straddle press to handstand

[pihlajat]

hi!

i'm the coach of a 7-year-old gymnast who has been working to get her straddle press to hs for a year now. i haven't coached upper level girls so i have never had a gymnast that has had that skill... i'm pretty sure that this gymnast is very close to get that skill but i'm not absolutely sure. she's very flexible and have always been able to do a "pancake" and a straddle split. she's very strong too (she can keep the straddle press position for 20 seconds and do a handstand press from straddle stand position) but she has some problems with the technique. we have done many drills to get the press but she's not getting closer anymore. she can do the press to standing position and a straddle forward roll without legs or bottom touching the floor (hard to explain!) but that's it. when she tries the press to handstand she bend the arms and her back doesn't stay tight so she ends up lying on her stomach : D i guess she tries to lift her legs too early... i have said her that if she does so she can't raise the hip high enough but i think that she doesn't understand what i mean. any advice?

the next practice is coming on wednesday and i could video her when she's trying to press if it helped you (and me!) to find out what's the problem.

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I've found that this skill is not very hard for the younger girls. You can try spotting her on 5-10 in a row, and work on touching her less and less each time. Remind her to keep compressed (keep her knees close to her shoulders) when she goes for the pressed.

 

[Galadriel]

i know when mine learnt this they used to do the lift from straddle stand yes and the roll, but one pre thing to the press they did was straddle press, lift to as high as they can, hold for 3 seconds, and lower (on an at home conditioning sheet and it was meant to be 5 of these a day along with various other stuff like handstand hold stomach to wall for a minute for example) - preferably to the straddle press, but okay to straddle sit. Also concurrently, the straddle stand to handstand and try and lower to straddle press or straddle sit.
hope this is of some use!

 

[gymalex]

drill

Here's a drill I use with little ones, and it is very effective. I have them sit close to the wall, facing the wall, or straddle stand with their back to the wall (Their back would be against the wall at the top of the handstand). I will use chalk to draw the top 1/2 of a circle (or oval) on the wall, starting from their feet (on the floor...it's towards the widest part of the circle) and the top of the circle is where the athlete's feet finish in the handstand. Then I tell them to trace the wall with their feet as they straddle press up. It teaches them to stay as flat (pancaked) as possible as they straddle press, and it's also a great visual for how the skill is supposed to go.

When you're spotting, have the gymnast straddle sit in front of you while you kneel. Have them press into a straddle hold, and grasp their inner thighs from under their legs. As they press into the handstand, keep their hips up and straight and their legs to the side. Don't allow a pike.
Good luck!
-Alex

 

[JBS]

The first drill and second to last drills are especially good.

[video=youtube;0U1Qwo1oHFo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U1Qwo1oHFo[/video]

 

[Bobby]

I'm a bit confused by what's in JBS's video. The gymnast featured never actually achieves a press handstand - just does some drills towards the last half and ends with a comment that almost sounds as if a 'half press' counts as a press handstand??

In my mind the hard part of this skill is getting from straddle lever to the point where your feet pass under you to the front of your body (not featured at all in the video). Once your feet are in front of your hands (the starting position in the drills featured) it's really pretty simple from there.

Are there any drills that help with that first part of a 'full' press to handstand?? That's the required mount on beam when my DD gets to (Australian) L3 so she needs to be consistent soon. Right now it's something she gets for a while then loses again.

 

[JBS]

A press handstand does not have to come from a straddle L...it can press from many other positions. Many of the men's floor routines will demonstrate other positions to press from.

Also...according to what the gymnast was unable to do in the first post...I believe the first and second to last drills in the video will help.

As far as pressing from an L or straddle L. Press on paralettes from L to a stand on the bars without bending the knees. The gymnasts may need a spot.

 

[BlairBob]

Really super basic drills would be one I saw on the gymnastics minute. Laying down on their back, a gymnast will do a leg lift either in straddle or pike. If done in straddle, they would do it into a pancake postion.

This can be done hanging on a bar, just make that the gymnast doesn't let their head stick out away from their shoulders and pull into the press with their lats.

 

[sally]

My dd finds it hard. She can get up but coming down in a control way is what she finds hard.

 

[Bobby]

My dd finds it hard. She can get up but coming down in a control way is what she finds hard.

My DD would like to swap LOL.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

My 7 year old daughter has been doing this for about 6 months now. I helped her by standing infront of her when she levered up and making sure she rolled her hips so that her centre of gravity stayed over her hands, she got it fairly quickly when she got the hip roll.

hth

'Margo

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Really super basic drills would be one I saw on the gymnastics minute. Laying down on their back, a gymnast will do a leg lift either in straddle or pike. If done in straddle, they would do it into a pancake postion.

This can be done hanging on a bar, just make that the gymnast doesn't let their head stick out away from their shoulders and pull into the press with their lats.

Okay....you just made my day. I now "get" what DD's coach was having her do!!

I assume the first part of this video is what you're referring to??

4 Year Old Gymnast Malea TOPs Work - YouTube

 

[txgymfan]

Kristen,

Your pictures are always so good. Your DD's coach looks young, if she is a HS student, I bet her she or her mom would like a copy of some of these shots. Also, thanks to your video I understand better what they were describing in the thread.

 

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Kristen,

Your pictures are always so good. Your DD's coach looks young, if she is a HS student, I bet her she or her mom would like a copy of some of these shots. Also, thanks to your video I understand better what they were describing in the thread.

Aww thank you!! She actually just graduated high school and is headed off to college She'll be competing for UW La Crosse, and I'm sure it will be a great experience for her, but I'm still very, VERY sad. She was an INCREDIBLE coach & I will miss her so much. She was exactly what DD needed.

Anyway -don't mean to hijack.

 

[pihlajat]

Thank you all!

Thank you for your kind and helpful advice! We have kept practicing and now it looks like that she has made some nice progress!

I had my camera with me today at the practice and I took some videos. Of course I missed her best efforts but there is one short video that show pretty well how she's doing it. I know that she's not tight enough but she was pretty tired when I videoed her at the end of the 2 hours practice. She told me that she had got the press all the way up to handstand when she was practicing at home... But I don't believe it before seeing it! I asked her mum to video her at home : D

EMMA, age 7, trying to get her press handstand!

[video=youtube;_BtD3QWngbU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BtD3QWngbU[/video]

 

[Bobby]

Emma looks just like my DD - when she keeps her arms straight!! Unfortunately DD's learned that she can get up by bending her arms at that point. I suspect breaking the habit will be a pain.

 

[pihlajat]

Haha! The other girl who is seen on the video, Oona, has also that bad habit of bending arms! She's trained at home like Emma and is getting closer every day, but she's not as close as Emma yet. They are my two little cuties, tiny and childish but stronger than anyone else in the group.

 

[pihlajat]

OH MY GOD! I can't believe this. Little Emma finally got her press! It wasn't too pretty or under control but she did it! By herself!

I'M SO HAPPY NOW! Here we go:

[video=youtube;D54Bbvwbh14]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D54Bbvwbh14[/video]