Everything you need to know
to unlock the kick up
Find out all tips and tricks to learn it the most efficient way
Prerequisites
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Flexibility: forward fold (bending forward hands to toes).
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Balance: standing backbend (on toes, leaning backwards, extending the hips and bringing the knees forward).
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Coordination: back roll (rolling backwards onto your neck from a sitting position).
What you should be able to do
Warm up
These body parts need to get ready
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Wrists (you will experience big amount of extension and pressure). Stretch and strengthen them.
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Spine (during the kick up you enter a backbend), work on half bridge pose.
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Legs (you land in a sissy squat position) warm up your ankles, knees and hips
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Energy (you will go from zero to 100 while doing a kick up), make sure you are sweating and ready to go before you start.
Mistakes
Things to avoid
There are 3 main mistakes people do while trying to kick up
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Bending the legs
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Kicking forward not up
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Landing in a squat
If you correct these 3 common mistakes, I guarantee you take a major step towards performing a clean kick up.
Beginner friendly
The kick up is a great way to start learning acrobatic moves.
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No prior knowledge needed
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No overhead flips involved
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Easy and save progressions to work on
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Trains strength, coordination, explosive power
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Opens the door for more complex moves
It's a cool move that looks impressive
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You can do it every time you stand up
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No equipment or sportswear needed
Level of difficulty in the acrobatic world: beginner
Why learn the kick up?
Progressions
The key to unlock moves:
small steps
To master a complex move like the kick up you need to break it down into small single projects.
One of the major steps is the "wavy get up", which you see in this clip. This move helps you to get the hip motion correct.
