A cartwheel travels sideways along a straight line, passing through a straddled handstand and back to the feet — hand, hand, foot, foot. It starts from a lunge facing the direction of travel, with the chest lowering as the upper body turns a quarter so the hands arrive in a line rather than scattered. A hard swing of the rear leg with a push off the front one carries the hips over the shoulders, and the arms stay straight to take the whole bodyweight at the midpoint — which is why plank and wall-handstand strength come before the skill. Most crooked cartwheels are a hand-placement problem rather than a strength one: the hands are guessing where to go instead of tracking a line, and drills that impose one (a mat, a floor line) fix more than extra effort does.
Key cues
- Step into a lunge facing the way you travel
- Same-side hand down first, hands in a line
- Straight arms — take the weight through the shoulders
- Swing the rear leg hard, push off the front
- Pass through a straddled handstand
- Train both sides evenly