Grips- why and when?

[Shawn]

Do all gymnasts eventually use grips? If so, why? At what level should a gymnast start using them?

[Imat3]

When mine started doing tap swings, they got grips. They say it is easier to hold on to the bar with the dowel to help out. Before the grips one daughter peeled off the high bar while working on her tap swings.
They didn't have trouble with skills when they started using the grips, in fact their kips improved...they say easier to keep arms straight. One problem has been more rips with the grips. Not sure why, but I'm sure it will get better as their hands get used to them.
I think there is a lot of persoonal preference involved here. Whether to use grips...when to start...what kind to get...and so on.

Imat3

[Geoffrey Taucer]

On the women's side, there are some elite gymnasts that don't use grips. There have been successful olympians that didn't use grips. However, this is getting less and less common, and the truth is that grips do make a lot of things easier.

The dowel acts as an extension of the fingertips, making it much easier to grip the bar. For some (but not all) girls, it also makes rips happen less often.

Most of my girls start using grips around L5 or L6.

[Ingymmom]

Some coaches say when gymmies start the bigger skills. Some coaches say the minute they start working on bars. Some say by x level. Some leave it up to each individual. Many differ in their opinions LOL! Most US elite gymnasts where grips now, but there are some from other countries that work/train/compete without them.

Our girls do all of their conditioning with no grips, but our coaches (that did not grow up using grips) insist on them for pre-team on up. They prefer the buckle grips. Our girls start tap swings almost immediately and this helps the girls transition to all of their L5 on up skills well, and allows for more bar time.

[flippymonkeysmom]

All the gyms we have been at had them start using grips between L5 & L6. My dd adjusted to them with no problem and is one of the ones thats gets a lot less rips.

[CoachCat27]

i honestly started using the beginners grip (no dowel) in like level 3... i had real sensitive hands that would rip real easily, especially doing all those back hip circles so i wanted grips!! then in level 6 i got the dowel grips... it wasn't very hard to get used to them since i was already used to grips, but i know a lot of my teammates had trouble getting used to them

[gym law mom]

Both gyms we've been at start with grips when the girls are really working on giants--end of L6 or L7. Coaches I've talked with are not all that enthusiastic about little ones getting the palm guards. They like their hands to toughen up a little by just swinging on bars and since many have very small hands, feel that adding a layer of leather between the hand and the bar makes things harder than needed. Just opinions I've heard. Of course, the younger ones always seem to like getting things they see the "big girls" using whether it will help them or not.

[Aussie_coach]

Our kids are all using grips from level 3, and they are using the dowel grips not the beginner kind. But in Australia things are a little different and the kids do tap swings in their routines in both level 3 and 4 aswell as continuous glide swings and the kids tend to get very sore hands.

It depends on a lot of things. Kids will need grips earlier if they are spending a lot of time on bars. Our ones and two's might to 15-20 minutes on bars where as though three and above need to last as much as an hour or so. Also how frequently your girls train bars.

Body weight plays a role too. Heaver gymnasts may need them earlier as there is a lot more pressure on the hands.

Having said that, getting grips too early can be nagative (our girls got them too early I think). They may not learn to grip the bar correctly if they go straight to dowel too soon, and some of our girls I have seen struggle with this. Grips also have the potential for causing damage to the growth plates in the wrist if used to young. But then again they are much harder to introduce later on when the girls really start to need them more and can be easier to get used to early on.

In my opnion kids should wait until they have a strong and confident kip aswell as good strong tap swings before using grips and should be introduced around level 5. But, this rule needs to be flexible, if a girl rips a lot or is quite heavy get them earlier. If your gym requires more time on bars than your daughter can cope with without grips go for earlier aswell.

A girl may choose never to wear grips and thats fine too but most will find that they are invaluable when they do get used to them.

[Jojogymgirl]

I learned front giants, straddle backs, double tucks, and blind changes all without grips. I was even working jaegers and full-outs. I think, however, that the grips really help to blind change and to catch release moves. If your dd is younger, you need to consider these things:
-is she doing front hip circles in her routines? grips make front hip circles hard
-if she does, is she ready for a dowel? if too early, this could damage her hand/wrist
-does she want them or need them? if she has a rip, grips don't always protect your hands against them. you start to get them on your wrists
-LET HER GET HER SWING FIRST!!! make sure she is able to swing bars before even considering grips...if she muscles everything grips will make this harder, but if she swings they will help her out
-it's one more responsibility and more money-is she really ready?

[Shawn]

My DD hasn't even asked about them. She's just starting level 4, loves bars and has no trouble with them and has never had a rip. She's also only 6 years old. I'm in no rush to get her grips and her coach hasn't mentioned them, I was just asking for my own knowledge. CB is a great resource for that! Thanks, everyone, for the information!