Learning the Basic Tricks
Do a tuck jump by bringing your knees up to your chest as you jump. This is the first trick to master when you start doing trampoline tricks. After you jump and while you are still in the air, pull your knees up towards your chest, and grab them with your hands. Release your knees and straighten your legs as you land. This move helps you gain a little more time in the air and can be paired with other tricks.
Make a “V” shape with your legs mid-jump for the straddle jump. Stretch your arms down between your legs while you’re in the air. Essentially, you are doing a mid-air split! Bring your legs back together as you start to come back down toward the trampoline for your landing. This trick is great because it helps you learn how to control your body mid-jump, and it works out your core muscles.
Create an “L” shape with your body mid-jump to complete the pike jump. Use your abs to pull your legs straight out in front of you when you hit the peak of your jump, making them perpendicular to your torso. Try to reach your toes by stretching your arms out in front of you. Release the “L” shape and return to a normal “straight” position for your landing. This is another move that helps to strengthen your core. Try seeing how many pike jumps you can do in a row!
Spin your body to face the opposite direction to do the half twist. Decide beforehand on an object behind you to focus on, like a house or a particular tree. Then, when you are in the air, twist your body, lock sight on the object, and focus on landing on your feet without falling over. Don’t use your arms to twist your body; rather, use your core. Keep your arms either down at your sides or up above your head. This trick may sound simple, but it’s easy to get off balance and fall when first starting to do twists. If you are having a hard time completing the half twist, try doing a quarter twist first. Taking small steps to learn new tricks will help keep you safe.
Do a 360-degree spin to complete the full twist trick. Jump up into the air as high as you can, and spin your body 1 full turn. Pick an object to focus on that is in front of you, so when you see it after you spin you know you’ve completed a full twist. Put your arms above your head or keep them down at your sides and instead use your core to help propel you through your twist. Try to see how big of a twist you can do! Depending on how much height you can get in a jump, you may be able to do 2 full twists!
Working on Advanced Moves
Jump, do a front flip and land on your back for the front pullover. Keep jumping until you get about 6 feet (1.8 m) in the air. Keep your legs curved up toward your chest as you land on your back rather than extending them out straight in front of you. This motion allows you to continue bouncing back up and doing flips for as long as you can. Have a spotter with you when you start doing more advanced tricks. They can tell you what you need to do to complete a trick properly, and they are there to help in case you get hurt. Stand in the center of the trampoline and start jumping to get a sense of where your center of gravity is.
Jump, land on your back, and flip backward for the back pullover. Keep your legs curled up toward your chest rather than extending them, and use the momentum of the bounce after you land on your back to propel you backward so you land on your feet. Use your hands to gently push yourself up to a standing position until you become comfortable with the movements. Master the front pullover before moving on to the back pullover. The back pullover is a much harder move to pull off.
Jump forward onto your hands and flip frontward for a front spring. When starting the forward flip, pretend like you are diving off of the high board. Let the momentum of the bounce propel your legs up and over your body. Land on your feet and return to a standing position. This move will feel like you’re doing a handstand and then flipping over. Always start the front handspring from the side of the trampoline and not in the middle of it. It’s a good idea to have a safety net in place, just in case you accidentally spring too far forward.
Flip back on your hands then land on your feet for the back spring. Start with your feet at the edge of the trampoline, facing outwards. As you flip backwards and place your hands on the mat, let the momentum from the bouncing help you carry your legs up and over your head. Land on your feet and return to a standing position. When you first start doing the back handspring, you may land on your knees instead of your feet. That is okay! Practice landing on your knees until you are comfortable with the movements and then work on landing on your feet. Always start the back handspring from the side of the trampoline and not in the middle. Having a safety net in place is recommended.
Complete a back flip by jumping, tucking, spinning mid-air, and landing. The more height you can get with this move, the better, especially when you are just learning how to do a back flip. Try to land on your feet, but if you can’t, it’s okay to land on your knees, too. You should be able to do this entire move from the middle of the trampoline. Your body will land back in the place you started from.
Do a front flip by jumping, tucking, spinning forward, and landing. Try learning to land on your back, knees, and feet for the front flip. Try to get a good height of about 6 feet (1.8 m) to your jump to give yourself more room to complete the flip before you land again. Stay in the same spot when you jump rather than jumping forward at an angle.
Do a back flip, a front drop, and another back flip to do “The Cody.” Do either a back flip or a back handspring. When you land, instead of landing on your feet, do a front drop. When you start to bounce back up, flip your body backwards again, grabbing your knees into your chest. Release your knees as your flip finishes to land on your feet. A front drop is when you land on your stomach. Don’t use your arms to push yourself back up from the front drop—use your core strength and the momentum from the bouncing.
Practicing Alternate Landings
Land on your bottom with your legs extended to do the seated drop. The momentum from landing on your bottom will bounce you right back up so you can get your feet underneath of you again. When you are coming back up, raise your arms above your head rather than keeping them at your side. For fun, see how many times in a row you can do a seated drop before you lose momentum. This is a great exercise for your core!
Jump up and bend your legs at the knees to complete the knee drop. Keep your back straight as you come back down and don’t sit on your heels—you want to keep your calves perpendicular to the rest of your body if you can. The momentum from landing on your knees will bounce you back up so you can stand on your feet. Practice this move multiple times to learn the right angle for your body’s landing. If you land with your shoulders and torso too far forward, you might fall onto your face. Practice will help you figure out your body’s center of gravity for the perfect landing.
Land on your back to do the back drop. After you complete your flip or trick, gently straighten your back and land backside-down. Don’t make your torso and legs rigid, though. When you bounce back up, stand up on your feet, or continue doing another trick! If you’re uneasy about the back drop, try just doing a trust fall (where you fall backwards with your back straight and let people catch you, except in this case, the trampoline is “catching” you) from the standing position until you become more comfortable.
Let your body fall forward to complete the front drop. Land with your hands in front of your face to protect it from the trampoline. You can spring back up to your feet after doing the front drop, or you can land on your knees. You can also move straight into doing another trick after doing the front drop. Practice this move until you can land on your knees, on your feet, and do an additional trick from the front drop position. This move gives you a lot of versatility in your landings.
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