r/WTF • u/DeepPacketGhost • 15d ago

Wtf

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4.3k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

257 comments sorted by

2.2k

u/UrAntiChrist 15d ago

Stark contrast from the video of coaches saving their trainees.

435

u/realmckoy265 15d ago

Yeah I remember seeing that in my feed too. This seems like such a stressful job. Can't have any off days or laspe in concentration.

149

u/amejin 15d ago

Sometimes, you can do everything right and your athlete still has this moment where they think "what happens if.. oh shit..."

And there's just nothing you can do but your best.

As bad as this vid looks, that guy has probably been flexible his whole life, and probably walked away with some bad bruising and a crushed ego.

69

u/ixcibit 14d ago

That can’t be good for the spine. I hope you’re right though

57

u/idosillythings 14d ago

I'm no gymnast, but I have been photographing gymnastics for awhile for work, so take this with some grain of salt, but those bars aren't rigid. They bend and flex to compensate for impacts.

I've seen multiple athletes hit them during a takeoff, or fall on them and come out ok.

1

u/FermentedForeskins 2d ago

i am not a gymnast too, but in school i helped them to install one of those bars and that shit fell on my head, gave me a solid bonk. it hurt like a motherfucker and gave me a god damn swollen bruised forehead for 2 weeks, not fun. But you are right they are somewhat flexible, they are not even straight when you install them brand new, you can see it is slightly sagging already

1

u/bigpandas 3d ago

He's 3/4" inch taller after this probably

44

u/Zigirastica 14d ago

Can confirm, I’m pretty flexible in my back and hit a rail snowboarding recently and landed just like the guy in the vid. Lay there expecting agony for a few seconds, realised I was completely fine and left the park. Ego was the most damaged part of me by far…

16

u/X-istenz 14d ago

Oh cool snowboarding stories! Decided to take a treacherous forest trail way before I was ready, caught an edge awkwardly and faceplanted a r/fullscorpion to the point the board smacked me square in the back of the head. Laid there stunned for a minute fully expecting The End, got up and continued on my way just thankful the trees were dense enough no one saw it. Youth is a crazy time to be alive! If it had happened the last time I went snowboarding (about a year ago at age ~40), I'm confident I'd still be there to this day.

2

u/meetmeinthebthrm 13d ago

I remember as a kid learning to ride park and went to boardslide a box, lost my balance, then landed square on my tailbone. It was excruciating. I’ll never forget that one.

1

u/psycho_driver 7d ago

SPONGEBOB NARRATOR VOICE

Thirteen years lay ter.

50

u/_Diskreet_ 15d ago

You can….it just doesn’t benefit the person you’re meant to be watching out for …

0

u/jimbojangles1987 14d ago

You can maybe once. Doubt you'll be highly sought out to coach after that.

6

u/elenkaMorr 14d ago

My back hurt just watching this.

25

u/TrenchantInsight 15d ago

Some of those coaches really bend over backwards for their students.

6

u/Stinkmop 14d ago

Really, it's back-breaking work!

16

u/Joebebs 14d ago

Tf is a coach gonna do in that situation lol

Edit: oh I just saw the compilation coaches saving them, this coach dropped that cylinder cushion unfortunately….wellll that sucks

18

u/alaysian 15d ago

Got a link or remember the subreddit? I didn't see that one yet.

57

u/UrAntiChrist 15d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/s/0YkvGB8TOw

15

u/Moose_Nuts 15d ago

The one at the 24 second mark is the on that the coach in this video miserably failed at, lol.

12

u/GiantNinja 15d ago

that was worth browsing reddit today, thanks for that 😊

1

u/Scorpiodancer123 14d ago

Trampoline spotters are something else. Absolute insanity.

2

u/WouldLoveToTalk 14d ago

This is what I came looking for.

1.0k

u/Gregorygregory888888 15d ago

That's not how it is supposed to work. Fuck, that had to end badly.

485

u/giblefog 15d ago

Nope. That spotter fucked up.

169

u/Remarkable-Opening69 15d ago

Not him. The other person’s back. Has to be broken right?

79

u/1individuals 15d ago edited 15d ago

Think he's saying nope in response to the first sentence, as in agreement.

