Gymnastics classes help children learn to move with confidence. Moving with confidence means knowing how to land well and knowing how to fall safely.

Learning to fall safely is important for children because it gives them more confidence to explore the physical world around them. We want our children to be confident that they can climb a tree and get down safely or join in any sport, activity or game being played in the playground. Our KinderGym, Gymnastics and Ninja classes will train children to fall safely so they have the confidence to get back up and try again.

Motorbike landings and forward and backward safety landings don’t need to be restricted to your weekly gymnastics class – they are great skills to practise at home as well. Remember that practise makes progress, so encourage your child to give these activities a go!

A motorbike shape is a strong, safe landing shape that kids can use when jumping off a height. This might be jumping off the beam in gymnastics class, dismounting the slide on the playground, or jumping off a step.

Your child can imagine they are sitting on a motorbike to help them find the correct shape. In KinderGym we have our gymnasts say ‘vroom’ to make it fun!

The following coaching points are reinforced in their weekly KinderGym, Gymnastics or Ninja class at our Mt Waverley and Lynbrook gym centres. Try using the same language or activities at home to practise.

• Feet shoulder width apart
• Arms strong in front (try moving their arms around gently and encourage them to resist by making their muscles strong)
• Bend knees to absorb the impact
• Look forwards, not at the ground!

Encourage your child to land in motorbike anywhere you see them jumping! You can set up some fun activities at home for them as well.

• Draw a hopscotch with chalk and jump into each square
• Put a hoop on the ground and jump in and out
• Set up some obstacles around the house
• Try jumping backwards, forwards and sideways to land in motorbike
• Play musical statues, and when the music stops have them jump and land in motorbike
• Have a mini gymnastics, ninja or parkour competition at home – extra points for motorbike landing!

Encourage your child to be ‘quiet like a ninja’ as they land. This helps them understand how to absorb the impact, which is important as they start landing from higher heights.

Once your child is confident with their motorbike shape, the next step is to teach them a forwards safety landing. Ideally these should be learnt in your gymnastics class or ninja class first, as we have soft matting to keep them safe while they are learning.

Starting from their knees, have your child fall forwards into a push-up position, then lower down to the floor softly. Some key coaching points that your gymnastics coach or ninja coach will teach your child include:

• Use arms to absorb the impact (think of it like the down part of a push up)
• Turn your head to the side to protect your face
• In the beginning, start on your knees and fall onto a soft surface. As you get better you can start from standing, then start from a jump

In our KinderGym, Gymnastics and Ninja classes we focus on making this falling technique second nature. When you fall you don’t have a lot of time to consider how you are going to land. Practising safe falls in a controlled environment means your body knows what to do, even if you brain hasn’t caught up with what is happening!

Your child doesn’t need to be a budding Olympic athlete.  Nor do they need to show the athletic and parkour skills seen on many of the TV shows like Ninja Warrior, Ultimate Beastmaster or Sasuke.

If you think your child could benefit from learning to fall safely we would love to see you in our KinderGym, Gymnastics or Ninja classes. Skylark Sports offers classes for children of all ages and abilities. To learn more call us on 9544 8008 or email us at admin@skylarksports.com.au.

Both our Mt Waverley and Lynbrook gymnastics centres are permanently set up with the latest training equipment including a fully sprung floor, trampolines, bars, beam, ropes, rings and a custom designed Ninja Zone.

Our Mount Waverley gymnastics centre is perfect for families from the surrounding suburbs including Oakleigh, Ashwood, Burwood, Blackburn South, Glen Waverley, Wheelers Hill, Malvern and Mulgrave.

Our new Lynbrook gymnastics centre welcomes families from the surrounding suburbs including Lyndhurst, Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Hampton Park, Clyde, Dandenong, Hallam, Beaconsfield and Berwick.