Im bAcK

[kingtheking]

hey! so i haven't been able to train as much if at all in the city latley. I've been really busy with summer school and everything else going on. hopefully ill break the trend and start coming to the jams more often! oh and im trying to learn how to do a turn vault without landing on a ledge. so... like turn vault into a cat position... any advice?

[SafeNSure]

BAck... haha!
For what I'm concerned, you never left.
;)

To your question:
...going from a stand-up position to a cat-leap hang over a ledge, while rotating 180 degrees, it's potentially a very dangerous movement.
There's rotational momentum involved, gravity, and unpredictable hold with the landing foot on the opposite side of the wall... too many things can go wrong to be worth to mention.

Even going through a turn vault into a cat-grab directly (where ones hands grab the ledge, not hold while hanging from it, as in the last part of the leap...), while easier and safer, puts a tremendous stress on shoulders and elbows (if all goes well), and on forearms (if it goes bad, you loose grip with your feet, and potentially disengage the grip because of the body weight leveraging the forearms while sliding...)... not good.

It is slightly better if we'd be talking about a ledge topped by a rail, but that's a bit to specific to give a generic advise.

Most traceurs just do a quick controlled turn vault on the ledge (with or without a foot check to slow down the spin and reduce the impact on the wrists/elbows), and THEN lower themselves down into a leap.

The most important aspects of the turn vault on the ledge are: controlled rotation, body centered over the wall, semi-straight arms... imagine a gymnast balancing over the pommeled horse.

It's better to pop the wall and turn than to run into it, because you really don't want to have any additional momentum forward... the pop should slow you down and propel you upwards, killing the fwd. momentum.

Of course you might be able to do it from a stand, but I find it difficult... experiment on a 4"/6" thick and 3.5' high wall (below waist?) with zero drop on the opposite side.

But most importantely: come out soon!
:)