SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING TUMBLING : Page 12

The active safety techniques are often known as "spotting" skills. Two of these are particularly important. First, always assist the beginner through the exercise the first few times and gradually reduce the physical contact as he improves. The instructor must guide the performer so that he will be sure to get the feeling of the whole performance from the beginning. Second, spotting is very much a matter of handling weights. Weights are always lifted with the big leg muscles, not with the arms or back. When a man lifts or catches a weight, he gets under it. In tumbling, this means that the assistant or "spotter" must keep close to his man, get under his elbows in somersaults, and always be near enough to anticipate and prevent falls. Spotting at arm's length cannot be effective.