Gymnast Flares Versus Bboy Flares

[jamesters]

I've been training flares for a long time focusing on extending hips in front. A bboy told me recently to focus on lifting my hips up rather than out and it will help me make the transfer from flares to air flares. My question is, is it necessary to change your technique to be able to transfer flares to air flares? Should I keep training the flares the way I currently am or is it worth dedicating some time to practicing flares focusing on lifting my hips up rather than extending out in front?

[Alessandro Mainente]

as i said i a post on "dynamic stregth section" learning the press to handstand decrease the time to achieve the transition flair-airflare!

between gymnast flare and bboy flare i prefer gymnast flare, but it is the result of a progression, circle, spindles, flair, but only train circles helps a lot!

usually the bboys learn the flair with the ass up, this way is not correct (in gymnast ideas) but after do the transition is more simple.

for my experience do this can help you:

1-suppose your flare is clockwise, when you have to go on the back take your rigth leg up and support yourself only on the rigth arm (in a static position)

2-at this point do a partial press to handstand on one arm

3-when your hips are high use the support of the second arm to complete it

-i saw this way during a training in a circus camp (where a boy tried flair to gogoladze) and i've tried it!

with the time you find if you try the transition slowly you will become more strong in the flair-airflare and if you increase the speed is more easy

remember a couple of things: swing the legs on the side also when you go into aiflare or handstand. Remember that when you have to go in the back (point 1) you have to maintain the rigth leg in this position (you have to arrive in a handstand with the legs as spraid as possible) as long as possible to counter balance the weigth, in the beginning is better train flair to handstand !!! if you understand this, you also can easily go from windmill to 1990.

too much bboys spend their times to learn an horrible flare, and if you tell to them (as i did) that is not the best way to learn flair, they told me "i'm bboys, not a gymnast".

the world of bboys (concerned only on the practice side) is full of ignorance. I'm talking about some aspects that you can't undervalue like:

-warmup

-injury prevention

-understand the mechanical/muscular aspect of a skill

-correct progression to learn a skill.

most of the moves are learned only by attempts, result are injury and frustation. As every sport activity where you have to perform a not-usual movement...you have to schedule your training, from the easy to the hard. and you can progress more faster.

See the gymnastic way, their moethods and you point of view of breaking moves changes.

[Philip Chubb]

Flairs and airflares are two completely different moves. One relies more on the extension of the hips or the elevation of the foot (for gymnast and bboys repectively) and the other is the hips turning which causes the body to catch up. I am not sure what he was talking about. Maybe he meant more for the transition as in actual flair to airflare.

[jamesters]

alex87, wouldn't the flares you described be counter-clockwise, not clockwise?

[Alessandro Mainente]

Yes Yes clockwise