Cheerleading involves many different types of moves. Mastering these moves will help your cheerleading squad look more uniform and fluid. Devote time at each practice to drilling all the various moves until each member performs them exactly the same. Do not add moves to your cheerleading routines until they have been mastered.
Arm Motions
Arm motions should always be clean, properly placed and sharply executed. High V, T and Touchdown are three very common arm motions you should master. In High V, both of your arms are overhead at a 45-degree angle to your body. It is important to keep your arms straight and not too far back. For a T motion, extend your straight arms out to the side at shoulder level. Make sure both arms are exactly the same height. Touchdown involves lifting both arms above your head. Keep your arms straight and slightly forward, touching your ears. For all arm motions, imagine you are standing with your back against a wall. Your arms should never touch the imaginary wall behind you.
Wrists and Fists
Wrist rotation and form is key to proper arm motions in cheerleading. Your wrists should always be straight so your arm forms a straight line from fingers to elbow. Basic fist positions are buckets, candlesticks and daggers. Buckets refers to the position when the backs of your hands face the ceiling and the palm part of your fist faces down. It is as if you were carrying buckets in your hands. Often a T motion is executed with fists in buckets. Candlesticks is when the backs of your hands face behind you and the palm part of your fist faces the crowd, like you are holding candles in your hands. Candlesticks is a fist option for a T motion as well. When your fists are in daggers, the pinky side of your fist faces the crowd, just like if you had a dagger in your hand. A touchdown motion is typically seen with fists in daggers.
Leg Placement
Uniform leg placement will make your cheerleading squad's moves look more polished and precise. It is important that each member of your squad knows the exact placement for her legs. Legs apart can mean your feet are shoulder-width or hip-width apart, just as long as your whole squad does the same thing. When legs are in a front lunge, your front toe must point forward and your back toe to the side. In a side lunge, the foot of your bent leg points out and the foot of your straight leg points forward. Even the most basic leg placement, feet together, should be precise with feet touching, heel and toe.
Jumps
A final type of cheerleading move is jumps. Jumps are a difficult category as they involve not only arm motions, fist positions and leg placement, but they involve executing while jumping in the air. The quintessential cheerleading jump is the toe touch. Many squads require a toe touch at cheerleading tryouts. In a toe touch, your legs are straddled with your knees pointing up and toes pointed. The typical arm motion for a toe touch is a T. Master this position seated on the ground before attempting it in the air. Make sure your arms stay in a T and never reach for your legs. Keep your chest up, lifting your legs as high as you can.
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