A front aerial is an acrobatic move in which a person executes a complete forward revolution of the body without touching the floor. Front aerials are performed in various physical activities, including acro dance

Acro dance

Acro dance is a style of dance that combines classical dance technique with precision acrobatic elements. It is defined by its athletic character, its unique choreography, which seamlessly blends dance and acrobatics, and its use of acrobatics in a dance context...

 and gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

. The front aerial is known by other names, including aerial walkover and front aerial walkover.

Technical

The front aerial differs from a front tuck

Flip (acrobatic)

An acrobatic flip is a sequence of body movements in which a person leaps into the air and then rotates one or more times while airborne. Acrobatic flips are performed in acro dance, free running, gymnastics, tricking, and various other activities...

 in that the body assumes a form similar to that of a front walkover

Front walkover

A front walkover is a gymnastics manoeuver performed the exact opposite of a back walkover. To perform a front walkover the gymnast starts standing up straight with his/her arms up next to their ears. The gymnast then steps into a lunge position, thus kicking one leg up and the other following as...

, with legs extended and split

Split (gymnastics)

A split is a human body configuration in which the legs are parallel to each other and extended in opposite directions. Splits are performed in various athletic activities, including dance, figure skating, gymnastics, martial arts, contortionism, synchronized swimming, cheerleading and yoga...

 along the plane of rotation, whereas in a front tuck the knees are bent and held against the chest (i.e., "tucked") so as to maximize rotational velocity. To compensate for lack of support from the floor, as well as the decreased rotational velocity that results from extended (versus "tucked") legs, a front aerial performer uses the inertia

Inertia

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion. It is proportional to an object's mass. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics which are used to...

 of the legs to keep the body aloft until the move is completed.

A front aerial can be executed either from a run or from a stationary, standing position. When starting from a standing position, a forward step is typically taken prior to the front aerial in order to develop forward momentum

Momentum

In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...

. In either case, at the beginning of a front aerial the performer's forward momentum is converted to the angular momentum needed for execution of the front aerial.

Performance requirements

Front aerials require a great degree of lower back flexibility

Flexibility (anatomy)

Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints. Flexibility is variable between individuals, particularly in terms of differences in muscle length of multi-joint muscles...

. From the moment a front aerial performer leaves the floor until touching down again, the torso

Torso

Trunk or torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. The trunk includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...

 must remain in a stationary, inverted orientation while the lower body rotates about the torso.

Adequate muscle strength is also required to execute a front aerial. In particular, the calf muscle of the leading leg is responsible for imparting additional upward momentum

Momentum

In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...

to the body at the final moment of launch. The total upward momentum must be sufficient to keep the performer aloft while the lower body completes its rotation about the torso.