A kip-up or kick-up (also called a rising handspring, Chinese get up, kick-to-stand, nip-up, flip-up, or carp skip-up) is an acrobatic move in which a person transitions from a supine, and less commonly, a prone position version known as prone get-up, to a standing position. It is used in activities such as breakdancing, acro dance, gymnastics, martial arts (specifically kung fu), professional wrestling, and freerunning, and in action film fight sequences.
It is executed by propelling the body away from the floor so that the performer is momentarily airborne, and typically ends with the performer standing in a squatting position.
Not only does the kip-up require muscle activation and strength, but it also requires proper technique for successful completion. A practitioner must perform the preparation phase (initiation of movement until directly before flight), aerial phase (time spent in flight), and landing phase (time from touchdown of the feet to maintenance of balanced standing) using specific accelerations, angular velocities, and joint positions of the extremities in order to land on their feet.
The performer draws both legs (which may be either in extension or flexion) anterior to the chest, rotates back onto the shoulders, and optionally places hands on the floor proximal to the ears. The performer then moves from hip and knee flexion to hip and knee extension while elevating the body away from the floor. The performer creates force against the ground by pushing off with the hands and simultaneously moving the elbows from flexion to extension.
The leg motion during the thrust involves increasing the joint angle of the hip from flexion to extension. When the thrust is completed, the rotation of the legs with respect to the trunk is terminated and, as a result, the angular momentum of the legs is transferred to the entire body. The linear momentum of the thrust carries the body into the air feet first while the angular momentum causes the airborne body to rotate. The spine moves into greater lordosis so that with sufficient thrust, back curvature, and body rotation, the performer will land on the feet.
With body face-down, the performer creates forces against the floor with fists or palms while kicking back the legs so as to develop momentum that carries the body into the air. The performer lands with the feet in contact with the floor, and knees in flexion.
In diving, the body is bent at the hips with the legs straight and extended without bending the knees during the jump, the feet tight and the toes extended.
Hop back variations all involve the practitioner starting in a standing position, possibly jumping in the air and rotating posterior in order to land on their shoulders/back. After maintaining the supine position the practitioner executes the standard kip up variation in order to return to their feet.
The kip-up maneuver is rarely seen in modern competitive combat sports such as mixed martial arts as the practitioner is exposed and without an effective defensive frame compared to other methods of returning to one's feet (such as a technical stand-up) or engaging in ground fighting. For the same reasons it is usually not recommended for self-defense situations.
Although presented in popular culture as a seemingly fast and agile move, against an active opponent a kip-up is relatively slow, telegraphed, and leaves you defenseless and vulnerable during the action. Attempting to kip-up against an active opponent can lead to being struck hard in the head or being unfavorably grappled, with no way to defend against these attacks.
Frequently performed by the star of action films and in fighting games as a display of resilience and athleticism. Usually the opponents will halt their attack long enough to allow the hero to perform the move cleanly and recover from being downed.