Ok the Flare is one of the hardest moves so don't think that you will learn it in one week. But if you practice hard for about 5 months you should get this move. First, the starting position: There are many different ways of getting into flares, but the most common way is from a standing position with the legs spread. When going clockwise, you start by placing down your right hand and kicking your right leg under your left and sweeping it all the way around the front. When you place your right hand down you try to place it as far forward as you can. This forces you to jump FORWARD with your legs when you are kicking them around and this is what I think is the most important part. When most people try to flare they kick their legs UPWARDS. This isn't good, because what goes up must come down. Instead, throw your legs FORWARDS. This allows you to maintain the horizontal momentum that you need to sustain your flares. So after placing your right hand down, you kick the right leg under the left and the sheer weight of your legs will throw your entire lower body forwards and up. Since you are driving you body in a circular motion, your body will naturally keep turning and when your body weight shifts to the right, your left arm will naturally come down to catch yourself. Just make sure that when the left arm comes down that you keep it stiff and close to your body. If you place your arm down to far out from your body then it will not be able to support the weight, or it will slip out from under you. Keep it close to your body. Now, your legs should be flying around the right side of your body. Now almost all of your weight should be on your left arm, so now you must lift your right arm so that your legs may pass beneath it. Here your body will be tilted sideways with all the support on the left arm because of the momentum of your legs. As long as you had sufficent momentum to begin with, then you don't have to worry about your legs hitting the ground. Your legs should be travelling HORIZONTALLY anyway, so even if they hit the ground, they will not stop your momentum. Now here is another important part of the flare. At this point, picture yourself leaning forwards, almost as if you were trying to ram your head against an imaginary target in front of you. But you must keep your arms stiff otherwise there is no way that you can get your legs around at the back. As long as you are leaning slightly forwards, and your arms are stiff, and you still have good mometum, your legs will have no problem with hitting the ground. Your ass should be pretty high in the air at this point and both of your arms are down in front of your to support the weight. Now when your legs are at the back, your weight will start to shift to the left side because of the circular momentum. Here, you must lift your left arm so that your legs may pass beneath it. Your body will start to tilt to the right with the weight supported by the right arm. Here, just remember to try really hard and keep your left leg high, close to your head, as the right leg swings out under it to the front. At this point everything repeats itself, and if you're comfortable with all of that then it shouldn't be much effort to flare repeatedly.

Gneral tips for the Flare

Flares are not really about power. It's more about controlled momentum. Flares are really fast, so you never really have to hold yourself up with pure muscle. But you do have to control the swinging of your legs, which should be swinging completely freely. Flaring fast requires less power but more control. Flaring slower requires less control but more power.

When thinking about flares, don't think up and down; think forwards and back. Throw your legs forwards, and then lean your upper body forwards. Do this and you won't smash your legs into the ground like most people do when trying to flare.

When flaring, let your legs relax. Don't tighten up your leg muscles. They should be swinging freely like ropes. This will keep you from pulling your muscles and will allow for maximum flexibility in the muscles. You should also be aware that there is a lot of strain on the wrists, so warm them up before practising.

Flares go by REALLY fast, so when you are trying to practice them don't try to picture each part one by one when doing it. Instead, go through the whole flare in your head and picture what your body will do and what it would feel like doing it. Then try it all in one shot. See what you did wrong or where you stopped and start again trying to consciously correct the last mistake. But don't think about it too much. Sometimes it's just good to let your body fly and hope that a flare comes out. You might surprise yourself.

Other then that, just remember that flares are one of the most advanced moves, so expect to be spending MANY hours practicing, and expect lots of scraps and bruises. The flare is a move that requires you to go all out, holding nothing back when you throw your body. And this is why it is so easy to get hurt. Just remember, as long as you practice a lot, you will get better. And if you practice enough and try hard enough, you WILL get it.

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