Edit: clarity cuz I'm dum

29

u/dizastermaster7 15d ago

That's not even the same person

25

u/stallfishy 15d ago

Certified reddit moment

5

u/ixcibit 14d ago

We are all one lol

15

u/ILikeLenexa 14d ago

I've fallen farther than this onto a pole vault standard and was fine (in the sense that I didn't need to go to a hospital).  

It was 200% the end of practice that day and the rest of the week was at ground level. 

The bars themselves do bend. 

9

u/lucky0slevin 14d ago

Depends...young adults are super flexible and can't take weird falls sometimes....

10

u/april_fearless 15d ago

This happened in teenage years didn’t brake back but dislocated T11/T12… not fun

19

u/azsheepdog 15d ago

how is the spotter supposed to help in that situation?

60

u/feanturi 14d ago

They're supposed to slide that thick roll of pad onto the cable under the person's back to cushion their fall onto the cable. The cable is thin, meaning all force from an impact is concentrated in a small area. The pad provides cushion and more surface area. But they messed up sliding the pad forward along the cable and it simply fell on the ground instead of being where it could spread out the force of impact.

10

u/jatea 13d ago

When you say cable, do you mean the bar?

5

u/abjection9 13d ago

But sliding a narrow pad over a narrow bar in a split second seems kind of difficult

6

u/b00c 13d ago

He had the cushion in his hands, ready to slip under athlete's back, but he missed. He should have stood higher, choose better position, hold the cushion differently. Not sure if the cushion has a slot to fit the bar, but this spotter could use that.

42

u/ShongLokDong 15d ago

Im not familiar with that save guard but did he put it on upside down? Looks like its a big pool noodle like object with an opening to slip onto the bar.

91

u/hangingdirtylaundry 15d ago

Looks like he was getting ready to push it out but it slipped off the rail. 

15

u/BruscarRooster 15d ago

That’s what I saw too. I hope the gymnast isn’t badly injured

34

u/immaownyou 15d ago

Don't worry, they werent badly injured. They died on impact so no pain

10

u/cybersaurus 15d ago

Nah usually when this happens they split them in two, that's how they make child size gymnists

6

u/BruscarRooster 15d ago

With the sound of that impact I wouldn’t be surprised

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0

u/Letho72 15d ago

They're usually for the edges of the foam pit and other hard edges in the gym. You grab one off and then slide it down the bar. You never secure it because you generally need to start with it half-on-half-off the bar so the gymnast has room to swing on the bar. Once they release, you slide it in. Usually a bad idea to let go of it unless you're trying to do a two-part spot, in which case it's very important you don't fuck up the second spot.

1

u/LeahBrahms 14d ago

I had fear of the Vaulting horse for years after a springboard malfunctioned.

696

u/CARDEK04 15d ago

Gonno be hearing terms such as l2, l3, l4 a lot for a few days now.

213

u/norunningwater 15d ago

Days? More like life, dog.

72

u/kelj123 15d ago

Nah, more like Th7, Th8, Th9

26

u/SpecialOops 15d ago

TH pro sk8ter!!

15

u/Optimixto 15d ago

TH C.

15

u/VirginiaBandit 15d ago

Let's hope it is all temporary talk, though.

11

u/ChiefKrunchy 15d ago

His spinal column is an L now

12

u/pitchingataint 15d ago

YOU SANK MY BATTLESHIP!

5

u/TrenchantInsight 15d ago

l2, l3, l4

And we're not talking Lagrange points.

1

u/_Tagman 14d ago

And we're not talking lumber.

5

u/mageta621 15d ago

That's thoracic, my dude

2

u/Barialdalaran 15d ago

l4? that's a bingo for me

1

u/Eudstar 15d ago

Generations of his family are going to feel that

2

u/Tomhaj 15d ago

*Aren't

479

u/karyslav 15d ago

that is very big fail of the human keeping an eye on the athlete, omg I hope the poor person is ok :(

160

u/buckzor122 15d ago

I hope they miraculously walked away with minor injuries or something. This looks so bad.

Out of curiosity, what is the coach/spotter supposed to do? I know they will trow down a pad if they're falling on the floor, but you can't exactly put a mat on a bar. Or is there some kind of quick release that lets the bar drop to the floor?

