Basic shapes

Basic shapes

Tuck Jump

This shape skill should be performed as much like a straight jump as it is possible to do until you reach near TOP. This means ‘arms high’ first and not knees up first.

Nearing the ‘TOP’ you start to bring the knees towards the chest (not the other way round), and the hands towards the knees.  By the TOP the knees should be as close to the chest as you can get them and your shins parallel to your back; hands should touch just below the front of the knees. As you come out of the tuck on the way down arms should, first of all, come to the side (difficult, it may take a while to get this right), and then start to rise again before ‘first contact’.

Straddle

This shape skill should be performed as much like a straight jump as it is possible to do until you reach near TOP. This means ‘arms high’ first and not legs up first.

You then reach forwards with your arms from your hips (the hinge in the drawing) and slightly to the side (arms about 90º apart).

As long as you reached up first your legs will come up by themselves because of Newton’s 3rd Law that says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

As you come out of the straddle on the way down, your arms should either:

  • track with your legs back into a straight line, if jumping high enough, and then set back up again as you contact the bed and start moving to full depression; or
  • lift vertically above your head.

Pike Jump

This, the third of the shape skills shares much with the straddle as you would expect. It is performed as much like a straight jump as it is possible to do until you reach near TOP. This means ‘arms high’ first and not legs or feet up first.

Just before TOP you reach forwards with your arms from your hips (the hinge in the drawing) but this time directly forwards with both hands.

As long as you reached up first your legs will now come up by themselves because of Newton’s 3rd Law that says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you are very flexible you will be able to touch your toes (but still keep them pointed) – it is more important that your legs are straight, though, than that you touch your toes so just touch your shins if that is all you can reach.

As you come out of the pike on the way down, your arms should either:

  • track with your legs back into a straight line, if jumping high enough, and then set back up again as you contact the bed and start moving to full depression; or
  • lift vertically above your head.