How to Axe2aerial_s/t_Gainer flash (switch)

When you do an axe2aerial and swing-through out of it with a gainer flash or gainer flash switch, it looks like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAcpxHTvmzM

Ingredient 1: Axe2aerial (with a non-swing-through flip after it)

Look in the video above and check out the axe2aerial with a non-swing-through flip after it in the helpful variation part. You need that.

Ingredient 2: Gainer flash (from standing)

Get your gainer flash to the point where you don't have to take any step for momentum. You might actually want to train a flash kick off of one leg (using the non-kicking leg to knee yourself up!)

Helpful things:

When you have the two ingredients, try these:

Reach out on your axe2aerial and keep your body up. An axe2aerial where the upper body dips down deep, and finishes in nearly the same spot it started from isn't wrong in itself, but it's WRONG for this combo. Why? Because not keeping your body up and not reaching out on your axe2aerial will make you finish your axe2aerial with your chest down, which makes the swing through in this combo very hard; Also, not keeping your body up and not reaching out means less momentum, and momentum is needed for the flip because you need to pull back into the gainer flash; And without momentum, it'll be impossible to do this.

So by keeping your body up and reaching, and traveling out in the process, you'll have a bit of momentum pulling you backward that is essential for the swing through, and your chest will be up and ready to go backward too!

Kick up with less height and less force with the axe2aerial's kick. Anybody who's played with an axe2aerial knows that those super hardcore stretch/axe kicks make the whole trick more difficult. So lift that kick up a little more lightly so you still have some force to pull the stretch/axe kick down. I'm aware that this is just an axe2aerial tip, but your axe2aerial has to be right for the swing through.

Get the axe2aerial's landing foot deep, underneath the body. If you don't do this, it will be impossible to swing through. No really. I'm serious. IMPOSSIBLE. If you don't chicken out and swing into the gainer flash when your foot isn't completely underneath your body, you'd just sweep up your whole body into the air, which would ball up and subsequently lash back out, and you'd land on your upper back and neck. Ah... What wonderful memories.

Learn your axe2aerial so that your rear arm doesn't cross during the landing. Look at the pictures below,



If your axe2aerials are doing this (and it's common), then you need to fix it. Why? Because you're about to swing through into a flip, would you flip with one arm across your torso? No you wouldn't, it makes it hard! How is it fixed? Being conscious of it first of all. But the big key is learning to open up your body like a pro for the aerial. Early and strong. The most pragmatic training tool you have for this is the brandy. The brandy is an excellent trick for eradicating this crossing arm habit in all your aerial based tricks.

Choose between the gainer flash and gainer flash switch.

Here's my dilemma:

• I prefer to do my axe2aerial going down on my left side, so I land it on my right foot.


• I prefer to do my gainer flash jumping off of my left foot.


• Wait... It's not going to work!

Actually it will work, but a gainer flash switch will have to be used instead. This isn't a crisis. It's actually the better situation to be in. The gainer flash switch is actually the easier way to swing through out of the axe2aerial; That's why almost all of my examples in the video above showed this combo with the gflash switch.

If you had to choose between learning this combo with your strong axe2aerial + weak gainer flash, and your weak axe2aerial + strong gainer flash, always pick your strongest axe2aerial to base this combo off of. Also, for fans of the GrandMasterSwipe (GMS), specifically the aerial_gms_gms_gms_gms thing... Umm. You all know a GMS is just kind of a little like a gainer flash_switch out of an aerial. Right? haha.

Training tools:

This combo is one of the most generous there is in terms of providing a progressive training experience. Here are your training tools for this combo, in order of easiest to hardest.

1. Cartwheel_backflip


2. Cartwheel_flashkick


3. Cartwheel_s/t_backflip


4. Cartwheel_s/t_gainer flash


5. Axe2Cartwheel_s/t_gainer flash


6. Axe2Aerial_Flip


7. Brandy and its variations


8. Axe2Aerial_extra step s/t_gainer flash


9. Axe2Aerial_s/t_gainer flash

My experiences:

I remember very well when I was learning this combo in 2006. It was very scary for me at the time and took a few months of fear and error before I began to own it. I had to really psyche myself out for it the first few weeks I had some successes with it. Looking back, there wasn't any big error I was making in the learning process, it was just something that needed time to develop. But if I could go back and give myself one tip for it, it would be a simple suggestion to not define the axe2aerial and gainer flash too much in themselves as separate entities with a transition, but rather think holistically about the technique in order to make it faster and more fluid. My earlier training in this combo reflected two distinct tricks, whereas now it's much more like one thing.