Learning a backflip took me a year. After that, learning a straight gainer took a couple days. After I learned cork a month later, I lost true backwards gainers for years. The process back then was flawed and looking back at it now I would do it a little differently. I love the slant and gradual invert method as much as the next tricking instructor but come on. We can do a little better for the next generation.
Equipment:
- A ledge with a pit, mat, or sand
- A cone, mat, or other marker
- Spotter
Pre-requisites:
- Back flip on the ground
- Single leg bounding to guarantee strength in the euro step through a single leg take-off
From Standing
Step 0: Standing swing to back.
If you have mats, this gets you moving slightly sideways so you land in the soft stuff.
Step 1: Standing Gainer or Standing Gainer Spotted
Starting standing this way will allow you to euro off a ledge to a mat or sand very easily.
It also makes spotting gainers as simple as spotting back tucks. Thanks Mills Gymnastics for the great example.
Euro the Gap
If you’ve ever coached gymnastics you will be familiar with the hurdle the gap drill for round-offs. It encourages the gymnast to get the right footwork without much thought. With the right footwork, the right timing follows suit. Euro the gap has the same effect for trickers.
Put a mat, cone, or whatever marker down at the appropriate Euro distance.
Use just one step or use a run, I don’t care as long as the euro foot is at the marker facing forwards (toward the pit) at the start of the euro and facing parallel with the ledge at the end of the euro (same as step 1).
Step 2: Euro the gap gainer in tuck, pike, whip, and cork
Provided you spent enough time at step 1, euro gainers should be really easy. At that point you should start doing it in harder shapes. They progress your skills because some are more physically demanding than others. Tucks->Pikes->Open tucks->Whips->corks
Step 3: Euro the gap gainer in tuck, pike, whip, and cork to back
BUT I ALREADY LANDED IT IN THE LAST STEP. Yes you did. Good job. If you want decent swing chains, you need sufficient height and extra flipping rotation. What better way to train the muscles for that than with more flipping.
Benefits of Euro the Gap method of learning gainers
- It goes straight over. You can have your gainer as sideways as you want to do intentionally. Being able to go mostly straight over is a huge asset in swing chains.
- Safety. It can be drilled extremely easily off a ledge into a pit or sand.
- Spotting. This is literally the easiest way to spot a gainer. It’s the same as a standing back tuck spot with a push outward to make sure they’re jumping away from the ledge.
- Reinforce timing and foot placement. Consistent take-offs grease the groove for getting euro step to feel natural.
- Shapes. Shape progressions build the strength to get from tucked gainers through gainer switches. Pikes are harder than tucks to flip over. Open tucks lends itself to whips. Whips are easily adjusted to flashes and switches. Shapes to back build the strength for the over-flip required for good swing chains.
Mercenary Tricking 