling back don't ever not throw it. Any time you're planning on doing it, don't bail out. As soon as you do it once it's easy to do again, and again, and again. I had this problem with both tumbling and twisting. I coached 9 year olds last year, and we were teaching them to twist. One girl was terrified, but she could physically do it perfectly. I told her to never just straight cradle and ALWAYS twist. She actually listened to me, and she kept twisting down. We ended up going in a division where we couldn't twist down, but she still got over her fear.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask a follow-up and keep me posted.