Tumble 2e
Denisha Cerniglia
In some instances, EMDR work is also done to accelerate this process. There is hard work involved for the athlete to get better and return to tumbling. It takes openness and vulnerability to work through the fear, self-doubt, embarrassment, and shame that they have experienced. The more open an athlete is to me and the more willing they are to be vulnerable with their fears and self-doubt, the better the results.
At the end of this process, the athlete can go back to their sport, free of the mental blocks and the shame and embarrassment that go with not being able to tumble. Tumbling becomes fun again, and that is the most rewarding part of my work with these athletes.
These athletes desperately want to tumble again, to be a part of their team, and to do skills that they used to love to do and could do without thinking. To return to that free place in their mind again is life-changing. By learning to work through these blocks, they access parts of their personalities that they might never have accessed if the blocks had not occurred. They return to their sport wiser, smarter, more mature, and grateful to be able to participate in their sport again with passion.
I think this is brutal and not a very effective way of motivating athletes. It associates conditioning with punishment. It can turn a team against east other and create negativity. There are many other ways to empower athletes to get through blocks.
I had a mental block on my backhand spring I was working on tucks I was very excited and advanced get very quickly then one practice I through a front walkover round back hand spring in the beginning then I would not through it again then after a year I got it back I was excited but then I was pushing myself to get all of these other skills for tryouts and a think I put to much pressure on my self and pushed myself to fast I just on night stopes and would not do anything backwards.
You are right! Blocks like yours come from too much pressure, stress, fear, and anxiety. Trust your training. Trust your ability. You know how to do this!!! Strong positive mindset and thoughts will help. See if you can calm down your stress and pressure.
Did you eventually get it back? My daughter is here now and it is devastating to her and us as parents. I am letting her see a life coach now, but feel so helpless ? Will she ever be able.to Tumble again?
Hi. I realize this message was 4 years ago, but you are describing my daughter to a T. She just finished her level 4 season, selected for the TOPS team and can no longer throw her round off back handspring. She can still do it onto the vault. She can still do it on the beam, but she can no longer do it on the floor. We do, however, know what caused her block. Her teammate bailed on a back tuck and broke both her elbows. Anyway, were you able to get this resolved?
Hi, I am just not seeing your post as I have been busy with a big team project.
It looks like your tryout has passed. I hope you were able to tumble.
If not email me. robert...@tinssp.com I am happy to pass some tips on to you.
HI, I hope the article gave you some insight into what might be causing your block. You have to look at any events that might have thrown you off. You have to look at what is causing you stress and fear. Find ways to calm your mind and body down. You have to get recenterd mentally and emotionally.
See if you can get back to that comfortable place you were at when you had the coach that made you feel safe. You have to learn how to create that same feeling in your mind and body without a coach or spotter there. Use imagery to see yourself before you tumble. Breath away any tension in your body. Relax you mind. The confidence must come from inside. Not the outside influences of a coach.
HI, I hope the article I wrote gave you some insight into your daughters mental block. Sometimes this simplest things can set it off. Like the pressure to make a higher level team. She has created a state of fear and anxiety in her mind about tumbling. It might be related to gymnastics. It might not be. Sit with her and see what is stressing her out. Sometimes seeing a teammate fall or get injured or suffering a fall or injury can cause the block to kick in. Hope this helps.
Wow, this really takes me back. Back in the day I was an elite gymnast in Houston, TX. I had a serious mental block when it came to tumbling backward on the beam. The coaches I had at the time were extremely aggressive in trying to conquer that block. Their handling of this was to pressure, keep me on the beam until the skill was thrown, and eventually thrown out of the gym. All of this of course did not help. The one way I knew to overcome this was to go back to the basics. For example, my issue was a flight on the beam, where I of course, crashed and burned, split the beam while trying to throw previously. So, I went all the way back to when I originally learned the skill to begin with. I started with a line on the floor. Once I felt comfortable with this, I went to the low beam. The beam that was actually not off the floor at all. Next, I raised the beam, and went with that. One of the things I also did was to use pads on the beam, at the appropriate height, with mats underneath. I would remove the padding once comfortable with that, then start to remove one mat under the beam at the time. This helped tremendously!!!!