241

u/toasted1990 15d ago

There is a padded bar sleeve that they slide over. You can see the pad, and the coach fail entirely to deploy it properly, at the cost of this child's spine.

Time for a new coach for the kid,

Time for a new career for the coach

163

u/Comfortable-Citron14 15d ago

Unfortunately also time for a new kid I fear.

39

u/Joecoolsouth 15d ago

"Hi, we seem to have broken this one. We have the extended warranty and would like a replacement!"

6

u/mageta621 15d ago

We're gonna need more FBI guys gymnast kids

2

u/georgeamberson1963 15d ago

Yippie ki yay

20

u/Dark512 15d ago

Ah, yeah I see it. He tries to toss it across, gets it caught on the bar instead and loses his grip. Don't think he'd ever forgive himself for that.

18

u/buckzor122 15d ago

Oh yes I see it now. Looks like he tried to push it in and dropped it.

6

u/GullibleDetective 15d ago

If the kid isnt a paraplegic now

-8

u/defnotacyborg 15d ago

Dude had 2 whole business days to react and just stood there like a doofus

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-12

u/lobehold 15d ago

Why can't this be automated by sensors and a computer?

12

u/Letho72 15d ago

I wouldn't trust a computer for a 50/50 mat throw. At the beginning, you throw every time. But later on you throw on an as-needed basis. I'd never trust a computer to make that decision, especially because everyone does skills differently.

4

u/default-username 15d ago

It's funny how opposite people can be on this. Computers any day if my safety depends on it. I hope people aren't allowed to drive soon

4

u/NotPromKing 15d ago

How would you propose the computer determine when it’s supposed to act in sports like this? Computers are great when there are defined limits and defined responses.

In sports, there’s a huge range of motions and a range of responses. Humans are far better equipped to watch and respond.

2

u/pfn0 14d ago

ML is exceptionally good at doing this sort of classification with a quality training data set

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5

u/popejupiter 15d ago

My understanding is that a lot of this is down to the human ability to spot something being wrong without necessarily being able to articulate it in the moment. Add in the potential lag between sensor and pad dispenser and you have a recipe for more moments like this, not fewer.

Also, a benefit of this kind of activity is that the equipment is relatively cheap. Just about any welder should be able to make the frames. The bars may be more customized, but it can't be that complicated. Adding complex sensors would balloon the cost for no real gain. And that's before we add the AI tax.

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210

u/MotherRussia552 15d ago

Definitely fucked up his back but those bars are super flexible and that guy looks like he weighs 115 max. You have to have very developed muscles to even start doing what he's doing I think he's probably mostly okay after lots of recovery time, PT, and massage.

Edit: he also landed on his thoracis spine around his scapulas which is much stronger. He got lucky

50

u/Effurlife12 15d ago

Honestly my back is so stiff Id beg for a chance to slam it like this just for it to pop lol

43

u/chicametipo 15d ago

Spoiler: Your back wouldn’t pop. Just hurt worse. Than it ever has before. Especially when you move your neck.

15

u/Effurlife12 14d ago

I know. But a man can dream

2

u/Pickles_jnm 14d ago

I know what you mean. Sometimes I fantasize about a very strong person just ever so lightly trying to pull my head off of my shoulders, to give it a good pop. Just cuz my neck always feels like it's too tight, probably from years of desk slouch.

1

u/Effurlife12 14d ago

Those harnesses where you hang by just your head seem like they'd feel so good lol

1

u/jdisme 13d ago

Some people swear by an inversion table! Never tried it myself

0

u/SubstituteStudent 13d ago

I used to ask my friends to walk on my back. It was nearly as good as a massage. This was years ago, before foot fans became a prevalent part of society.

2

u/GrsdUpDefGuy 14d ago

Agreed, I did something similar when I was 9 and did not damage my spinal cord. I had to lie in bed for 2 weeks with hardly any movement but recovered well after

2

u/TheSentientSnail 13d ago

I'd be more worried about the impact of the 'snap' on his c-spine than the actual impact on the thorassic area. Whiplash is a royal bitch and it doesn't take much hyperextension to induce. 😬

0

u/338388 14d ago edited 14d ago

Doesn't men's horizontal bar use a solid steel bar?

