what does it take to do a kip-up? what about a standing backflip?

[hostile]

Can an ordinary person (22 inch SVJ) accomplish this through years of training the power clean and deep squat? Or is it one of those milestones that you have to have a genetic endowment of fast-twitch muscle fibers in order to achieve?

[timelinex]

I dont have personal experience in training people to do these things. But from my understanding, you are asking about some pretty basic things. Both of these things are mostly achieved through practice. It's more skill than strength. Thats not to say that you dont have to be strong enough for your weight. You must be in "athletic shape" or otherwise you will probably struggle. I know the backflip specifically can probably be achieved within a day or two of practice and even much faster by someone athletic. Lighter people will have an easier time than heavier people. More explosive people will have a much easier time than less explosive people.

[autumnal]

Years of squatting and power cleans will make you strong, but I don't think they're the best preparation for kipping. A good orthopedist maybe is.

[AndrewLewis]

A 22-inch SVJ is just fine for a standing backflip. Once you can clean bodyweight, I could teach you a standing back tuck in a few half-hour sessions. It's strength and technique based, but once you have the strength, it's pure technique.

A kip (I'm assuming you're referring to the video below) is actually much easier. You can pretty much teach anyone who isn't totally sedentary to do a kip. It just takes good coaching. I have taught roughly a hundred children and several adults how to do kips, and there doesn't seem to be a limiting "genetic" factor.

YouTube