Kip-up is one of several names for an acrobatic move in which a person transitions from a supine

Supine position

The supine position is a position of the body: lying down with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down, sometimes with the hands behind the head or neck. When used in surgical procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the...

, and less commonly, a prone position

Prone position

The term means to lie on bed or ground in a position with chest downwards and back upwards.-Etymology :The word "prone," meaning "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," has been recorded in English since 1382; the meaning "lying face-down" was first recorded in 1578, but is also referred to...

, directly to a squatting position

Squatting position

Squatting is a posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees are bent either fully or partially . In contrast, sitting, involves taking the weight of the body, at least in part, on the buttocks against the ground or a horizontal object such as a chair seat...

 by propelling the legs, and consequently the entire body, away from the floor. The move often incorporates the use of the arms and shoulders. It is used in activities such as martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

, acro dance

Acro dance

Acro dance is a style of dance that combines classical dance technique with precision acrobatic elements. It is defined by its athletic character, its unique choreography, which seamlessly blends dance and acrobatics, and its use of acrobatics in a dance context...

, breakdancing, professional wrestling

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

, gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

 and Parkour

Parkour

Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...

 & Freerunning. Because of the flashy appearance of this move, it is often shown in fighting and action movies. The kip-up is also variously called a rising handspring, kick-up, Chinese get up, kick-to-stand, kip up, nip up, flip-up, and carp skip-up.

Supine position

From a supine position, the subject draws his or her legs into his chest (either straight or bent), rolls back slightly and optionally places his or her hands on the floor next to his ears. The person then thrusts his legs upward and outward while pushing off from the floor with hands and shoulders. The momentum of the thrust carries the body into the air feet first and, with sufficient back arching, all the way up into a squatting position. This is commonly seen by former WWE superstars Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam

Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

 and actor The Rock. It is also performed by current WWE superstar John Morrison.

Prone position

From a prone position, the subject positions their body face-down and pushes their fists (or palms) into the floor, while kicking back their legs with sufficient force, transferring kinetic energy through the thighs, which is then capitalized on to allow their body to rise to a squatting position. The soles of the subject's feet should not come into contact with the floor and the feet should not be utilized for push. Former WWE superstar Bret "Hit Man" Hart

Bret Hart

Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...

, who would also occasionally perform the supine Kip-up, regularly performed this move during the early 1990s.

Variations

Name	Description
Straight Legged Kip-up	While the mechanics to the move are all but identical, the distinguishing feature to this is that the legs remain straight while they are brought to the chest. While it is slightly more difficult, it only serves to be more aesthetically pleasing to some. This variation is more typical of martial arts.
No Hands Kip-up	This variation is considered more difficult because it generally requires more force to be exerted on the shoulders and neck. A distinguishing feature of the Wushu Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...  version of this is normally executed by placing the hands directly above the knees as the legs are brought to the chest. From there the hands push to add extra speed to the legs as they recoil back to land. Practically every variation of the original Kipup can be done without hands and springing up from the shoulders and back of the neck.
Prone Kip-up	This involves lying face down and pushing off the ground with fists, or palms. The legs are simultaneously kicked back with sufficient force, transferring kinetic energy through the thighs, which is then capitalized on to allow their body to rise to a squatting position. The feet may not be utilized.
Rolling Kip	A Kip-up executed from a push up or kneeling position. The practitioner starts a forward roll but instead of rolling over to his or her feet, the legs are held back and close to the chest. This sets up the practitioner to push off and do a Kip-up.
Headspring	Also known as Head Kip, it is a move that consists of getting in a kneeling position and going on the top of ones head and pushing off doing a forward handspring like Kip-up.
Kip-up 180	The difference between a normal kip-up and a kip-up 180 is the rotation added while floating in the air after pushing off the ground. The 180 indicates a rotation of 180 degrees. A harder variation that works the same way is the Kip-up 360.

Hop back variations

Hop back variations all involve the practitioner starting in a standing position, possibly jumping in the air and landing on their shoulders/back to spring back up by way of kip-up.

Name 1	Name 2	Description
Standard hop back to kip-up	Continuous kip-up	The practitioner crouches down and back as if sitting down on an imaginary chair. Then they hop backwards in a similar manner to a back handspring Handspring (gymnastics) A handspring is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete revolution of the body by lunging headfirst from an upright position into a handstand and then pushing off from the floor with the hands so as to leap back to an upright position. Handsprings are performed in various physical... . The hands are placed behind the back of the neck to protect it from receiving damage. Once the body has landed on the shoulders and hands, the body coils like a spring and a kip-up is executed.
Rubber band		The rubber band is a bboying (breakdancing) move which consists of repeated kip-ups which do not go all the way to standing position. A rubber band is more like a back handspring Handspring (gymnastics) A handspring is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete revolution of the body by lunging headfirst from an upright position into a handstand and then pushing off from the floor with the hands so as to leap back to an upright position. Handsprings are performed in various physical... , except it requires gently lowering the neck/upper shoulders to the ground to kip back up.
Ditang breakfall		The ditang breakfall is a variant from ditangquan Ditangquan Ditangquan, is a category of martial art that originated in the Shandong Province of China during the Song Dynasty .-Style:The major characteristic of ditangquan is the ability to perform tumbles, falls, turns, somersaults and aerial acrobatics using those techniques for both offense and... . It consists of the practitioner jumping directly up and almost coiling up the body for a kip-up in mid-air. They then fall straight down to the ground and land on the upper part of their back and slap their hands to the sides to break their fall. The practitioner pauses on the ground momentarily after which they kip-up. They may repeat this whole procedure multiple times. This kip-up is normally done straight legged with the legs split a bit off to the sides.

External links

• kip-up photos
• wushuwiki