A front aerial is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete forward revolution of the body without touching the floor. Front aerials are performed in various physical activities, including acro dance and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

. The front aerial is known by other names, including ''aerial walkover'', ''front aerial walkover'', ''front flip'' and ''front somersault''.

Technical

The front aerial differs from a front tuck in that the body assumes a form similar to that of a front walkover, with legs extended and split along the plane of rotation, whereas in a front tuck the knees are bent and held against the chest (i.e., "tucked") so as to maximize rotational velocity. To compensate for lack of support from the floor, as well as the decreased rotational velocity that results from extended (versus "tucked") legs, a front aerial performer uses the

inertia Inertia is the natural tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a force causes the velocity to change. It is one of the fundamental principles in classical physics, and described by Isaac Newto ...

of the legs to keep the body aloft until the move is completed. A front aerial can be executed either from a run or from a stationary, standing position. When starting from a standing position, a forward step is typically taken prior to the front aerial in order to develop forward

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

. In either case, at the beginning of a front aerial the performer's forward momentum is converted to the angular momentum needed for execution of the front aerial.

Performance requirements

Front aerials require a great degree of lower back

flexibility Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response to an applied force. The complementary concept is flexibility or pliability: the more flexible an object is, the less stiff it is. Calculations The stiffness, k, of a ...

. From the moment a front aerial performer leaves the floor until touching down again, the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

must remain in a stationary, inverted orientation while the lower body rotates about the torso. Adequate muscle strength is also required to execute a front aerial. In particular, the calf muscle of the leading leg is responsible for imparting additional upward

to the body at the final moment of launch. The total upward momentum must be sufficient to keep the performer aloft while the lower body completes its rotation about the torso.

References

{{Reflist, refs= Murray, Mimi. ''Women's Gymnastics: coach, participant, spectator''. Allyn and Bacon, 1979, p. 49. Gymnastics elements Acro dance moves

Technical

Performance requirements

See also

References