The backflip is the gateway inversion on a garden trampoline: one backward rotation from feet to feet, made far more approachable by the bed's rebound. Coaches converge on the same progression — bouncing flat onto the back, then tucked back landings, then the pullover (a bouncing backward roll) — so the body learns to go upside down backwards long before the full flip is thrown. At takeoff the arms drive hard overhead for height, the hips push up, and the knees pull to the shoulders into a tight tuck; leaning back early instead of jumping up first is what sends the flip travelling across the bed. The rule every coach repeats: once the flip has started, stay tucked and commit — bailing out mid-air is how people get hurt, while a committed flip lands on the back at worst. Spotting the bed on the way around tells the body when to open for landing.
Key cues
- Drill back landings and pullovers first
- Jump up before leaning back
- Throw the arms hard overhead
- Pull the knees to the shoulders in a tight tuck
- Stay tucked and never bail midair
- Spot the bed and open to land