Horizontal bar skills: Moves you’ll want to try at least once! A roundup of popular techniques.
The playground equipment known as the “horizontal bar” is very simple in design, but many of us were hooked on it as kids, weren’t we?
There are all kinds of tricks on the bar, like forward rolls and pullovers.
If you could pull off a difficult trick, you might have become the class hero in no time.
In this article, we’ll introduce basic and popular tricks mainly for preschoolers and elementary school students, as well as sequences where you repeat a single trick and routines that combine different tricks.
We’ll also share tips and practice methods, so if you want to master the horizontal bar, be sure to check it out.
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Horizontal bar techniques. Moves you’ll want to try at least once! Popular moves roundup (11–20)
Tour of Hell
The move where you sit on the horizontal bar and do a full backward rotation is called the “Jigoku-mawari” (literally, “hell spin”).
The name sounds scary, and many people may find the motion frightening too.
However, as long as you keep your promise to never let go of the bar, you’ll be fine.
First, place your bottom on the bar and sit on it like a chair.
Then scoot your bottom, hook the backs of your knees over the bar, and tip yourself backward with momentum to rotate.
When you come back up to the top and return to the starting position, you’ll need upper-body strength and speed.
At first, practice by tilting yourself back firmly and hanging without trying to return to the starting position.
Heaven Route
This is the opposite version of the “Around-the-World from Below” called the “Around-the-World from Above.” First, sit on the bar and grasp it with a reverse grip.
As you lean your upper body forward, slide your hips back and hook both knees over the bar.
From there, swing forward with momentum, roll all the way around, and return to the original position.
It’s scary and you might feel like hopping off the bar, but the key to this skill is committing to a strong, continuous rotation.
Suppress your fear, tuck your body tightly, and roll through.
Be careful not to build too much momentum—if you do, you may not return to the starting position and could launch off the bar.
Tomoe
The advanced horizontal bar skill ‘Tomoe.’ It’s similar to the ‘free hip circle’ and the ‘stretched-leg free hip circle,’ but it’s more difficult.
In simple terms, it’s like a stretched-leg free hip circle where you don’t touch your stomach to the bar.
Since most bar skills are performed with firm contact at the stomach, getting the feel for this skill isn’t easy.
Still, it’s a cool move, so definitely give it a try.
Nailing the basics—like tucking your chin and fully extending your arms—seems to be the key to success.
Giant Swing
The eye-catching horizontal bar move called the “giant swing.” When you hang from the bar, it’s dangerous if your feet touch the ground, so practice on a bar that’s high enough to keep your feet off the floor.
First, hang from the bar.
Swing your body back and forth, and once you’ve built momentum, move into a handstand-like position above the bar, then use the falling rebound to spin around and around.
Keep your arms and upper body fully extended and your body straight as you rotate.
This move can be dangerous if people are nearby, so before you start, make sure there’s no one around you!
backflip
This move is called the “Back Dismount,” where you jump off backward from the Swallow Pose.
It’s a simple skill, but it’s one of the most popular among elementary school kids.
Fully extend your arms, press your stomach against the bar, and swing both legs forward and backward.
When both legs swing to the back, use that momentum to release your stomach and hands from the bar, and land with your legs steady so they don’t wobble.
Jumping backward can feel scary at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll want to see how far you can land and challenge your friends.
Be sure to check that no one is behind you before you practice!
leg-release circle
A technique even preschoolers can do: the “Foot-Through Turn.” Hang from the bar, tuck both legs up as if curling into a ball, and thread them through the space between the bar and your head.
Once your legs are through, without letting go of the bar, place both feet on the ground.
Then return to the starting position by passing your hips and then your feet back through in that order.
Although this move is simple, it actually helps you develop the motions needed for skills like the pullover, bat hang, and around-the-world.
When trying the horizontal bar for the first time, starting with this move can make learning other skills smoother.
upward; rising; to climb up
It’s a simple move, but surprisingly hard to pull off: the kip-up onto the bar (ke-agari).
Grip the horizontal bar with your arms straight and hang with momentum, as if swinging your body from back to front.
Swing both legs together upward, then use the recoil as they come back down along with arm strength to pull your body up over the bar.
The key seems to be timing your pull with the rebound of your legs.
After you swing your legs up, try driving them forcefully back down to create recoil.
At the same time, engage your arms and pull your upper body firmly up onto the bar!
straddle mount up
Instead of rotating, you pull your body up as if climbing—this is the “leg hook climb-up.” Start by hanging from the bar with one leg hooked over it.
From this position, vigorously pull your body up and bring yourself on top of the bar.
What’s important first is to keep the back of the knee of the hooked leg in contact with the bar so you can lift your body securely.
Next, use the extended leg to generate momentum.
As you move, keep your arms firmly bent so you can apply force through your hands gripping the bar.
Finally, make sure to bring your upper body fully over the bar.
Combo (Chain) Techniques
This is a connected combo of “kip-up,” “front flip,” “back flip,” and “glider.” Advanced tricks are of course cool, but when you link these basic moves together, it looks just as impressive as harder skills.
If an elementary school student could do this, they’d probably get a lot of “Wow!” attention from those around them.
The key is to make good use of the momentum and recoil from the previous move.
Since one mistake can break the flow, it’s also important to complete each move properly.
Aerial forward roll
In a regular forward roll, you land on the ground after turning.
But with this “aerial forward roll,” you don’t touch the ground after turning—you return to your original position.
In other words, once you master it, you can keep doing forward rolls consecutively without ever putting your feet on the ground.
Since your body will naturally be pulled toward the ground after the turn, use more momentum than usual.
The keys to success are bending your knees as you roll and keeping your stomach close to the bar.
Once you get the hang of it, try challenging yourself with an aerial forward roll without bending your knees.
In conclusion
How did you like the horizontal bar skills? There were lots of cool moves like spins, weren’t there? Once you get the hang of them they feel easy, but there are probably some moves you think, “I want to try it, but it’s scary.” If you push yourself too hard you can get hurt, so practice step by step and get used to it little by little. Once you can do a few skills, try linking them together into a combination!