Another kip question - aren't you sick of those

[NGL780309]

DD has started working on her kip and she is close, yet so far from getting it alone if that makes any sense. She can do it quite well with just a one hand spot to help her at the very end with the kipping part. The coach said she's barely touching her. Yet when she tries it by herself she actually pushes away from the bar at the last minute rather than pulling in and finishing it. If she bends her arms she can do it, but obviously we don't want that. The coach just keeps saying stop pushing away from the bar. She told me she'll have it if she'll stop pushing away from the bar.

What is she doing wrong to cause her to push away? DD really doesn't understand what that means or how to stop doing that. Sometimes it helps her to have something translated into terms she can understand. Often a teammate will tell her something that makes more sense to her young mind.

 

[gymcoach34]

She just needs to do more w a spot to get the timing. One of my young L7's just wispered into the ear of a L4 the other day and then the L4 did her kip! I asked the L7 what she said and she told the L4 to pretend she was doing a front hip circle at the end of the kip-which helped!!

 

[gymnut1]

Sounds like she doesn't quite have the wrist shift yet and she needs to keep her tummy tight all the way up.

Such a tricky skill. I agree with your level 7 the front hip circle does help.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

A very common problem that causes the appearance of pushing away from the bar is gripping too tightly. If the gymnast has the grip of death, her wrists get stuck under the bar and she can't regrip to the top. The result is that the shoulders can't get over the bar, causing the gymnast to swing back out away from the bar as if she's pushing it away.

I'd have to see a video to say for certain if this is what your daughter's doing, but tell her to try relaxing her grip a bit. In a kip (and in many bar skills, for that matter) the gymnast should be holding on just tightly enough to avoid falling off, and no more. You want a relaxed grip, allowing the hands to regrip and the wrists to shift during the course of the skill.

 

[gymnut1]

I have a little one that does that GT. The grip of death. When she does her back hip circle she ends up on her elbows. It looks really funny. As soon as we remind her to chill she is fine. lol.

 

[teena82]

I had the same problem when learning my kip until one night when someone yelled pulled at the end of my kip. My problem was that I wasn't pulling long enough causing me to end short, just far enough back that I would push off the bar.

 

[justanothergymmom]

One of my young L7's just wispered into the ear of a L4 the other day and then the L4 did her kip! I asked the L7 what she said and she told the L4 to pretend she was doing a front hip circle at the end of the kip-which helped!!

Gymcoach34-That is EXACTLY what I told my daughter when she was learning her kip!

 

[gymcoach34]

Hmmmm.... and I thought it was a big secret...lol! I guess it worked for a lot of people!

 

[Billy]

My DD had trouble with her kip cast handstand and I always thought she just wasn't casting hard enough. She, too, seemed to be pushing away from the bar and therefore couldn't get up into a solid handstand. Turns out that the problem with hitting handstand had nothing to do with her cast and everything to do with her kip. Coach said she wasn't "finishing" her kip. Instead, she was getting up to the bar and then immediately pushing for the HS, which of course made her come off the bar. "Finishing" her kip by leaning more forward over the bar made it easier to stay over the bar and cast up into the handstand. Maybe your DD needs to "finish" her kip, too?

 

[bogwoppit]

Just to elaborate on Shawn's thought, my oldest had the same issue, but she was actually finishing her kip in a vertical position, when in fact she needed to be in more of a pike around the bar at the end of her kip so she could use the impetus of swinging her legs back to help her cast up wards and not backwards.

Kids often learn the kip, but then they cannot cast out of it as they are just stopping on hte bar. Once mine began working on her kip cast as one motion and was spotted through it many more million times she was able to cast out effectively.

Youngest had the grip of death issue! In fact it seems to be a team issue!

 

[marie83]

I have one gymnast with this exact problem - I really need to watch her closely and analyse what she isn't doing when she doesn't have support!

With my particular gymnast it isn't a case of the grip of death - she really isn't holding on that tight but she doesn't get the timing for the wrist shift. She is wearing dowell grips and I'm sure she would do the kip if she hadn't got any on!
I think she needs to push her feet upwards for longer in the 'pull your trousers on' stage - could this be the same problem for your DD?

 

[LizzieLac]

I'll jump in here...

I am actually a little baffled as to why my DD hasn't gotten her kip. She is a solid gymnast, good strength (not great) and seems to knmow what to do when, if you know what I mean. I think she has the abdominal and shoulder strength, so maybe her timing is off a bit on when to do things.

I also think one of the key things is to keep the legs against (or really close) to the bar after the glide, but she seems to move away from the bar. Also, one of her coaches has said she is not shifting her hands (so she can get on top of the bar).

Lastly, I wonder if she does not have enough pwer going into the glide...

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Also, one of her coaches has said she is not shifting her hands (so she can get on top of the bar).

This is almost always caused by gripping the bar too tightly.

 

[NGL780309]

All great advice. I think it might help her to relate it to her FHC. I remember her sometimes having the same problem at the end of the front hip circle. When she trys to get her arms really straight on her FHC she would push away from the bar.

Almost everything you described sounds like things she is doing. They barely work on kips at all and they just started so I know it's a long road ahead to get it. I was actually surprised how well she was doing with so little work. It took her lots of numbers to get her front hip circle and I know the kip is harder for most.

 

[teamgirl]

learning kip

My DD has just started learning to do a kip also. All these tips are great.

 

[Shelovesthebars]

My 5 year old daughter is learning kips too. She seems to do better when she does a straddle glide into it. She really doesn't need to because of her size but is more succesful this way. Any thoughts on this? She has made a few without with the standard glide but she in no way can claim to own this skill yet. She is so close to being consistent. I will have to tell her the front hip circle trick.

 

[gymnut1]

You don't need as much strength for a straddle glide. We don't teach them because you need the strength any way later. We would teach the strength first and then the glide. some girls develop a straddle kip on the lower bar when they get tall later on. But some girls do very well just with a straddle. I don't think there are any deductions for it. If her arms are straight and her tummy tight then she is doing well.

 

[NGL780309]

By the way I do have a little video, but it's on my cell phone. I don't have any idea how to send it to anyone other than through a text. If anyone would like to look at it PM me. I'd love for someone to look at it and see what you think.