Reverse Twisting Basics: The Foundation of Every Reverse Twister

Today we're covering the basics of reverse twisting, but I want to do it in a way that sets you up for the much harder twisters down the line.

Stay to the end for the full picture, because the habits you build on this dive are the ones you'll still be using on reverse 2½ and 3½ twists.

By the time you're learning reverse twisters, you can usually already do a reverse 1½ pike and a back 1½ half twist. Practicing reverse flip straight (302A) on top of that helps a lot, and I'll explain exactly why.

Does It Feel Like a Back Twister?

Divers ask me this constantly. The answer is yes and no.

In the air you're moving your body in a similar way. The difference is the board. On back twisters you can sit and let the board's push start both the flip and the twist for you.

On reverse twisters you don't get nearly as much of that, so your balance and your form on the takeoff have to do more of the work to generate flip speed.

Your balance doesn't have to be perfect though. If you can do a reverse 1½ pike, you have the capability to do a reverse 1½ half twist.

Reverse Flip Straight Is the Foundation

Here's what to look for in your 302A to know you're ready to twist.

In the first video example, a few things are off. The arms don't get all the way up, stopping around eye level before she leaves the board.

She pushes through the knees a lot instead of using her hips to move up and away. And when she kicks the toes forward, she slips into a bit of a pike, because she knows she can't make it around otherwise.

Compare that to the second example. Arms get all the way up to the ears at takeoff. Much less forward lean. And critically, the hips do the work of moving the body up and away from the board.

Diver Guy's Tip: Think hips up and out at the same time. Get the hips moving about 45 degrees away from the board. Then as you leave, pop the toes forward to finish the straight position. Don't bend forward into a pike. Keep the hips lengthened and let the flip come from the arms coming up and the toes popping forward.

Practice this dive. The better your reverse flip straight, the better your twisters. I promise.

Common Mistake 1: Balance

This is the most important one at the start, and it stays important for your entire career. New dive or just a rough hurdle day, balance has to be the priority, and it matters even more on reverse twisters.

The board wants to push you away. I cover this in the hurdle series, but two things to watch: don't rush down the board too fast, because your momentum drags you forward and out. And don't lean over the edge as you come down for the final jump.

That second one is specifically fatal on reverses. Your hips need room to come forward to start the flip. If you're already leaning forward, the board pushes you out fast and you never get it.

Diver Guy's Tip: If you find yourself in that spot, delay your arm circle and sit back as much as you can on the landing. You'll give up some flip height and momentum, but done well it puts you on a much better trajectory up instead of out.

Common Mistake 2: Arms Getting Cut Off

This one gets worse the harder the twister. On a 1½, 2½, or 3½ twist, cut-off arms make you rush the twist and shorten your start, so you don't get as high and you don't flip as fast as those dives require.

You'll know it's happening if your shoulders roll early on the takeoff. In the video, watch the diver whose arms aren't all the way up yet but whose shoulders have already started rolling with them. That's what we mean by being connected at the shoulders and arms. It also tends to drag the head back, which is its own problem.

Use reverse flip straight as the drill. Get the arms all the way to the ears and work the smooth circle and timing.

There's also a good dryland drill in the video: arms come through very narrow, right up to the ears, feel the extension at the elbows, then go into the twisting motion.

Common Mistake 3: Throwing the Head Back

This kills your takeoff by making you whippy, and archy off the board.

Your head, and ideally your eyes, should be looking down or out in front of you over the water. That lets your arms get all the way to the ears and even past them. If the head goes back at the same time the arms come up, you arch off the board and lose your core position. 

It's difficult to master, which is exactly why we drill it on reverse flip straights with tight core.

Drills for Whatever You're Missing

Use the drill to target the thing you actually need.

• Arms won't get all the way up: practice swinging them through narrow and relaxing the shoulders more so they get up fast.
• Head position: put a shammy under your chin and work on looking down as you come through, keeping the shammy locked in place for the entire flip.

Core Strength and Flipping From the Toes

I just covered this in my reverse 2½ tuck breakdown, and it applies here too. You need a strong enough core for this takeoff, and it works hand in hand with balance.

If you don't have the core strength to pop your toes off the board, you'll unconsciously start throwing your head back and using your shoulders to generate flip speed, because you can't get it from the lower body where it should come from.

That leads into the next mistake: not getting the flip from the toes.

The core connects the upper and lower body, and the goal on reverse twisters is for your body to leave the board as one unit. In the video you'll see the disconnected version: upper body goes back hard, then the lower body takes a while to catch up. That slows your total flip speed and makes harder twisters much harder to learn.

Diver Guy's Tip: As you come down for the final jump, feel yourself engage the core and rotate the hips slightly to lock them in place. Then as you leave the board, flick the toes forward and really feel yourself pop off. You'll know when you get it right, because your whole body will feel like one piece instead of that disconnected upper-then-lower snap. It also stops you from breaking at the knees, which is what makes the flip look weird early on.

Common Mistake 4: Twisting Too Early

This usually isn't its own problem. It's a symptom of one of the others, like not getting the arms through or just not being patient off the board.

The fix is late twisting. Do a reverse flip straight and wait until you're almost in the water before you swing your arm across for the half twist. That teaches your body to disconnect the twisting motion from the takeoff. Then bring the twist earlier and earlier over time.

You want the takeoff and the twist to be two separate parts of the dive.

Two Expert Breakdowns

The first diver

Super tall and strong through the hurdle. But coming down from the final jump, they lean forward a bit instead of keeping the shoulders taller, so they have to swing the shoulders back on the takeoff. That does buy some momentum, and they do get the arms all the way up to a great position.

Worth noticing: different divers do different things with the arms for the twist. A lot of the more expert ones don't swing an arm across anymore. They leave the arms up as they twist, which looks clean. Then once they dig, the arms go out to the side and stay there until they're almost ready for the lineup.

The second diver

Less shoulder movement coming through the takeoff and a great head position looking forward. The arms get all the way back and the hips extend up and away from the board before dropping into the twist, digging, and waiting for the lineup.

One nitpick: their arms are a little low. When your arms go past your legs like that, it disrupts your line. Get the arms high enough that they're above your legs so you can show off your leg lines, then close laterally for the entry.

Final Takeaways: Reverse Twisting Done Right

• Reverse flip straight is the foundation. Make it really good before anything else
• Hips up and out about 45 degrees, then pop the toes forward to finish straight
• Don't rush down the board and don't lean over the edge on the last jump
• Arms all the way to the ears, narrow, without the shoulders rolling
• Head and eyes down or out over the water, never back
• Engage the core, lock the hips, and leave the board as one unit
• Get the flip from the toes, not from the shoulders
• Practice late twisting to separate the twist from the takeoff
• Keep the arms above your legs on the dig to protect your lines

Be disciplined in your drills. If you make your reverse flip straight and your reverse 1½ half twist really good, the harder dives get dramatically easier, and you won't be fighting broken knees and shoulder-driven flips for years.

Got questions? Drop them in the comments or DM me, I answer every one.

Good luck and I'll see you on the next dive! - DG