page_title: Somersault
section_title: Types
hierarchical_section_title: Somersault / Types
caption_attribution_description: English: Piked Front somersault on a trampoline
context_page_description: A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground. When performed on the ground it is typically called a roll.
  Somersault originates from an obsolete French word, sombresault, from Occitan sobresaut; and ultimately Latin – supra, "over", and saltus, "jump".
context_section_description: There are many variations of front and back somersaults. Somersaults can be performed in multiples, or multiples of quarter body revolutions, in some cases with additional twist rotations or ending in body landings, producing variations such as:
  Crash dive (¾ front somersault to back landing)
  Lazy back (¾ back somersault to front landing)
  Ballout (1¼ front somersault to feet from back landing)
  Cody (1¼ back somersault to feet from front landing)
  Barani (front somersault with  twist)
  Rudolph (or Rudi) (front somersault with 1½ twists)
  Randolph (or Randi) (front somersault with 2½ twists)
  Adolf (or Adi) (front somersault with 3½ twists)
  Full back or frontfull (back somersault or front somersault with 1 twist) less common with single backs
  Double (double front or back somersault)
  Triple (triple front or back somersault)
  Arabian (half-in, front somersault)
  Arabian Double (half-in, double front somersault)
  Arabian Double half-out (half-in, double front somersault with ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Double full (back somersault with 2 twists)
  Triple full (back somersault with 3 twists)
  Quadruple full (back somersault with 4 twists)
  Thomas (1½ back somersault with 1½ twists to front dive roll)
  Thomas Full In (Thomas salto with an additional full twist)
  Back half-out (double back somersault with ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Front half-out (double front somersault with ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Back in – full out (double back somersault with 1 twist in the second somersault)
  Front in – full out (double front somersault with 1 twist in the first somersault)
  Back Full In (double back somersault with ½ twist in the first somersault)
  Front Full In (double front somersault with a full twist in the first somersault)
  Back Full In half-out (double back somersault with a full twist in the first somersault and an extra ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Front Full In half-out (double front somersault with a full twist in the first somersault and an extra ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Back Double Double (double back somersault with 1 twist in both somersaults)
  Front Double Double (double front somersault with 1 twist in both somersaults)
  Back Double Double half-out (double back somersault with 1 twist in both somersaults and an extra ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Front Double Double half-out (double front somersault with 1 twist in both somersaults and an extra ½ twist in the second somersault)
  Back Triple Double (double back somersault with 1½ twists in both somersaults)
  Front Triple Double (double front somersault with 1½ twists in both somersaults)
caption: Front somersault in the pike position
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