LearnWake

The trampoline is a great place to practice flips before taking them out to the water. In this video I'm going to show you how to make them feel more realistic so you feel the same sensations when you execute them in either place behind the boat or on land.

First lets go over how to travel on the trampoline. Traveling is a term used to describe movement across the trampoline while you jump and execute your moves. Normally your goal is to jump straight up and land in the same spot in the center of the trampoline without any movement forward back or side to side. This is perceived as good control and the safe way to execute tricks. The only problem is your tricks move across the back of the boat in one direction or the other. On the trampoline you can simulate this same movement by traveling during your flips making them feel more like they would on the water. For some people traveling can be a problem they can't control so let's look at what causes this movement.

During a normal back flip, in order to initiate the flip, visually it looks like you throw your upper body back hard to initiate the rotation. And this is correct. The only problem is the movement in that direction creates traveling movement across the trampoline backwards. To equalize or cancel that movement you will need momentum in the opposite direction. So for a back flip you throw your upper body back so let’s call that plus one back. To cancel it we need plus one forward and we can create this momentum with our lower body and feet by throwing them forward to give us plus one in the opposite direction. So now we have equal forces traveling in opposite directions giving us a 1 minus 1 effect which cancels out any movement and you then flip in one spot with no traveling movement forward or back.

Now if you take this concept and use it to your advantage you can do this with all your flips to make them more realistic on the trampoline. However, it's important that you aren't moving in the opposite direction than the specific flip is intended to travel behind the boat or it will feel totally different when you attempt the rotation on the water. Let's take a second and go over the basic flips on the trampoline and show their relationships to the actual flips on the water. For explanation purposes we are going to show you all the trampoline flips and inverts on the water left foot forward or for a regular stance rider.

The most common flip is a back flip but there are two types and these are related to different moves on the water. A back tuck on the trampoline is better for learning a Tantrum on the water. While a back layout is better suited for a TS back roll on the water. If you do the opposite flip on the trampoline the flips will not function properly on the water during the learning process. A back tucked tantrum will set you up better for a straight up pop and eventually a grab variation. For a TS Back Roll a the layout will get your hips forward while rotating and help you fall onto your toes for a solid landing edge. If you tuck for this trick you will probably land heel heavy and slide out during the learning process. Down the road after getting the TS Back roll consistent you will then need the back tuck to help you grab your TS Back Rolls but its best to learn the TS Back Roll using the layout to lay down a good foundation first.

The second most common flip is a standing front flip. This forward flip is also related to two of the base inverts on the water. The first is a TS Front Roll. For this flip it is important to travel forward a bit as you flip but also walk out of the trick forward so you anticipate landing over your toes just like you are required to do on the water to land properly and edge away.

Now if you take this same flip and position yourself for a heelside approach you see the relation to a Mexican style Heelside Back roll and it is important that you travel backward a little while flipping forward to feel the same sensation.

The last type of flip is not as common as a standard front flip or back flip on the trampoline but is closely related to a progressive style HS back Roll and HS end over end front flip on the water if you flip and travel in the right direction. These type of flips are called side flips or cartwheels. For a Progressive style heelside back roll you should flip to the right but travel left to simulate the correct feeling. To travel flip right while traveling left you will have to throw your hips into the trick heavily and this mimics the same technique at take off as you can see in this side by side comparison.

Finally flipping left while traveling left in the same direction gives us a HS front flip rotation. For this flip throwing your shoulders into the flip with no counter momentum in the opposite direction should make you flip and travel left since there will be nothing in the opposite direction to cancel out your momentum.

OK, now that you are familiar with all the flips let’s talk about the how to jump while doing tricks. So you feel the same accelerating pop that you will feel on the water I recommend doing all your flips with accelerating bounces. You can do this by starting at a complete stop and limiting your bounces to just three or four bounces. This ensures that your final bounce is the biggest which will engrave good pop for your attempts on the water. If you bounce repetitively your final bounce tends to be small and your pop is diminished.

Alright now you are ready to take this practice to your trampoline. Use precaution and try to get your flips consistent while staying centered on the trampoline then add travel slowly in small increments as you feel more comfortable. Remember traveling increases the chance of falling off your trampoline so flip and travel at your own risk.