What Is Lower Acrobatics in Kadochnikov System

By Ar. A. Kadochnikov

At the dawn of the last century an eminent Russian physiologist Pavlov said that a human is a SELF-RESTORING MECHANISM. Our system is able to restore its functions at any age, in any condition given the correct and necessary setting.

The purpose of lower acrobatics is in the first place to control, develop or restore the movement abilities of the body, no matter the age or physical fitness.

Following our recommendations you get the ability to effectively control your body not only with your muscles, but using all the resources of the psycho-biomechanical system of a human body. The more masterful one is, the less muscular strength is required, up to the minimum of it.

Lower acrobatics is an important part of the Kadochnikov system of personal safety. Lower acrobatics include skills of movement at a lower level, body control, somersaults, slides, rolls etc.

The basic elements of the lower acrobatics are not numerous, but for the full mastering of them we use quite a lot of preparatory and preliminary exercises, which make it easier to understand the principles of movement and form the step-by-step movement skills.

Each element of lower acrobatics is viewed at two angles –

• as an instrument for the formation of the skill of masterful body control and ...
• as functional elements of the formation of the skill of specific applied movement.

On the one hand, this is the part that offers methods of rapid mastering of safe falling, rolls, somersaults, crawls and slides for people of any age and physical fitness.

At the same time, if we consider the very same elements from the point of functionality, this is a complex of motor skills, used to shift from the line of the attack of the opponent, shortening the distance between you, maneuvering, feints, stealth approaching, attacks, picking up a weapon or useful objects and throwing them, or using it as a way to shield yourself when falling.

Another important aspect is the effect that the motor skills, formed by as a result of lower acrobatics exercises have on the general ability to move, on coordination, vestibular apparatus stability and three-dimensional perception of the surroundings.

 
Practical training methods

It’s more appropriate to start with rolls, as they look familiar from the school PE program and don’t strike as strange and therefore difficult to master.

Moreover, rolls help to enhance the vestibular apparatus, facilitating the understanding of more complex moves and combination of some lower acrobatics elements. When training the rolls we usually use a number of preparatory and intermediate exercises to ensure the correct performance from the very beginning.

For instance, before learning to roll from the standing position, one learns to perform it from the sitting or kneeling position. The quantity of such preliminary or intermediate exercises depends on the level of physical fitness of the students. It helps to deliver the right motor skills to all of them no matter the age and the physical state at the beginning.

We are as scrupulous with training to fall. The main objectives are to do it noiselessly, softly and safely (different kinds of falls are one of the most important elements of personal safety), and to be able to shift to the position of readiness to any action necessary.

One should keep in mind the necessity to get rid of the stiffness in the muscles that are brought to action. The secret ingredient of the falls is to keep the center of gravity at the lowest before the starting phase of falling.

With crawls and noiseless movement one learns to control small musculotendinous areas of the body and develops some important skills.

Basic elements can be combined. For instance, to perform the front falls from the standing position, roll on the back, roll over one shoulder, then over the other, perform the fall on the side etc.

The main objective of such combinations is to make each move fluent and logical following from the end position of the previous one, without breaking the mechanism of the transitions. It allows one to build up the ability to control one’s body, feel the rhythm and the momentum of the movement, develop the vestibular apparatus and three-dimensional perception.

As the skill of lower acrobatics gets more and more mastered, the exercises can be transferred from the main part (where the technical elements of each exercise are explained and demonstrated) of the training to the warm-up section of it.

The lower acrobatics elements in such a role serve as a warm-up for the muscles and keep the motor skills at the proper level.

Moreover, it is absolutely a must to master the lower acrobatics elements not only from static positions, but also in action – while picking up weapons and useful objects or overcoming obstacles.

Such obstacles may be of any shape depending on the location of the training session and the props used. They can be made out of sports equipment (vaulting horse, buck, benches, parallel bars, mat etc.) if the training session takes place in a gym, or use outdoor objects if it’s outdoors.

“Lower Acrobatics. 15 Steps to Controlling Your Body In Any Extreme Situation”.

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