Underbar
From Free Running Wiki
An underbar is generally described as the passing between two objects, in which you jump, pass through the obstacles by using your arms to aid you in swinging through, and land on the other side. The most common situations to use an underbar include through rails, trees, and scaffolding, but by using your imagination, you can find underbars in nearly every environment.
[edit] Step-by-step guide
While there are several variations to an underbar, the most basic one is where your feet go through first and then your body follows. This technique can be broken down into six steps.
- Run towards the obstacle with a decent pace. Spot your target obstacle and be sure not to stutter step while approaching.
- When you are a few feet away from the obstacle, take off of one foot to enter the move. Get your arms up and ready to grab the obstacle.
- In mid-jump, your feet should move in front of your body, but not fully extended. Start to lean back your torso and begin to go through the obstacle feet first.
- Once your feet have begun to pass through the space, grab the obstacle with both hands like you would if you were to do a pull up (both palms facing outwards, hands about shoulder width apart).
- As you pass through the object, simultaneously, lean your torso back, pull your body through with your arms, and kick UP and OUT with your legs. To perform this part of the move most efficiently takes some coordination and experimentation. This motion is similar to a kip up.
- Once your body has safely passed through the obstacle, lean forward so that you land in an upright position, let go with your hands, and land one leg at a time to continue in stride.
[edit] Common problems
- “I am hitting my back as I go through the obstacle.”
- The answer to fix this is not always easy to come by. Chances are, you are either not running fast enough or your coordination of the "kip" motion is inefficient. To fix this, try performing the move with more speed, and practice getting the perfect coordination. Also, you may be attempting this move on too difficult of an obstacle to start out with. Try practicing on an underbar with more space to pass through. The strength of your arms can also effect the outcome of the movement, as strength in your pulling muscles will absorb the impact and prevent you from fully extending, thus putting you in danger of bottoming out. Conditioning helps this.
