1. During
the pressing action, angle the body very slightly forward. Keep eyes focused
on the back end of the board.
2. As arms
reach overhead, they are shoulder-width apart with palms facing forward.
3. Torso
hollows, and as legs extend, with knees straight, balls of feet push forward
and downward into the board, creating an equal and opposite reaction carrying
the body backward and upward away for the board.
4. Shoulders
round upward and slightly forward, thereby creating enough angular momentum,
when combined with the leg extension and the slight lean forward, to be
directed into a half somersault.
5. With the
torso and arms rounded slightly forward, the hips have room to ascend.
As the hips ascend (resulting from the combination of rounding upper
body forward, relaxing the abdominal and hip area, and allowing the board to
push the lower body into the air), simultaneously draw the feet slightly front
of the body line toward the chest and bring the arms forward and downward to
continue the forward rotation.
5. Bring
arms forward and downward, shoulder width or wider apart, then in toward the
toes.
6. Establish
the pike position with chest and quadriceps approaching each other, head
remaining between the armline and the legs, chin up to allow eyes to maintain
sight of the anticipated entry point, and fingertips touching the tips of the
toes.
7. Maintain
the pike position until the hips are the highest point of the body relative to
the water.
8. Still
sighting the water, prepare for the come-out.
9. Simultaneously,
the arms and legs take action to both control the amount of somersault and
initiate the twist. The lead arm
for the twisting action moves forward toward the entry point while the other
arm pulls backward 180 degrees from the lead arm to initiate the twist and
form the set position. Some arm
movement may be necessary during the dive to achieve the desired twist.
The hips and ankles on the same side as the “non-lead” arm turn in
the opposite direction of the twist and the toes point back toward the board.
10. Still
sighting the water, open the chest more and tilt the head back, completing the
twist and preparing the body for a back entry.
11. Once the entry point has been firmly established and the trajectory of
the dive has been calculated by the body’s kinesthetic senses, the lower
body presses the legs back toward the board while the arms close with a
lateral arm movement and the rest of the mechanics discussed for a Back Entry
are employed.