Flip (acrobatic)

A front aerial performed as part of an acro dance routine.

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 and various other activities. This is in contrast to freestyle BMX, in which a person revolves in the air about a bicycle.

Acrobatic flips can be started from a stationary, standing position and they are also commonly executed immediately following another rotational move, such as a roundoff or handspring, so as to take advantage of the angular momentum developed in the preceding move. In general, the hands do not touch the floor during execution of a flip and performers typically strive to land on the feet in an upright position.

Classification

Many variations of flips exist, with usage depending on the particular type of activity. In gymnastics, for example, flips conform to a small number of specific, rigorously defined forms and movements. In activities such as free running and tricking, however, there are seemingly endless variations of flips, though many of these are variations of the fundamental gymnastics flips. As a result, gymnastics nomenclature is often applied to flips found in other disciplines. In many cases, flips are generally categorized according to the direction of body rotation. For example, the body rotates in the forward direction (i.e., face first) in a front flip and in the opposite direction in a back flip.

Variations

Acro dancers perform a pitch tuck.

Peggy Bacon is airborne while executing a variation of a back pike, with legs apart. Bondi Beach, 1937

Common modifications

These modifications are applicable to many types of flips:

Gainer. A back flip that ends with the performer forward of the starting point due to forward momentum.
Loser. A front flip that ends with the performer behind the starting position due to backward momentum.
Switch. A flip that is launched from and lands on the same leg.

Tucks

Pitch tuck. An assisted back tuck that is executed by partners. One partner forms a "saddle" with his hands. The second partner steps onto the saddle and then the first partner thrusts the saddle upward. The second partner, who is propelled upward with back rotation, executes a back tuck.
Cowboy tuck. A tuck with knees and feet separated.

Layouts

X-in or X-out, in which legs and arms are split normal to the rotational plane so as to form an "X".

Tricking and b-boying

A virtually unlimited number of flip variants has been spawned within various activities, many having proprietary nomenclature.