Learn the headspring: prerequisites, build-up from the slope to the raised platform, hip extension and why you practise it only supervised and softly secured.
The headspring is a forward roll-over in which you place the hands far in front, rest the forehead lightly behind them, extend the hips suddenly and push after with the arms until you arrive standing. It is therefore also called a head-support roll-over. Important in advance: this guide is an orientation and safety guide, not instructions for trying it yourself.
The honest answer to "Isn't that dangerous?": Yes, more so than most floor elements. The accident-insurance material names injuries in handstand, headstand and rolling movements as relatively frequent, and rolls with a pronounced flight phase as particularly risky, because they place high demands on skill and safe movement help is hardly possible. Mainly injuries to the cervical spine and head occur [1]. The headspring is not a roll but also has a flight and head-support phase; the transfer is our conclusion.
The figures from US school and college sport fit: over 40 years, 470 catastrophic head and neck injuries in non-football sports were recorded, and more than half ended with permanent disability or death. Gymnastics, at 1.66 cases per 100,000 athlete-seasons, was among the sports with the highest rates [4]. That is rare but expensive, and these are US data for school and college sport (TRANSFER).
Another study with mouthguard sensors in eleven- to eighteen-year-old gymnasts showed that preparatory drills in which the head touches a surface can cause high head accelerations [2]. In women's gymnastics, rolling moves such as the handstand forward roll were among the elements with the highest rotational accelerations [3].
On the evidence, honestly: the technique notes come from a teaching script (tier C) and practice; for this element we found no study and no federation material. That is why this guide says it plainly: you learn the headspring only with qualified instruction.
You roll forward with the chin tucked and hold the headstand in a triangle (hands and forehead-crown form an isosceles triangle, the head in line with the cervical spine) [1]. Milestone: five rolls without hands and a calm ten-second headstand.
Practising on an inclined surface makes the rotation easier because the head gets more room to pass (principle from the forward roll [5]). Milestone: three forward rolls down the slope with calm tucking.
Place the hands far forward, the forehead behind them. The body is lowered with bent hips, the arms catch the lowering through muscle tension [6]. Milestone: You feel the arms carry, the head only touches lightly.
The hip extension may only happen when the centre of mass is beyond forehead and hands, otherwise the body goes up too steeply or falls back. If it comes too late, the flight curve is too flat [6]. The legs stay straight, the arms push after dynamically. Milestone: With a spotter and soft landing mat you extend the hip and roll to sitting or standing.
The raised platform (box, stack of mats) gives the movement room. Landing with cushioning in knees and hips, arms in line with the trunk until standing [6]. Milestone: three clean headsprings from the platform with a coach, landing standing.
Train the timing of the hip extension first on a soft, steep surface with a spotter, not on the head. Give yourself a cue ("Now!") and a second person who calls it as soon as your shoulders are over your hands. That way you learn not to extend too early. This is a practice trick that the Swiss federation material uses similarly for the glide-down kip on the parallel bars: the coach supports the kip thrust with an acoustic signal [8].
Probably yes, though without direct evidence for this exact element: it has a flight and head-support phase, and for rolls with a pronounced flight phase the accident risk is high because they demand a lot of skill and can hardly be spotted safely [1]. So only with a coach.
That depends on roll, headstand and support strength. A teaching script describes it as easier than the front handspring [6]. There is no time figure for this, and we do not give one.
Hands far forward, forehead behind them [6]. The head only supports lightly, the arms carry.
Because the body rolls over hands and forehead forward, with a light head support [6].
Stop and get it checked by a doctor. Neck pain after a kip is not muscle soreness to be ignored (practice).
Learning the Kip on the Parallel Bars: Explosively From the Inverted Hang Into Support