Aerial cartwheel

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The Aerial Cartwheel is a popular move used in gymnastics, dance, and many martial arts. The aerial is simply a cartwheel executed without placing your hands on the ground. The arms are instead used to torque the body over in the cartwheel position and can be executed from either a run or from standing.

As a martial arts move, the aerial cartwheel and its variants can often be seen in Wushu, Capoeira, and Tricking performances. Its spectacular nature and slow execution make it a move seen more in exhibitions, performances and martial arts movies than actual sparring matches or fights.

1 Variations
- 1.1 Aerial Twist
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] Variations

Tucked Aerial

The motions are virtually identical to a regular aerial except that the legs are tucked in instead of extended. Because the legs are tucked in it is easier for a practitioner to gain more speed with this variant. The move is sometimes confused with a side flip, but are actually very different when their mechanics are analyzed. For added difficulty, some tricksters execute kick(s) while their body is inverted.
Axe to Aerial

This is where a leg is brought up, normally shoulder/head height, and then swung down (much like an axe kick, hence the name). Instead of placing the foot back on the ground it continues to swing and becomes the initial leg of an aerial. A variant of this where the practitioner lands in the splits was popularized by Anthony Atkins and was even called by some the Atkins Aerial.
Aeriola

This move can be described as a step back aerial, and is also called a Reverse Aerial. The practitioner will take a step back with one foot and then begin to swing the other leg backwards. Once the swinging leg pushes off, it will continue to swing and become the initial leg of an aerial. The step back motion is to give the body enough momentum to continue moving backwards while executing the aerial. The practitioner should ideally land further back from the initial point of takeoff. It was popularized by Chris Devera from the West Coast Action Team.
Aerial Sideswipe

This was originally called a sideswipe, in fact some older tricksters that began in the 90's still refer to it as this. It is also called an Aerial Switch. Essentially, after beginning the aerial and the body is inverted, the leg that took off last will swing ahead of the other leg and perform the landing as well.

Aerial to the splits

Most variants of an aerial can be landed in the splits. This is requires extra rotation along the axis of rotation. If not, it's possible to hyperextend or seriously injure the landing leg.

[edit] Aerial Twist

An aerial that incorporates an 180° rotation during the peak of the aerial's height. What adds difficulty to this move is that the same leg is used to take off and land. Gymnasts normally perform the twisting with the legs together to obtain a faster spin and more aesthetically pleasing execution. Tricksters normally perform the twisting with the legs apart; mainly for style. Many martial arts tricksters first learning this move have a tendency to begin more like a butterfly twist than an aerial. In the tricking community, this move can be done from either a running start, a small hop skip, standing, or from another trick in a combo.

Hyperswipe

This variant of the Aerial Twist is executed the same way as an aerial twist, but normally requires extra height and faster/more rotation. The defining difference is that the other leg is thrown out and is used to land on rather than the leg used to take off. Its name is derived from the fact it is a twisting move that lands on the other leg like a hypertwist and that the ending of it looks almost identical to a sideswipe.
Aerial 720 Twist

This variant is an aerial twist that rotates an additional 360°. Though in actuality, the practitioner only rotates a total of 540°. It is referred to as an aerial 720 twist because a normal twist that adds an additional 360° is referred to as a 720 twist. Because of the added rotation, extra speed and height are required to successfully land this variant.