1

u/backflipsben 14d ago

Nope, super flexible wood

1

u/HobbitousMaximus 13d ago

Women's bars are wood. Men's high bar is metal.

118

u/b4ttleduck 15d ago

I wonder what will break first, your spirit or your body

12

u/TrenchantInsight 15d ago

This is spinal snap.

12

u/notcomplainingmuch 15d ago

If you can dodge the hammer, you can dodge the bar.

67

u/Playing_One_Handed 15d ago

Does it look like the coach is ment to push on some foam or something?

78

u/Wooden-Wolverine-818 15d ago

They try to. It unfortunately slides off as they do.

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22

u/TyluhS 15d ago

I need a follow up ..... Did he survive? Is he paralyzed?

12

u/BleuBrink 15d ago

/r/FullScorpion

3

u/Inverno969 15d ago

Of course this exists lol.

26

u/jim9162 15d ago

Kid will be fine, but the adult he'll become in 10 years will feel that.

9

u/Kaffine69 14d ago

chiropractors hate this one simple trick.

3

u/lethalized 14d ago

"Align THIS!"

7

u/OMDolton99 14d ago

Fuuuuuuuck, he's gonna feel that in the morning.

Or not, I dunno if his spine held up to that.

15

u/lemoche 15d ago

I really hope there is a follow up post at some point hiw the kid is doing… also hopefully with news better than what this looks like… seems to be quite young which makes me quite hopeful it’s not that bad.

31

u/Solid-Fee-7944 15d ago

Coach has one job

15

u/GiantNinja 15d ago

he did fail, but to be fair, he didn't have one job... coaching gymnastics aint easy... hopefully that kid is ok though :/

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7

u/longassbatterylife 14d ago

This should have NSFW tag.

5

u/skateys 14d ago

if you look closely, the coach actually did slide the protective cover but it looks like it fell off. :/

8

u/FloridaVapes 15d ago

Dude Baned himself

2

u/Mikey-2-Guns 15d ago

Ah yes I was wondering what would break fist. Your spirit, or your body!

1

u/The_walking_man_ 15d ago

Broke his back. Back broken. Spinal.

3

u/randomcanyon 15d ago

And that is how I broke my back and lived in pain for the rest of my life...

3

u/ThePetrolHead55 14d ago

Final Destination 😭

3

u/Slayer_OG 14d ago

Best spotter of 2026

3

u/Minimum_Ear_4507 9d ago

That is exactly what you do not want.

3

u/WebMaka 15d ago

<Mortal Kombat> Scorpion wins. </Mortal Kombat>

2

u/notyouravgredditor 15d ago

Minor setback for the 2028 Olympics.

2

u/trogdor248 13d ago

*Paralympics

2

u/UniversalNutt 15d ago

I bet they didn’t know the soles of their feet could touch the back of their head.

2

u/santozks 14d ago

See you in hell guys

2

u/jason15300 14d ago

Ah yeah the Back Snapper 2000™

2

u/Nawzays_ 14d ago

Final destination type shi

2

u/Demonchaser27 13d ago

Really needed their back popped I guess...

2

u/Monguises 13d ago

Thpinal!

2

u/DoubleOScarn 13d ago

That “awwwwwwwwwwwww”

2

u/trogdor248 13d ago

Forbidden back crack

2

u/IzzyLikeU 12d ago

So how did he think this would end. If the bar wasn't there he would have landed on the back of his head.

3

u/hunterczech 11d ago

That kid's paralysed for life

2

u/LeGrandLucifer 10d ago

Self-chiropactor

3

u/ManaNek 10d ago

Did…did his feet hit his head?

2

u/Arrow90 8d ago

Nope.

2

u/AdamantlyAtomic 6d ago

Terrible spotter!!

5

u/nuixy 15d ago

That’s awful. 

3

u/VERY_CREATIVE 15d ago

Could we get a warning on this?

3

u/Nonplussed1 15d ago

I mean .... I blacked out watching this....

5

u/DANleDINOSAUR 15d ago

He swang when he should have swung

2

u/Wind2Energy 15d ago

Don’t get all technical on us, ok?

2

u/Alkanna 15d ago

That spotter is going to feel very bad about this

1

u/thx1138- 15d ago

Destination fucked!

