By Diving is one of the most enthralling aquatic activities. There are different types of diving but most people usually stick with cliff diving as it is the most fun and glorious especially if you could do a belly flip flop because most people restrain from doing that.
Well, like all other divers, I was also quite interested in learning how to do a belly flip flop because it is majestic and gets the attention of every one. It would hurt but at least it makes you a glorious and popular driver among your squad.
What is a belly flip flop?
There are different ways in using which you can dive in the water or you can simply get it by walking but some people like to make a splash or you can say make a grand entrance.
Well belly flip flop is your grand entrance and your glorious move that would make you popular and a pro at diving.
In short, belly flip flop is the diving position/ move in which you land directly in the water on your belly while your face is in the water. Whether you do it intentionally or unintentionally, it is going to hurt a bit but it is worth the glory.
You will be surprised to find out that this diving move have become so famous that some people have made a profession out of it. But to be honest, from personal experience, I can tell that it is not easy to master the skill of belly flip flop.
With practice you might be able to conquer it but you will have to endure the pain every time you land on your belly in the water from a high cliff.
Is it safe to do a belly flip flop when diving?
When I first thought of learning the belly flip flop it seemed quite daunting to me because I had heard stories about people who suffered from serious injuries after performing the belly flip flop.
Fortunately, I had a friend who was quite good at it and he made everything clear to me which gave me the courage to dive off from a cliff into the water doing a belly flip flop.
To be honest, it did hurt like a lot the first time. I felt thus sudden throbbing pain in my stomach like why intestines where going to come right. But the feeling went away after a got comfortable in the water and no matter how many times I jumped off on my belly, it would still hurt.
So people who say that you get better by practice, well you can only enhance your technique but the pain is still going to be there. But learning from an expert and learning even the tiniest details of the techniques would help you reduce the pain to the minimum level.
So like me, if you are planning on learning how to perform a belly flip flop but you worry that you will suffer from serious injures then you need to get these thoughts out of your head because belly flip flops rarely cause any serious damage.
The most common injuries that people suffer from belly flip flops are contusions and bruising of the skin.
It is hardly the case that these bruises move down into your internal organs and cause serious damage but you need to remember that it can especially if you are not strong enough. Kids should always abstain from perform belly flip flops because they bodies aren’t strong enough to handle the trauma.
When you jump in the water your skin will string a little for a while but that is normal.
If the pain stays for a longer period of time or you notice blood in your stool then you need to consult a doctor as soon as possible because my friend you might have just done it too much.
Honestly, it is hard to get past the fear and pain the first few times. I was almost clinging to the cliff for the first few times because I didn’t want to get hurt or lose my stomach, liver or kidney because the stories that I had heard where threatening.
Tips to perform a perfect belly flip flop
It is true that you will have to master the skill of belly flip flop in order make a bigger splash the water.
There will be splash for the first few immature times as well but it would just look good from the top. You on the other hand will be suffering from the pain.
Over the course of my training, I learned a few of the tips and tricks that made belly flip flop safer for me. So let me share them with you as well.
1. Check the depth
First things first! Your safety is more important than your reputation as a diver so before you try to show and jump into the water with a belly flip flop, it would be better for you to check the depth of the lake, pool or whatever you are jumping into.
Make sure that the depth is perfect for the jump because you don’t want to hit the base with that force, it might injure your spine forever!
2. Start small
As my friend told me, it is always better to start small instead of jumping directly from the highest cliff possible.
Start with the shortest distance possible and make your way up in order to figure out how much your body pain and pressure your body can endure. You don’t want to push your body because it will increase the chances of serious injuries.
3. Thrust your chest and stomach out
Instead of sucking in your chest and creating a hallow surface to hit the water, make sure that you thrust your chest and stomach out as much as possible.
No one would be able to see it from the top so make sure that you thrust it out so that you land on a piece of meat and not bones. This definitely worked for me and reduced the pain to the minimum.
4. Wear a t-shirt
You might have a great summer body but when it comes to doing a belly flip flop, it is better that you put on a t-shirt.
I accidentally wore it once and I noticed that it made my skin sting less so I would suggest that you do the same if the pain is too much more you to handle.
5. Get big air
I personally only wanted to do the belly flip flop because it made a huge splash and made me look cool in front of my swimming buddies.
I learned over practice that in order to make a big splash, I needed a lot of air as well so bending my knees and getting into the arch position definitely helped me create a bigger splash. So you should try it as well!
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