Biomechanics of the Cart Full Round (Cartwheel full-twist w roundhouse kick)

Understanding the Cart Full Round:

The Cart Full Round is a kicking variation of the Cart Full. The Cart Full Round implies that the athlete performs a Cartwheel to generate momentum for a Back Full (backflip with a 360 twist), and performs a Roundhouse kick after twisting in the air (similar to a Cheat 900).

The Take-Off

A "tricker style" Cartwheel is displayed. Trickers use a sideways approach to a cartwheel due to the nature of the sport, when athletes have to spin into their cartwheels, but that is not to say that a classic gymnastics style cartwheel would not work. Cartwheel (Set-up)

1. Wind up: depending on which side the athlete cartwheels towards, both arms are to be raised up towards the opposite side of the direction of travel, with legs positioned slightly wider than shoulder-width.

   
   

2. Entry: To enter the cartwheel, the athlete would circularly swing the arms overhead, from the opposite side of the DOT (direction of travel) to the actual DOT, and towards the floor. To get the arms to reach the ground efficiently and also get into a powerful position to push the lower body up on the arms, the athlete would then lower their body by flexing their hips and knees; this helps to load their legs like a spring, and at the same time it lowers the arms comfortably to the ground.

   
   

3. Kicking up: facing the DOT, hands are placed on the ground, one in front of the other, fingers pointing to the left (assuming the athlete cartwheels left). The athlete will then perform hip extension of the back leg (right leg), driving the heel up into the sky, while jumping off the front leg.

   
   

4. Rotation: there are a few positioning the athlete need to note to ensure that when exiting the cartwheel, the take-off is maximised. The athlete is to ensure that both feet finish pointing towards the opposite side of the DOT; this is done by externally rotating their right hip and internally rotating their left hip after kicking up from the ground.

   
   

5. The jump: With the speed carried forward with the cartwheel, the athlete hits the ground hard with both feet one after another, ensuring that they hit the ground with the ball of their feet. The athlete will only jump once the second leg hits the ground to ensure maximal force from both legs. The forward and downward momentum generated by the cartwheel will help the athlete apply more force into the ground to jump higher than a static jump.

The Flip

The Cart Full Round, unlike a cart full, the Cart Full Round involves more contact twisting rather than a cat twisting technique. The reason for the more contact twisting technique is to start the twist early, plus increase the speed of the twist so that there is time to perform the round house kick.

1. The set: Before jumping, the athlete would swing the arms, which were previously on the ground, up to draw the arch of a rainbow overhead and towards the DOT.

   
   

2. Contact twist: Still on the ground, with the arms pointed in the DOT, the athlete would rotate the torso by swinging the arms in the direction of the twist. (If twisting left, left arm swinging behind the body, and the right arm swinging in front) At this point, the abdominal muscle should be "twisted up"

3. Spinning kick: After jumping, with the "twisted up" abdominal muscle, the athlete would engage their core by flexing at the torso, flexing at the kicking hip and extending the knee of the kicking leg (right hip if twisting to the left). Learning a Cartwheel backside 900 Roundhouse kick would be beneficial.

   
   

4. Recovery: After the "flick" of the kick, to prepare for a safe landing, keep the non-kicking hip and knee flexed, while extending the hip and knee of the kicking leg. This position would help the body complete the rotation to face the back side (the opposite direction of the DOT), turning the feet towards the backside places less stress on the joints.

THE LANDING

Although the Cart Full Round is a kicking trick, it also involves flipping the hips over the head; the landing of an inverted kicking trick should be done similarly to its non-kicking variation. The foot positioning should be facing the "complete" position, and not the "Mega" position; in other words, landing with the foot pointing back in the opposite direction of the DOT, instead of the DOT.

1. Spotting: Looking for the floor to help the athlete rotate the front side of their body towards the ground, allowing the athlete to catch themselves with their feet
   

2. Foot position: They have to keep the non-kicking leg's hip flexed to put that foot in front of their body and point it towards the ground as they come down for the landing. The hip should also be externally rotated to compensate for the rotational force that was carried through from the twist and flip in the air. In short, the flexed and externally rotated hip will help the athlete point their foot in the "complete" position (opposite direction of DOT) to absorb the high impact of the trick.
   

3. As the non-kicking foot touches down, absorbing the impact, the kicking leg's hip should be slightly extended and the knee slightly flexed, landing on the ground right after the non-kicking foot, helping the athlete achieve a position similar to a lunge. (This is one way to land the Cart Full Round; you could even land with both feet together, or with one foot and swing into another trick after)
   

Strength and conditioning

If you can already do a Cart Full, most likely your legs are not too bad, but the Cart Full Round involves a lot more core engagement, and also some hip strength to control the movement of the legs in the air; hence, the exercises would be core-dominant.

1. V-ups / Toe to bar V-ups and toe to bars would target the abdominal muscles specifically, and also test your ability to bring your legs higher with the help of your hip flexors. This is great because in the Cart Full Round, there is so much rotational force that requires some strength in the core and hips to fight against, to keep that kicking shape you want in the flip. The V-ups can be done single-legged too, or alternating leg touches to increase difficulty.

   Toe to bar might be too difficult for beginners but would be a good strength target to hit.

2. Planks with hip dips Another abdominal muscle-specific exercise, this exercise trains the front side of your abs, and the sides of your abs too, and it also involves rotational movement, which is something the body would experience a lot of during the Cart Full Round. This exercise can help you build the strength to again keep the shape that you want your body to be in when you are in the air, and give you more ability to fight against forces experienced in the trick mid-air, and still perform the kick.
   

3. Banded hip flexor pulls

   In most kicking tricks, the hip flexor is pretty important when you need to bring the kicking leg up high before flicking. You can step on a band and loop it around the other foot so that you can feel resistance on the foot when you try to pick it up; this will specifically train your strength to "chamber" your kicks before performing them to make it more "flashy"

Conclusion

The Cart Full Round is quite an advanced trick, as it not only involves flipping your hips over your head, it also involves a kick before landing, with multiple things to do in the air, the risk is increased; hence, proper strength, proper technique, and proper coaching could be helpful in an athlete's journey to acquire this skill, thats why we provide these help at:

[Lvl 3 & UP] Open Class

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