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3. The Roll Progression

The performer should get more practical benefit from this group of exercises than from any other part of the tumbling program. The learning of the shoulder and side rolls alone will save many hard bumps on the athletic field and in life situations. It is the natural tendency for a person to put out his arms when falling, but this often results in bruises, sprains, dislocations, or fractures.

It is all right to break some of the fall with the arms, but most of the shock should be taken with a roll so as to distribute the force over a greater area of the body. It is always best to turn under the points or protruding parts of the body, such as elbows and knees. Land on the big muscle surfaces and roll like a ball.

The front rolls are preliminary lead-up exercises to the more difficult front somersault. In the front roll the body describes a full circle on the ground. In the front somersault it does the same thing in the air, taking off from and landing on the feet. If the front roll is taught correctly, certain fundamentals will carry over into the more difficult stunt. Some performers will be able to do a front somersault the first time they try it if it is taught in this way. Snapping the head forward to the chest and tucking closely must be stressed throughout the teaching of the roll progression.

FORWARD ROLL

LET YOURSELF DOWN EASILY WITH ARMS, DUCKING HEAD (b);

LAND ON NECK AND SHOULDERS—NOT HEAD (c); TUCK TIGHTLY—CHIN ON CHEST—ROLL LIKE A BALL (d);

HOLD THE TUCK UNTIL YOU COME TO BALANCE ON FEET; KEEP HEELS WIDE AND CLOSE TO BUTTOCKS (e).

HINTS TO BEGINNERS: Throughout this tumbling program, always do the whole stunt but concentrate on only one funda­mental at a time. In this stunt the first objective should be to learn how to duck the head and let the body down easily, rolling on the neck and shoulders. Next, learn how to tuck correctly and quickly. Last, concentrate on the finish of the roll. To learn to roll correctly, it is good prac­tice to lie on the back in the tuck position and rock back and forth.

1. Forward roll from stand.
   
   
2. Forward rolls with legs crossed. Do a series of these.
   
   
3. Forward roll to squat; roll back to neck and cramp feet under; roll for­ ward to knees; and repeat the roll.
   
   
4. End rolls by rolling up to a stand.
   
   
5. Cross-legged roll to cross-legged stand, turn, repeat.
   
   
6. Come out of rolls into walk by hold­ ing one ankle only, other leg straight.
   
   
7. Roll to stand without holding ankles.
   
   
8. Roll and jump high into air; make half-turn; land; and repeat.

GROUP STUNT NO. 1

In beginning the group stunts the performers should face the direction toward which the action will start.

1. One cross-legged roll (right leg in front) to right along edge of mat to cross-legged stand.
   
   
2. Turn left and roll once to edge of center circle.
   
   
3. One roll diagonally across mat toward left-hand corner.
   
   
4. Roll to cross-legged stand (right leg in front) at corner and make half-turn toward center.
   

Fig. 4

TURN HEAD AND SHOULDER UNDER AND TO SIDE (b); BREAK FALL WITH ARM, TURNING ELBOW IN (b); LAND ON BACK OF SHOULDER BLADE (c); ROLL DIAGONALLY OVER BACK AND BUTTOCK MUSCLES (c) ; ROLL TO STAND.

When falling off balance forward in a football game or from leaning too far for­ward for a fly ball in baseball, the shoulder roll is used instead of the forward roll, because it is safer and more natural.

HINTS TO BEGINNERS: Do the stunt in slow motion at first. Start as for a forward roll but turn head to the side and shoulder under to land on mat. Some beginners learn faster by landing on the back of the hand. They feel that this makes it easier to turn the elbow in and protect it.

VARIATIONS

1. Repeat shoulder roll on the other side.
   
   
2. Try right and left shoulder rolls al­ ternately in a series.
   
   
3. Try alternate forward and shoulder rolls in a series.
   
   
4. Trip yourself into a shoulder roll.
   
   
5. Pretend that you are carrying a foot­ ball, and do a shoulder roll.
   
   
6. Run, reach forward off balance as for a fly ball, and do a shoulder roll.
   
   
7. Do a shoulder roll without using your arms.

Fig. 5. Football Players Use the Shoulder Roll.