But, as an athlete, especially as you get to the elite level, you must find a mental way to overcome these blocks. In my opinion, there is no one way, and to each their own. Find a way to overcome each of these issues. Do you need to speak to coaches one on one to understand what the underlying issue is? Do you need to work on technique to build that muscle memory back? Etc. You MUST look internally to determine where that block is coming from. If you do not, you will run into these blocks more and more often with more and more skills you learn.
As I replied in a similar inquiry. You have to go back and look at what caused the stress and fear two years ago. Many times it has nothing to do with tumbling. I have seen girls get blocks from being in car wrecks, having a loved one get very sick, competition for a spot on a team, college applications, and more. See if this makes any sense to you when you start to look at your block this way. Where the mind leads the body follows. Be very aware of where you allow you mind to go.
Hi, I dont mind reading your long email. I hope it felt good to write it. You are blessed to have coaches that understand mental blocks and are patient with you. The fear you have is legitimate fear but it sound like you have a strong mind and have made it much for fearful than it actually is. Be very mindful of your thoughts. Calm yourself down before you try skills. Your mind wont let you do skills if you are so fearful.
Hi. Yes you are correct. Stress causes this. And yes, the video series can be very helpful. If she works hard on the concepts.
The main thing to look at is stress in her life in and out of the gym. Also, how she handles stress. Her brain perceives tumbling as a threat for some reason. It usually has to do with an accident, stress in the gym, coaching issues, and more.
My daughter stopped in the middle of a tumbling pass and landed on her neck. She was not seriously injured but it hurt and scared her. For an entire year she had a tumbling block of al backward skills. After lots of hard work she overcame it and started tumbling again a year later. After 5 months of great tumbling, we are now back to the block. Nothing has happened to cause this one? Somedays she can tumble, sometimes she is frozen with fear. Will this be the case from now on? Will she ever completely be free of this off and on fear?
Hi, Mental blocks like your daughters are like getting heat stroke. Once you have it you have to take care not to overheat your body. With a tumbling block you have to manage stress. It might seem like it came out of nowhere,but if she takes a very deep look at her life she will probably see that there was a significant stressor or stressors that caused the block to resurface. These stressors can be related to the gym or any other area of her life. If you will email me from this site I will send her a stress worksheet that helps identify what is causing the block.
Hi,Congratulations on overcoming your fear. Frustration and anger are counter productive to acquiring skills. See if you can calm yourself down before you attempt this skil. Stop, focus your breathing on your body. Clear your mind of negative thoughts. Focusing your breathing on your stomach makes it hard to think about anything. Fill your stomach with air before you fill your chest with air. Practice the skill you are trying to acquire in your mind in slow motion before you go to bed each night. You can do this!!!
Hi, Have you suffered any serious falls or injuries related to tumbling? For some reason your brain is on full alert. As long as it is on full alert you will have struggles with backward skills. This part of your brain sees what you see in your mind when you imagine things, it feels what you feel, it thinks and perceives what you think and perceive. It is extremely critical that you become very mindful and aware of your thoughts, your attitude about tumbling, see successful and positive images in your mind. Calm yourself down before you ever get into the gym. Work with your breathing to help yourself relax when you feel stressed. Take care of stressors in your life. I hope this helps.
Hi my daughter is a cheerleader at her high school and bailed on her standing tuck about 4 months ago. She had a concussion and was cleared to tumble a few weeks later, but has a huge metal block and can barely even throw a back handspring with a spot. She was throwing standing 7 with a lay out and is a beautiful strong tumbler but has lost all confidence in tumbling. We have tried hypnosis and private lessons but she is getting frustrated and comp practice starts next week. What else can we possibly try?
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