I’ve been trying to do front flips for 2 months, but I keep on landing on my back and it knocks the wind out of me. Anyone have any tips or exercises for front flips?
Yeah, don’t land on your back. Sorry, just kidding. Try doing them on a trampoline or off a diving board first. Stronger abs help also. Also try tucking your head more.
any more?
I can do flips on trampolines, and diving boards. I will try working on my abs, and tucking my head more. Any more tips guys?
stance and such.
Also, how should I be standing when I do it, or should I be running? Should I try one off of a picnic table a couple of times?
You’ll definately want to run, you’ll flip with more speed that way. Once you get more comfortable and better, then try standing flips. I wouldn’t try it off a picnic table, because then you’re dealing with 2 different altitudes. All that would be good for is getting a feel for the flipping action, but that can be accomplished much more safely on a trampoline.
The biggest block that people have to overcome when doing front flips is fear. You get halfway, your body hesitates a bit, and you end up landing on your back. After trampolines, try gym mats, then move onto the grass.
If it isn’t fear that’s holding you back, you’re simply not good enough yet 
Work out more?
HHmmm
Maybe to learn how do something of practical use.
jump higher, tuck harder, and stop pussing out when your upside down.
Try moving your mass closer to your axis of rotation - the object is to turn faster, like a figure skater who holds his or her limbs close to the body as s/he spins. One way is to tuck harder, as GDA says. Another is to ‘cowboy,’ as my gymnastic instructor called it lo these many years ago. This means to pull your legs and knees not just toward your chest, but also out to the side. If you’re built long and lanky (like me) this will allow you to get a little more speed in your flip.
Aaah, the front flip. You shouldnt do them standing. Thats very advanced. Do them running first. The trick is to do a little hop and lean back a little. I know it sounds a little strange but thats what you do. Also, round offs to front flips are a little easier.
For a beginner, you should think about jumping straight up instead of jumping forward or rotating. A split second after, tuck, but when you tuck crunch with a lot of power. Think about grabbing your knees as fast as you can. Dont open the tuck until you feel your feet hit the ground. This is a low sucky front flip but you will be doing a front flip. Watch out for your ankles when you land. With practice, you will be able to do front flips high and easily. It is second nature to do flips. I can do standing front flip, even though Im a big guy (I’m a hsiao hou fan)
hmm. front flips? spots opportunity to impress girls
which is easier, a backflip or a front flip? or is it better to start with something basic like a cartwheel?
Back flips are a lot easier. Next is side flips and front flips. Cartwheels are different in feel and in doing.
Strengthen your legs, especially the calves.
Landing
I cant do these of flat ground but i can pull them off on small inclines.
When you land try and make sure you throw your feet under your body and activly pull your head forward.
Landing can be the hardest part as your body is on an unnatural incline if you dont pull your feet under and your head forward you will either land on your heels and fall or simply not make the rotation.
This is also what makes backflips easyer as when your landing these even if you havent fully rotated its much easyer to land leaning forward than leaning backwards.
One thing i will say without reservation…
They are VERY VERY dangerous. I learnt to do them on flat ground then went on to learn them on rollerblades[used to be in stunt team] one of my friends broke his back doing them of a small jump ramp! The ramp was only a 1 1/2 foot high and it was onto grass. I cant state enough how bad that was for everyone involved[especialy him] my friend spend six months in a cast that looked like a one peice female swim costume. Luckly he regained movement almost compleatly.
Remember when your doing front flips your risking your spine, when you do backflips your risking your knees and stomach. I know which i would pick.
Be carefull… Its much better to learn them properly from a gymnastics teacher. Dont even consider doing them on flat untill you can easily do them on mini trampolines onto a landing surface.
And your practising this , why???
Why front flip…
It seems some ppl thinks its a waste of time, or useless to practise acrobatics. For me the one year i really spendt on it gave me a chance to REALLY challenge myself.
I used to be the kind of guy who froze whenever my feet left the ground, also im afraid of heights. So i did a year where i worked my jumps and swinging trapeze and did some climbing.
These things may not seem MA related but they were for me, after this i feel that al my jumping kicks, throws and other tech work much better and now i often land on my feet when somone throws me. Really surpriced the hell out of my brothers Aikido teacher when i was standing after his throws.
Also i have become much more explosive in my movement, and finally i have learned a lot about body structure from practising handstands.
And spotting ppl who does jumps is really good for throws and for learning to keep cool.
And of course the mentality, You have to jump 100%, same in MA with techniques:)
The trick is to do a little hop and lean back a little.
Correct!! Think of it like this, you are running and then hopping onto a carpet with your feet together, trying to make the carpet slide with your feet. That’s the kind of foot placement you want.
The biggest mistake I see with people trying to do this is that they hop only slightly, but are so anxious about the rotation that the throw their heads down trying to rotate. That is wrong, wrong, wrong. What you need to do is throw your a$$ up in order to rotate. You need to get the height. Think of it as your head is fixed at a point in the air and your a$$ is rotating up and over it.
A drill we use is to stack something like three or four shoeboxes (we use blocks of pit foam) and do your tuck over that. If you knock the blocks over you know that you aren’t jumping UP.
Once again, the main secret. Jump UP… rotating your a$$ up and over your head.
(Also, tuck tightly, grabbing the knees briefly for quick rotation.)
This website has videos of people doing the front flip:
We have acrobatics in eagle claw, but as far as i know only my teacher can do it, LOL
We stundents always fail miserably.
Try doing flips off the side of the pool. That way you have something soft to land in if you wuss out. 
how to
ok, i read a few things on here, i think i agree with everyone.
the approach- run, and take a hop right before the flip so that you are going off both feet. one thing i don’t agree with is some ppl on this board wrote to lean back. i think i read, something like “lean back so that if there were a carpet you could slide it out from under you” (i THINK I read that someone said it) but the problem with that statement is, what happens when u preform on a carpet? my advice, don’t lean back any more than is natural, you should not be worrying about it.
the lift- JUMP LIGHTLY! slamming your feet on the ground and having heavy footworks when doing this move is bad. Why? all the power and energy is dispersed across the floor instead of staying in a single spot below your feet. Northern styles have a term called “chin gong” in cantonese. It’s pretty much means light footwork and stances. You should not stomp unless a stomp is indicated. When doing jumps, it’s best to keep steps light so that the power stays under the foot instead of spread out. get it?
the rotation- have your arms up above your head but bent, when you begin to lift off go into a ball. but make sure you go up first. do not try and rotate too soon, or you will not get the maximum height, or too late at your peak or else you won’t start flipping until you begin going down.
the landing- once you feel you have fully made it over, open up, this may take some time to get used to, but it’s better to over rotate a little vs under rotate. also- practice on pads until you can land soft. once again, good chin gong!
how to practice it?- practice doing the approach and liftoff. make sure you pull your knees up fast and tuck tight! don’t do it OFF anything, you should get used to doing things on level ground before declining and inclining levels. when the time comes that you feel you can jump-, lift off, and tuck fast, then it’s time to try it, make sure you have some pads underneath you, a good place to learn are those gymnastics schools. if they have an open gym time, i’d reccomend going.