Learn the cartwheel on the beam: build-up from the line on the floor via bench and low beam to the high beam, with hand placement, mat layout and safety.
The cartwheel on the beam is a lateral handspring rolling over the hands along the length of the beam: hands and feet land one after the other on a line, the body rotates through the vertical, and you land on the beam again. In the women's rules the cartwheel, with support on one arm or with a flight phase, appears as a basic element in the beam catalogue [2].
The honest answer to "How hard is it?": You already know the movement if you master the cartwheel on the floor. New are the width and the height. The German school gymnastics material says it clearly: the balance beam places high demands on balance and movement accuracy and requires a high degree of courage and self-confidence. All elements to be performed on the beam must be mastered on the floor, only then comes the narrow surface [1].
That beam height commands beginners' respect is taken up by a study: 34 sport students completed simple beam tasks in the real world and with virtually simulated height. In the real world body tension and upper-body posture were better; the authors see the simulation as a way to lower the injury risk at first contact with height [3]. That is VR and not a cartwheel, but it reminds you why you start low.
Tape or a line on the floor. Hand, hand, foot, foot on the line [1]. The legs swing through the vertical [1]. Milestone: five cartwheels in a row, you land in a stride stance without a sideways lunge.
Practise on an upturned bench, then on a box top and on a practice beam [1]. These are the support surfaces the school material names for beam exercises [1]. Milestone: three clean cartwheels on the bench, you do not fall off sideways.
Place the hands along the long axis of the beam. A study of young female gymnasts shows: depending on hand position on the floor (parallel, T-shape, reverse), ground reaction force and elbow and wrist joint loading change [4]. The T-shape was loaded least [4]. On the beam the hand position is dictated (TRANSFER), but the principle holds: hands firm, arms straight. Milestone: hands grip the beam briefly, arms stay straight.
On a floor beam or low beam with a mat layout. As on the floor the spotter grips the hips (cross grip) and holds them in the cartwheel axis [5] (TRANSFER from the floor). Milestone: three cartwheels with help, you land with both feet on the beam.
When step 4 is secure, you move to the high beam. In the rules an element must return to the beam (foot or torso) to count [2]. Translated: landing in contact with the beam is the goal. Milestone: three cartwheels in a row, landing on the beam without needing the mat help.
Imagine the beam as a line in the floor and lay a rope on the floor at home. Then practise the cartwheel on the rope with your feet together in the landing. If you land on the rope, not beside it, the line is in your head. The school material uses marked hand and foot positions for exactly this [1].
That depends on your cartwheel on the floor and your balance. Many need a few weeks to the first cartwheel on the low beam. That is an experience-based estimate, not a study figure.
Not safely. For the cartwheel on the floor the school material largely replaces active spotting by preparatory exercises and passive movement aids [1]. On the beam, where a fall is higher, an experienced spotter is the safe way (practice); you can transfer the grips from the floor [5].
So low that you fall without fear: floor beam or bench. You raise the height in small steps (practice); even VR research relies on simulated height for first contact [3].
It is listed as a basic element in the beam catalogue (A column, group 4) [2]. Flight elements are harder.
On the long axis of the beam, one after the other. On the floor you check this on the line: hands and feet land on an imaginary straight line [1].
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