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 type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
. 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
An acrobatic flip is a sequence of body movements in which a person leaps into the air and then rotates one or more times while airborne. Acrobatic flips are performed in acro dance, free running, gymnastics, cheerleading, high jumping, tricki ...
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 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 (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. If is an object's mass ...
. 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.
From the moment a front aerial performer leaves the floor until touching down again, the
torso
The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck
The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the tors ...
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
momentum
In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (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. If is an object's mass ...
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.
See also
*
Aerial cartwheel (also called a side aerial)
References
{{Reflist, refs=
[Murray, Mimi. ''Women's Gymnastics: coach, participant, spectator''. Allyn and Bacon, 1979, p. 49.]
Gymnastics elements
Acro dance moves