In this basic variation to train balance, body posture, and presentation, the gymnast must walk in a tall releve to increase the balancing challenge. They must also focus on keeping a vertical body line with the buttocks, hips, and stomach tucked in to continue re-firming their posture and control.
During beam training the gymnasts should practice different kinds of walks jumps and other basic skills that help to develop an increase in balance, clean body lines, and elegant execution. The basic front kicks must swing up horizontal or higher, but always keeping the support leg straight, and the body in a vertical line without piking forward or arching back.
Coaches may add different challenges and variations to basic training. Here we offer a couple of extra walks and kick combinations. In this example when the gymnast steps forward she raises the back leg to a tight arch while she performs a demiplie. Then she swings the same leg forward to a high front kick as the support leg extends to releve.
The needle kicks are another good addition to beam warm up lines. During each kick the goal is to bring the kicking leg to point vertical or beyond with a full split and open hip angle. The drill can be performed alternating each leg kick and stepping along the beam, or staying in place and kicking several times with one leg and then the other.
In both the regular split leap and the switch leap the front leg swings forward as the back leg leaves the floor in a sweeping motion to kick toward the horizontal line. Both the front and back leg cooperate to show a 180 degree split or more at peak height.
The swing kick half turn is a good balance drill. The goal is to perform a high front kick and swing the same leg back while raising the support leg in a tall releve. The gymnast performs a half turn ending with that same free leg raising up as high as possible above the horizontal line.
The inside endo starts with the gymnast beginning to pike as the body is already bailing over, and keeping the shoulder angle as open as possible while the pike compression increases. Aiming to get the feet between the arms and the rail cleared before the hips, the center of mass moves down lower than a horizontal line with the bar.
The gymnast demonstrating this combination bails over with a little arch to begin the inside endo, but then shows a good compression, and on the swing up and comes out of the skill with the correct hip roll-out action. On the pirouette to mixed grip he again has a slight arch that could be refined to a straighter position and keeps his head slightly out to maintain visual contact with the rail during his pirouette which helps him to regrasp the bar more consistently.
In general, one of the most common learning mistakes of either straddle or inside endo to full pirouette is to swing down crooked after the pirouette. The reason for this mistake is an excess of support transfer to the post arm. The gymnasts shift their weight like they were going to perform the regular front pirouette that they have learned before, and that really requires a support transfer beyond the vertical of the post arm to finish square in a different bar position.
As mentioned before for the endo to mixed grip full pirouette combination, some of the gymnasts' main goals are to clear the rail, to flow from the endo to the pirouette without a large pause, and to swing down square. Notice how the gymnast keeps his eyes on the bar during the full pirouette.
Back hip circles begin from a regular cast when the gymnast leans the shoulder back off support. When the body is coming back to the bar, but before it makes contact, the gymnast's aim is to complete the skill with a straight or hollow body that moves around in a single unit.
Gymnasts begin learning back hip circles from a small cast. Right when their bodies start coming back down to the support, the coach standing on the opposite side of the bar, reaches with his arms under the rail and places one hand on the lower back and the other on the hamstring area. The hand that was on the lower back then reaches under the bar to stop the gymnast from "over rotating" the skill.