Tuck jump in cheerleading: knees to chest in the air. How to build it, land softly, what the rules say and which beginner mistakes to avoid.
The tuck jump is a jump in which you pull both knees to your chest in the air and then land softly — the easiest jump in cheerleading and the entry point to every other jump. The rulebook calls this kind of move a "jump skill": a jump in which you change your body position in the air [1].
The honest answer to "Isn't that kid's stuff?": easy to understand, yes. Harmless, no. In a 10-second repeated tuck-jump test, the floor pushed back on 25 healthy female athletes with on average 5.5 times body weight [5] — for a 70 kg person that is about 380 kg, as heavy as two motorbikes. That figure comes from a screening test, not from cheerleading, but it shows that even "small" jumps ask a lot from your feet.
The good news: jumps are welcome everywhere. Even in the ICU introductory division, where neither tumbling nor stunts are allowed, jumps may be shown [2]. And several CCVD score sheets give jumps their own item worth 5 points [3]. How long until your tuck jump sits? That depends on jumping power and landing technique; a few weeks of regular training is a rule of thumb, there is no study evidence for it.
Jump small on the spot and "freeze": land softly, knees over toes, hold for two seconds. Milestone: ten landings in a row that sound quiet (practice value).
Jump up without a position and land on the same spot. The arms set the rhythm. Milestone: ten equally high jumps without bouncing again.
Keep the chest up and pull the knees to the chest — not the upper body to the knees. Milestone: knees at least at hip height, landing on both feet at the same time.
Take off on the "and", tuck at the highest point, land on the count. Milestone: three sets of eight jumps in the same rhythm.
A jump is not tumbling under the rules; if it sits in the middle of a tumbling pass, it breaks the pass [2][3]. In level 2 standing tumbling, a jump skill may not be directly combined with a handspring, but a T-jump can be, because it is not a jump skill [3]. Whether your tuck jump counts as a jump skill in a specific combination is something your coach clarifies with the rules.
This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training.
Land quietly. If you can hear your landing across the hall, you land too hard. Ask a teammate or your coach to point out how loud your landing is before you work on height. That is coaching experience, not a study, but it is the fastest way to work on something you cannot see.
A jump in which you pull both knees to your chest in the air and then land on both feet. It counts as an entry-level jump. Under the rules it is a jump, not tumbling; a change of position in the jump is called a jump skill [1][2]. That makes it a good first building block before you learn the bigger jumps.
No. Jumps are not counted as tumbling under the rules. If a jump skill sits inside a tumbling pass, it breaks the pass [2][3]. That is why coaches plan jumps and tumbling passes separately, so the rules are followed cleanly. A jump skill is still judged, though: it just does not count as a flip or a handspring.
In competition, shoes with a soft but solid sole count. Dance shoes, boots and gymnastics slippers are not allowed [2]. In training, good cushioned sports shoes make sense, because shoes reduced the first force peak of the landing in a lab study [7]. Break in new shoes in training, not on competition day.
It cannot honestly be promised in weeks. With regular training the jump sits after a few weeks for many people, which is a rule of thumb and not study evidence. What matters is that landing and rhythm are right, not the height. Have yourself filmed regularly and look at your landing in peace.
In level 2 standing tumbling, jump skills in direct combination with handsprings are not allowed; a T-jump is allowed because it is not a jump skill [3]. Ask your team which level you compete in. The rulebook of the federation you compete under is what counts: ICU, USASF and CCVD are similar, but not identical.
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