GROUP STUNT NO. 2

1. One right shoulder roll to right along edge of mat.
   
   
2. Cross-legged forward roll (right leg in front) to stand at center circle.
   
   
3. Turn toward your own corner.
   
   
4. Forward roll to jump and half-turn in air at corner.

DIVE

NOTE: This illustration shows good form for a beginner's dive, which is merely an extended take-off for the forward roll. An advanced dive would be higher and longer.

JUMP OFF BOTH FEET (a);

BREAK FALL WITH HANDS AND ARMS (b);

DUCK HEAD, AND ROLL ON NECK AND SHOULDERS (c);

KEEP CHIN ON CHEST, AND HEELS CLOSE TO BUTTOCKS (d);

THROW HEAD WELL FORWARD TO COME UP TO STAND (•).

HINTS TO BEGINNERS: The dive is merely a forward roll with an extended take-off, and should be learned as such. Gradually make your take-off longer and higher. Be­cause of the excess momentum, there is no need for holding the shins to get a close tuck. In a dive for distance keep the head up as long as possible. When diving for height, jackknife the hips up high and keep the head down after height is reached. In all ground tumbling the feet should be about shoulder-width apart when on the mat, to give a solid base.

VARIATIONS

1. Run a few steps and make a short dive.
   
   
2. Dive over one man lying down. Add extra men to the one lying down if you are successful.
   
   
3. Dive over man who is on hands and knees.
   
   
4. Dive over clasped hands of two men for height. Gradually raise the barrier.
   
   
5. Dive through opening made by two men holding hands.
   
   
6. Do a forward roll, and dive at the end of it.
   
   
7. Dive over someone rolling toward you. Both of you may come to cross- legged stand, turn, and repeat.
   
   
8. Dive over someone bending over at waist.

GROUP STUNT NO. 3

1. A does forward roll to right along edge.

B dives and rolls to center circle at same time.

1. B rolls out to edge of mat and A dives over him, rolling to center circle.
   
   
2. A dives, rolls, and jumps into air with half-turn at corner.
   
   
3. B rolls and jumps into air with half-turn at corner.

SIDE ROLL

Fig. 7

THROW YOURSELF SIDEWAYS AS YOU FALL (a);

LAND ON FOOT AND HAND AT SAME TIME, BREAKING FALL (b);

TURN ELBOW AND KNEE IN IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID INJURY (c);

TURN SHOULDER UNDER AS YOU ROLL OVER WITH LEGS EXTENDED (d);

BRING KNEES UP UNDER YOU AS YOU ROLL ONTO FACE AGAIN (e).

HINTS TO BEGINNERS: Start in "c" position body roll over, turn the knee and elbow in. with hand and foot on floor, and do the Next, try it with a step and then with a side roll in slow motion. As you let the short run.

SIDE ROLL VARIATIONS

1. Dive sideways and roll, keeping knees tucked to chest.
   
   
2. Roll sideways to hands and knees. Then jump back sideways and roll to hands and knees again. Try a series of these sideward jumps and rolls.
   
   
3. Using this same type of jump and roll, do a three-man shuffle as illus­trated below.
   
   
4. Do a three-man shuffle, diving for­ ward over each other and doing a for­ ward roll with a close tuck.
   
   
5. Repeat 4, diving over and using the spread-leg roll.

THREE-MAN SHUFFLE

In the three-man shuffle the performers should jump or dive sideward, land on both hands and feet, and then roll sideways to the position on the hands and knees again, ready for the dive back. In the diagram below the numbers indicate the order of movement. First learn the three-man shuffle by steps as follows, and then speed it up.

