A front aerial is an

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

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 Acro dance is a style of dance that combines classical dance technique with precision acrobatic elements. It is defined by its athletic character, its unique choreography, which seamlessly blends dance and acrobatics, and its use of acrobatics i ...

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, shou ...

. 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 A front walkover is an acrobatic movement sequence. It begins with the performer standing up straight with arms raised and positioned near to the ears. The performer then lunges forward and quickly raises one leg, with the other leg following as i ...

, with legs extended and

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

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 In physics, angular velocity or rotational velocity ( or ), also known as angular frequency vector,(UP1) is a pseudovector representation of how fast the angular position or orientation of an object changes with time (i.e. how quickly an obje ...

. 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 idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ...

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 an ...

. 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 bo ...

. 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, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a human � ...

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 The triceps surae consists of two muscles located at the calf – the two-headed gastrocnemius and the soleus. These muscles both insert into the calcaneus, the bone of the heel of the human foot, and form the major part of the muscle of the ...

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