Expert: Jessica Bugg - 11/17/2006

Question
hello again,
   well right now i cant do anything without a spotter i am to scared, but i kno how to do but i just dont. then when i do get spotting i can do a backhandspring but i sometimes hesitate and freak out. like if he wants me to do 5 i would probably do 2 out of five like ok... then a backtuck i have the same problem but they are easier for me when i get spotted. and i dont attend gymnastics classes anymore cuase i am probably scared cuase they made me lose it in the first place.
thanks again,
ashley
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi Jessica my name is Ashley i am 18 years old and i have cheered for about 9 years so far. I have no idea if you can help me with my mental block but I really wish i got everything back to help me not worry about it all the time. well about 3 years ago i feel back on the trampoline and landed on my neck doing a backtuck it really hurt but i got back up and started tumbling again. that year i was doing really good with my gymnastics, i did my standing tuck perfect and all my tumbling was amazing. Even though sometimes when i fell on my neck i got back up and did it again. then the next year i started going to tumbling class and my teachers were really hard on me and pushed me to my limit. i know they were just trying to help me reach my full potential but them doing this just made it worse for me. they wanted to fix my roundoff and made me do it over and over again and it just made it worse cuase i am a perfectionist.  ever since then i started losing my RO handspring tuck. a couple months later i could barley do any running tumbling it was so hard for me to do it and i dont know why. i could only do standing tumbling (couple BHS and standing tucks). i stoped going to tumbling cuase i felt like they just hurt my tumbling. later on i worked on it everyday to try to get it back and i did. about 1 year later everything started to go downhill again on my gymnastics. this time i was losing more my running and also my standing tumbling. till this day i still dont have anything and everytime i try something someone has to spot me, and sometimes when people spot me i still barely do it. i dont kno what to do about it so can you please give me adive cuase it just feels like i am never going to get it back.
thanks,
Ashley
-----Answer-----
Hi Ashley,

Having a mental block is a very common problem ( I even experienced a personal mental block) among cheerleaders especially when you were pushed as hard as you were.  I need to ask you a few questions before I can help you.

1).  What can you do right now without a spotter?

2).  Can you do a backhandspring or a tuck with a spotter?

3).  Are you attending regular gymnastics classes?

Please answer these questions and I will be able to help you out more.

Jessica Bugg

P.S. Hang in there, it will get better!

Answer
Hi Ashley,

A wise University of Kentucky cheerleader once told me the best thing you can do while tumbling is to not think about it.  It sounds like you are anticipating the tumbling too much.  The worst thing and most dangerous thing you can do while tumbling is to throw your backhandspring full speed.  Most girls get hurt when they hesitate.

Also, it sounds like you have been tumbling for a long time now.  Long enough that your body has developed "muscle memory".  Muscle memory is when you have done a repititive action so many times that you no longer have to thing about it in order to do it.  For example:  when is the last time you put great thought into skipping?  Probably not any time lately, but when you were younger you had to think about it in order to skip.  The difference is now you have "muscle memory" whereas before you did not.

The next time you are in the gym, clear your mind of everything and allow your body to take over.  You will land it.

Let me know how it goes,

Jessica Bugg