BACKWARD ROLL

Fig. 8

SIT DOWN BACKWARD JUST BEHIND THE HEELS (b); PLACE HANDS ON MAT TO BREAK THE FALL (b);

QUICKLY PLACE HANDS BEHIND THE SHOULDERS WITH PALMS UP (c),

AND KEEP KNEES CLOSE TO CHEST IN A TUCK (d);

WHEN THE WEIGHT OF THE BODY IS ON THE HANDS, PUSH UP TO RELIEVE STRAIN ON THE NECK (e).

HINTS TO BEGINNERS: If you find it hard to drop down so far, it is sometimes better to learn the back roll from a squat as illus­trated in Figure 9. Youngsters whose arms and shoulders are not very strong should use the split-leg ending for the back roll, which is also illustrated in Figure 9.

BACKWARD ROLL

Fig. 9. Squat Entry and Split-Leg Finish.

VARIATIONS

1. Split-leg backward roll series (Fig. 9).
   
   
2. Sit down, tucking immediately, and backward roll (Fig. 10).
   
   
3. Sit down in jackknife position and backward roll (Fig. 11).
   
   
4. Backward roll with legs crossed.
   
   
5. Forward roll to cross-legged stand, and then backward roll.
   
   
6. Backward roll to stand.
   
   
7. Back roll using one foot only.
   
   
8. Dive and roll to cross-legged stand, turn, and backward roll.
   
   
9. Forward roll to stand, backward roll to stand, and repeat.

Fig. 10. Tuck Entry.

1. Begin backward roll with extension entry illustrated in Figure 12.
   
   
2. Backward roll with extension finish and stand.

Fig. 11. Jackknife Entry [Keep the knees straight.]

Fig. 12. Extension Entry.

DOUBLE ROLL

Fig. 13

BOTTOM MAN

LIE DOWN, RAISE FEET TO TOP MAN, AND GRASP HIS ANKLES (a);

GIVE TOP MAN A PUSH AS HE SPRINGS OFF GROUND (b);

RELAX LEGS AS TOP MAN MAKES AN EFFORT TO PLACE THEM;

THRUST HEAD WELL FORWARD TO COME ONTO FEET (c).

TOP MAN

PLACE BOTTOM MAN'S FEET WIDE AND CLOSE TO HIS BUTTOCKS (b);

KEEP ELBOWS STRAIGHT UNTIL BOTTOM MAN'S FEET TOUCH GROUND (b);

THEN BREAK FALL WITH ARMS;

PLACE HEAD BETWEEN BOTTOM MAN'S FEET, CLOSE TO HIS BUTTOCKS (c);

DUCK HEAD AS IN THE DIVE, AND ROLL ON NECK AND SHOULDERS (c).

DOUBLE ROLL

HINTS TO BEGINNERS: Be able to do a good dive and roll to a stand before attempting this stunt. Learn the stunt in slow motion when you first try it.

VARIATIONS

1. Do wheelbarrow stunt onto mat (Fig. 14); "wheelbarrow" ducks head; change grips, and go into double roll.
   
   
2. Leapfrog over partner (Fig. 15) and backward roll toward him into position for double roll.
   
   
3. Double roll forward; bottom man throws top man into forward roll, and backward rolls to stand.
   
   
4. Do the double roll backward.
   
   
5. Do double roll forward, and drop into position for monkey walk (Fig. 16).

Fig. 14. The Wheelbarrow.

Fig. 15. Leapfrog.

Fig. 16. The Monkey Walk.

OPTIONAL STUNTS

STEP OVER PARTNER

TO GET HIM THROUGH LEGS

a          b          c

Fig. 17. The Elephant Walk.

A VARIATION of the elephant walk is the camel walk. In the camel walk the top man jumps up backward and straddles the bottom man's chest, facing in the same direction. He then drops between bottom man's legs and assumes the camel-walk position, which is the same as the elephant walk except that the man being carried is facing up.

Fig. 18. Horse Walk.

Fig. 19. Tandem Walk.

Fig. 20. The Centipede Walk.

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