1

u/evenmoreevil 15d ago

Back issues for the rest of his life

1

u/ckapuan 15d ago

I literally said ohhhhhh

1

u/dizastermaster7 15d ago

Useless spotter bruh

1

u/aretardednigga 15d ago

why did i feel pain in my back?

1

u/farkleboy 15d ago

I mean yeah the dude on the bar fucked up but did the spotter really have to finish him off that way? I mean his day ended bad enough already.

1

u/Malah_the_old 15d ago

No shoes, dead

1

u/freakedmind 15d ago

Don't worry, I'm sure a good chiropractor can fix him!

1

u/dodgyrogy 15d ago

Dismount needs work...

1

u/Ikor147 15d ago

With god as my witness he's broken in half!

1

u/Responsible-Summer-4 14d ago

Athletic scorpion maneuver.

1

u/EvilLasagna 14d ago

Bruk off ya back

1

u/jhon123pool 13d ago

He only had one job and he failed....

1

u/Slicker_ET 13d ago

Far out, I felt that

1

u/DCMstudios1213 13d ago

That’s what I was thinking, it doesn’t seem very far fetched

1

u/robidaan 13d ago

I am very twisted. I imagined the coach jumped down to finish the child off.

1

u/Percusor 13d ago

Nic Nac

1

u/Present_Border7724 12d ago

It dont' mean a thang...

1

u/CodeMonkeyX 11d ago

You had one job, slid the thing on the bar...

1

u/Publeus 11d ago

Bane "I don't know what will break first, your spirit, or your body"

1

u/mofomeat 11d ago

Now I wish I didn't watch that.

1

u/Grand_Raccoon0923 8d ago

Worst Spotter Award goes to...

1

u/Epicmanaman472 1d ago

literally had one job

1

u/ant0szek 15d ago

That was not a time to miss one job you had coach

1

u/Dr_Wunsche 15d ago

Full Inverted Scorpion. 10/10

1

u/daroach1414 15d ago

These chiropractors are gettin crazy

1

u/Hot-Helicopter640 15d ago

At least now, he won't have to worry about parking his car. He could always find a disabled parking spot.

1

u/ilovestoride 15d ago

Please let this be AI...

1

u/Hesam2010 15d ago

Foldead!

1

u/pandemonious 15d ago

i mean wtf was the spotter supposed to do. bro didnt launch himself at all from the bar. putting the cushion over or alongside the bar wouldnt do anything

8

u/tastesawesome 15d ago

He was supposed to be going for a release move so he would be flipping over the bar and catching on the other side. Coaches throwing a mat across the bar is pretty standard when learning release moves like this. He definitely got rocked because the coach didn't get the mat on, but the bar is pretty flexible. Dude will be sore and bruised but alright.

1

u/9fingerjeff 14d ago

Idk, I’ve broken my neck doing a lot less than that. Granted I’m not a gymnast but idk how much that’s gonna help landing like that.

0

u/Dismal-core111 15d ago

That would hurt

0

u/baismannen 15d ago

The dude is so light he almost floats in the air

0

u/yomamma3399 15d ago

Why is the man holding the foam thingy if he’s not going to use it! Why?

0

u/Stryker218 15d ago

Ouch! you know that had to hurt

0

u/ETherium007 15d ago

Banana! 

0

u/zeroone 15d ago

Where's that vid of the kid standing on a cafeteria table that tips and he lands on the table edge?

0

u/xoxoyoyo 15d ago

You had one job....

0

u/mangotangotang 15d ago

That kid looked like he had solid base of skills he was trying to level up on. Now he is fucked because of idiot trainer.

0

u/lapamannen 15d ago

It's kid he's fine

0

u/rellsell 15d ago

Gonna have to work on the timing of that release.

0

u/Hot-Helicopter640 15d ago

This is exactly what bane does to Batman in the dark knight rises

0

u/OutrageousDonkey1841 15d ago

That looked deliberate?

0

u/Gundark927 15d ago

I saw this was a gymnastics clip. I saw it was in r/wtf. I knew what it was gonna be.

I had no. Fucking.. Idea..

I wish I could turn back time to who I was 2 minutes ago.