How to Do a Bow-and-Arrow in Cheerleading

There's more to cheerleading than waving pom-pons and yelling, "Go, team!" Many cheerleading stunts require flexibility, agility and strength. One advanced cheerleading move is the bow-and-arrow. Done properly, the bow-and-arrow is a spectacular display of form and ability.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Assemble a group of four to five cheerleaders. Pick your most agile and strongest members. The bow-and-arrow is an advanced cheerleading stunt.

2. Have four of the girls assemble a semicircle around one girl. This will be the flyer (the girl the others will be lifting over their heads).

3. Instruct the four cheerleaders to face each other, and grasp their arms to form a platform. Have the flyer step up onto the girls' arms.

4. Raise the flyer into the air. She will stand on the girls' arms that are stetched over their heads. Support the flyer by allowing her to stand on the palms of two of the girls and have the others support her holding her ankle.

5. Make sure the flyer pulls her free leg up alongside her upper body until her foot is beside her head. Have her grasp that ankle with one hand over her head to form an arrow and outstretch her other arm away from her body.

Tips & Warnings

• Place your most flexible cheerleader as the arrow, as this part of the stunt requires the most moves.
• Have your flyer prepare for being the arrow of the bow-and-arrow by practicing splits.
• Do not attempt the bow-and-arrow with cheerleaders who have not first mastered basic and other advanced cheerleading stunts.
• Make sure the cheerleaders, particularly the girl forming the arrow, stretch prior to this stunt. Performing the bow-and-arrow without stretching can lead to injury.
• Do not attempt a bow-and-arrow on a hard floor. Always perform this stunt on mats.

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