Kip-Up Guide for Beginners
Break Master Edition
Hi ppl! Wassup? People seem to have problems with Kip-Ups, so here's the solution! N-Joy
Anyways here, we’re talking about Kip-Ups, A.K.A. Chinese Getups. It’s a nice and sweet move, used in Martial Arts and Breakdance to get up in a cool way, which is much faster than normal.
Ok, now let’s get to know some physics of Kip-Ups. Many beginners think of it as a “push up” motion, but that’s wrong. It is more of a “spring-type” movement. For a start, Kip-Ups involve the work of legs and hands. The amount of momentum provided by the legs is about 3 times as much as the hands in normal Kip-Ups. In No-Handed Kip-Ups, the legs provide nearly 100% of the momentum. So you see, legwork is very crucial in Kip-Ups. Returning to the fact that Kip-Ups are not “push-ups,” but “spring-ups”… Many beginners try to push themselves up with their hands onto their legs and end up crashing on their backs. Think of a Kip-Up as you becoming a spring, which springs up DIAGONALLY, QUICKLY and AIRBORNE, thus landing on the feet, legs slightly bent. Lastly, don’t forget: it takes time. Practice every day and you will get them sooner or later. Ok, now let’s move onto the actual guide.
1. Start off by sitting on your butt and your legs bent. If you’re feeling a Pro,
lie flat on your back. [For beginners, I recommend the sitting position, because the back rolling action gives you a beginning boost of momentum]. Now, from sitting position, your job is to roll back really fast (not too fast, because you’ll roll over your head, screw up and freak out).
2. Ok, now you do a backward “rollie-pollie” quickly. When you are rolling over your back, prepare to catch yourself with your hands, so you don’t roll over your head. Also, bend your neck towards your chest, so it doesn’t bang the ground when you’re on your upper back. Keep your legs tucked in close to your chest.
3. Now is what I call the Catching Part. While you’re rolling on your back, quickly fold your arms upwards, so that your hands are on either side of your head and above your shoulders, fingers pointing towards your shoulders. When you roll onto your upper back, your hands will catch you. Do NOT roll any further backwards!
4. Here comes the tricky bit. It requires getting used to and correct timing. The following happens at the same time. 1) Kick your legs together as hard as you possibly can DIAGONALLY. Many people kick their legs upwards, gaining much vertical momentum. This leads to you crashing onto your upper back; trust me, that’s not nice. Beginners also try to kick their legs more towards the front (gaining much horizontal momentum), making them hop and land flat on the back. Your have to kick diagonally to maintain the balance between the vertical and horizontal momentum for a clean landing. Also remember to keep your legs together. 2) Not much to explain here, just push off with your hands upwards as hard as you can. The hands help to elevate your body and give an extra push off.
5. You should be in airborne at this point. Here’s a part where you can “polish” your Kip-Ups. Many beginners keep their legs bent about 90 degrees. This shows that they haven’t kicked their legs hard enough and these Kip-Ups looks ugly. This leads us back to the fact that the legs provide the MOST momentum, so kick them HARD. If you succeeded in kicking hard, your legs will be straight in airborne and they will look reasonably better.
6. The landing. Quite simple. The legs will be the first part to touch the ground (what else?). When landing, your knees have to be a bit bent, to absorb the landing shock and making the landing nice and smooth. There you have it! You are done!
Important Key Points:
1. Kick hard with your legs! They provide 75% of the momentum in normal Kip-Ups and nearly 100% in No-Handed Kick-Ups.
2. It is a spring action, not a Push-up movement.
3. After you get ‘em, keep practicing them to make your Kip-Ups look cleaner.
4. Slightly bend your legs when landing, so that your knees absorb the shock from landing. If you do not bend your legs, it is possible to hurt your knee joints or cause injury there.
5. Use Kip-Ups in your Breakdance routines and combos, in Marital Arts or to show off.
6. You will fall on your back and get hurt many times!
7. Vertical mom. + Horizontal mom. = Diagonal mom. = Clean Landing
8. Never practice on beds or mattresses. They give you an extra trampoline-like spring, making it easier, thus you will have a hard time getting used to the actual floor.
9. Don’t limit yourself to just normal Kip-Ups! Try different variations! (No-Handed, 180 degree, 360 degree, etc.) Also, you can move onto doing Cradles (continuous bouncing Kip-Ups).
10. Remember, it takes time! Don’t expect to get your Kip-Ups solid in 2 days. Practice 15 minutes every day, but don’t give up! It took me 3 weeks of everyday practice before I got them. Build up strength and technique, then you will get them sooner or later.
11. Good luck in mastering Kip-Ups!
I hope this helped. Feel free to ask any questions about Kip-Ups. Peace
Break Master
Detailed Kip-Up Guide for Beginners (Break Master Edition)
02-04-2004, 10:15 AM
02-08-2004, 02:53 PM
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