Forward and backward rolls

1Why this matters

A judoka thrown to the floor, a volleyball player diving for a ball and a goalkeeper landing after a save all do the same thing: they roll. A roll spreads the force of a fall along the rounded back instead of letting it hit one joint. You met forward and backward rolls in S1. This lesson refines them so that they are safe, controlled and ready to be linked into sequences.

2The forward roll: teaching points

1. Start: crouch at the end of the mat, feet together, and place your hands flat on the mat shoulder-width apart, just in front of your feet, with your fingers pointing forward.
2. Tuck the chin: look at your belly button. The back of your head and your shoulders touch the mat, never the top of your head.
3. Push: lift your hips and push evenly with both feet, so your weight moves over your hands and onto your shoulders.
4. Stay round: roll along a curved spine like a ball. Keep your knees tucked and your heels close to your bottom.
5. Finish: reach your arms forward to roll up onto your feet without putting your hands on the floor. Stand and stretch tall with your arms up.

3The backward roll: teaching points

1. Start: crouch with your back to the mat and your chin tucked. Place your hands beside your ears, palms facing up and fingers pointing back over your shoulders.
2. Sit back: lower your bottom close to your heels and roll backwards onto your rounded back, staying in a tight tuck.
3. Hands down, push: as your hips pass over your head, your palms land flat beside your head. Push strongly through your hands to lift your head and take your weight off your neck.
4. Finish: land on the balls of your feet, stand and stretch.

Safety. Roll only on a mat, never on bare ground. Only the performer is on the mat. Remove jewellery and tie long hair back. If a backward roll puts pressure on your neck, stop and go back to the progressions below. Never force it.

4Progressions

• Rocking egg: sit in a tight tuck holding your shins, and rock backwards to your shoulders and forwards to your feet.
• Downhill roll: roll down a gentle slope, for example a mat laid over a springboard or a wedge, which makes it easier to get over.
• Supported roll: a teacher supports at the hips to lift weight off the neck.
• Flat roll on its own, then linked to a jump or balance.

Worked example: spotting faults and fixing them

Mugisha's forward roll: the top of his head hits the mat, he rolls off the side of the mat, and at the end he pushes on the floor with his hands to get up.

Notice the method: fault, then cause, then correction. That is how coaches, and exam questions, analyse a skill.

Practice

Solution. Landing on the top of the head forces the neck to take the body's weight in a straight line and can injure it. With the chin tucked, the round back of the head and shoulders take the weight and the body rolls smoothly.

Solution. She is not pushing strongly or evenly through both hands. Hands should be by the ears, palms up, and both should push hard as the hips pass over the head. She could practise the downhill roll first.

Solution. Hands on the mat in front of the feet; tuck the chin and push; roll along a rounded back; reach forward to stand.

Solution. For example: roll only on mats; one performer on the mat at a time; remove jewellery and tie hair; stop if the neck hurts; use progressions before the full skill.