Parents Kip stories

[Peachy88]

Need reassurance...6 year old was put on level 4 team. Has been training for about 1.5 months and no kip yet. They will make permanent level decisions come June so hoping she gets it by then, but still no garentees. I just don’t want her in a situation where she feels pressure to get a skill. She has all other level 4 skills and many level 5 skills. Looks like her form is being shaped nicely when she is spotted so just want to hear stories about when their kids finally got that kip!

 

[scgymmom322]

I have two gymnasts. My younger daughter got her kip about three weeks after beginning to really focus on it, at 6.5 years old. My older daughter took almost exactly a year to finally get hers right before she turned 10. They were on the same team, so they were getting the same coaching and same hours, it was just a lot harder for my older daughter. Her coach told me she had the strength, but it was a timing issue. My older daughter also told me that her coaches would rather she not make it and have nice form than make it and have bad form that needs to be fixed, but I think that is a coach by coach opinion! Good luck to your daughter! Hopefully if she is really close when decision time comes, they will let her continue training level 4!

 

[AussieGymMum]

Oh yes the kip! DD moved gyms last year and she was put onto the level 5 team moving up from level 3 at her old gym, she didn’t have her kip but had all her other skills. Her coach was not worried as she saw potential that DD would put it together soon and so my daughter wasn’t worried but as the new year rolled in still no kip. DD did get her kip however a few weeks into the beginning of this year but it was an ugly muscled up non competable kip.... I think I was getting more stressed then her but I never said anything, just kept telling her she’s doing great and I’m proud of her. Her coach said she had 5 weeks to get those straight arm kips before they decided if they stay in level 5 or not. The next week DD got her first straight arm kip and now has her long kip on the high bar as well, it all just clicked. I think long story short is trust the coach and remember every child is different, the kip will happen when she’s ready, enjoy the journey.

 

[Peachy88]

These were exactly the stories I wanted to hear.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

My daughter took over a year from when they started working them, a few moths from when they seriously started working the Second to last to get it.

Currently a L8. Will be a 2 yr L8. She is just getting her giant (she has had a couple of injuries that have slowed it down a bit). But been working it over 2 yrs.

Best form of her team. So when she gets it will be one of the best bar kids on team. But dead last to get it.......

And the other kid, who got the kip last. Finished a strong L7 this year and now training L8. Many of the kids who had the kip well before them are no longer doing gymnastics.

 

[MuggleMom]

Been lucky in that daughter was the first on her level 3 team to get and compete a kip and it was straight armed from pretty much the start. That being said she is a great bar worker always first or second to get bar skills. ....other events not so much lol on beam last to get the BWO Vault is still a struggle. As others have said its timing and for the most part from what I have seen on DDs team once it really clicks (not first kip but getting it consistently for a week or so) it clicks and improves. you have plenty of time

 

[Peachy88]

She had the same issue with the front hip circle which is also a timing skill. But she can do an ariel on floor and all sorts of other skills her teammates struggle with.

 

[mommyof1]

The kip requires both timing and strength. Most of the kids on my daughter’s team made one or two “fluke” kips weeks or months before they actually got their kips. I think the shortest time to a reliable kip on my daughter’s L3 team was about three months of consistent training. Their coach would not allow them to practice kips without a spot unless they were doing them with straight arms, though. If she had just let them try kipping over and over with bent arms, I suspect they all would have “gotten” their kips sooner but then taken longer to get them competition-ready. With this approach, my daughter was able to compete a nice kip within a few weeks after she first “got” the skill.

 

[NutterButter]

She had the same issue with the front hip circle which is also a timing skill. But she can do an ariel on floor and all sorts of other skills her teammates struggle with.

You are seeing why bars is often the gatekeeper that prevents girls from moving up. You are new to JO and the whole 'will she move up' thing that we all stress about. Your DD is super young and has lots of time in the sport if she chooses. She will get the kip! Best you can do is trust the coaches and hug your DD when she's frustrated and not worry about an evaluation that is months away. There will always be the next skill after she's mastered the current one. And honestly it's a little unrealistic to expect a kip after 1.5 months. It truly takes time to master the strength and coordination. Also, part of the reason why your DD has all sorts of other skills compared to her teammates is because she is new to the gym and came from Xcel. You've posted videos before of your DD doing skills that NEVER would have been taught to 5 year olds at my DDs gym no matter the talent of the kid. Also, JO kids tend follow a much tighter progression of skills because the eventual goal is L10...a very different goal than Xcel. I don't say this to take away from your DD's talents at all! You have lots to look forward to with your DDs journey!

 

[duyetanh]

For most girls, bars is the last thing to come in. There are so many reasons why, that I am not going to list them here. My child struggled with that demon of a skill for months on end, and honestly her first year competing it, it was very ugly. In her opinion, that skill still needs work and she is an upper level optional now. I do not know how your gym works but (I just posted this on another thread) for many gyms out there no kip means no level four. If you do not know how her gym handles this, it might be good to find out, so you can be ready to help your child in case she doesn’t pull it off. The kip is not something that can be rushed or forced. It comes when the athlete is ready, and truly is on an individual basis. She does still have time. The big thing is for her to make sure she is still having fun, and not stressing about getting a skill at six years old. If the coaches do decide to keep her a 3, she can always compete the kip in that level once she gets it, so there is no risk of not uptraining. Good luck to her!

 

[GymDadWA]

Three months for my daughter to get her first muscle up that the gym generously called a kip. For our gym they allowed her to compete 4 that way because she was strong with all of her other skills. The downfall is that it took another nine months to get those arms straight, she said that front hip circles helped her understand the timing better.

 

[AWOL]

And once she gets it, she will lose it about a week after for a day or month or so but she will lose it!!!!

 

[duyetanh]

And once she gets it, she will lose it about a week after for a day or month or so but she will lose it!!!!

Oh dear God yes. This, this, and this!

 

[Flyaway]

dd was the last in her group to get her kip. She worked on it on and off for about 2 years, worked on it every day for about 6 months. She got the long hang kip first, then the glide kip came quickly after that. Of course, she then graduated into grips and that threw it all off for about 2-3 months. 2 years later, she is the strongest in her group on bars. It will come. But I fully support the angst and turmoil in the meantime! lol. I hated that kip!

 

[Peachy88]

She’s not frustrated yet by far.

For most girls, bars is the last thing to come in. There are so many reasons why, that I am not going to list them here. My child struggled with that demon of a skill for months on end, and honestly her first year competing it, it was very ugly. In her opinion, that skill still needs work and she is an upper level optional now. I do not know how your gym works but (I just posted this on another thread) for many gyms out there no kip means no level four. If you do not know how her gym handles this, it might be good to find out, so you can be ready to help your child in case she doesn’t pull it off. The kip is not something that can be rushed or forced. It comes when the athlete is ready, and truly is on an individual basis. She does still have time. The big thing is for her to make sure she is still having fun, and not stressing about getting a skill at six years old. If the coaches do decide to keep her a 3, she can always compete the kip in that level once she gets it, so there is no risk of not uptraining. Good luck to her!

They don’t do level 3 at this gym so she would probably do xcel gold which could work nicely for her but they don’t practice as often. I am sure she will get it.

 

[cp13]

It took my daughter about 6 months to get a kip. She got it in August and was one of the last ones on her team to get it. She struggled on bars through her first year of L4....never fell but just had bent arms in the kips and a loose body position. Then she scored 9s throughout her second year of L4. Now in L5 she has had another rough season of bars. Some kids are naturals at bars and it takes others a really long time to master new skills. With all of her teammates, once they got the low bar kip, the high bar kip follow soon after.

 

[LJL07]

She is 6, and the timing of a kip can be hard for many children. You have to be 7 to compete level 4 in the first place. I’m assuming she will be by meet season. It is way too early to worry. I doubt your gym would have put a child that young in a level 4 group if they didn’t feel she would get it.

 

[LJL07]

You are seeing why bars is often the gatekeeper that prevents girls from moving up. You are new to JO and the whole 'will she move up' thing that we all stress about. Your DD is super young and has lots of time in the sport if she chooses. She will get the kip! Best you can do is trust the coaches and hug your DD when she's frustrated and not worry about an evaluation that is months away. There will always be the next skill after she's mastered the current one. And honestly it's a little unrealistic to expect a kip after 1.5 months. It truly takes time to master the strength and coordination. Also, part of the reason why your DD has all sorts of other skills compared to her teammates is because she is new to the gym and came from Xcel. You've posted videos before of your DD doing skills that NEVER would have been taught to 5 year olds at my DDs gym no matter the talent of the kid. Also, JO kids tend follow a much tighter progression of skills because the eventual goal is L10...a very different goal than Xcel. I don't say this to take away from your DD's talents at all! You have lots to look forward to with your DDs journey!

This! Yes!!

 

[MimsMom]

My daughter is 7 and competed L3 last year. Her team of 7 girls at L3 I'd a mixed bag. The 8 year olds seem to have their ugly kips (muscle up). The younger girls and shorter, more compact girls are having a harder time. DD can do them straight armed if her coach is ghosting her. However the moment she moves away DD acts like she has never done one before. It is all about timing and body awareness.