For Parents Grip lock

[jessifrostR]

My daughter has just been invited to move up to level 3 and I was reading over the packet and there was a waiver we have to sign about grips. Luckily my daughter will NOT need grips this year but the form had warnings that really scared me about how the grips can break their arms or something. I don’t even really understand how but I am terrified now and dreading the time that comes when she has to wear them. How common are these grip injuries? Please tell me they are rare.
Worried mom.

 

[raenndrops]

A long as she doesnt use mens grips or use grips on bars that are too thin or has grips that are too big then she should be fine.
It isnt super common and happens more often with men.
Basically, grip leather should not touch grip leather around the bar.
They warn about it for the same reason McDonalds warns that coffee is hot.

 

[jessifrostR]

A long as she doesnt use mens grips or use grips on bars that are too thin or has grips that are too big then she should be fine.
It isnt super common and happens more often with men.
Basically, grip leather should not touch grip leather around the bar.
They warn about it for the same reason McDonalds warns that coffee is hot.

That makes me feel much better!!!

 

[Gymmom0403]

They should always have a back up pair though and regularly check their grips for any sign of overuse. A small tear or rip in a grip can cause them to break and in the middle of a big skill can be super bad.
Not to scare you away from grips but just something to be aware of. My kid checks her grips regularly and she has a back up for her back up just in case

 

[jessifrostR]

They should always have a back up pair though and regularly check their grips for any sign of overuse. A small tear or rip in a grip can cause them to break and in the middle of a big skill can be super bad.
Not to scare you away from grips but just something to be aware of. My kid checks her grips regularly and she has a back up for her back up just in case

So they can be dangerous but there’s no way to avoid it basically because at some point they HAVE to wear them? My husband and I were reading over this last night and saying “What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?”

 

[sce]

So they can be dangerous but there’s no way to avoid it basically because at some point they HAVE to wear them? My husband and I were reading over this last night and saying “What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?”

Actually Jess and others were saying the opposite. You can avoid problems if you don't wear grips that are too big or too worn out. When it comes time for her wear grips, I am sure the coaches and other gymnasts will help her and you understand how to properly use them.

 

[raenndrops]

So they can be dangerous but there’s no way to avoid it basically because at some point they HAVE to wear them? My husband and I were reading over this last night and saying “What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?”

Dont worry. Like @sce said, once she is ready for them, her coaches and teammates will help her (and she will kinda be able to tell if they start wearing out). None of the girls on our team have ever worn out a pair of grips, but heavier girls who are swinging a lot of BIG bar skills will need to replace them more than smaller girls nt doing a lot of big skills.

Our coach doesnt even suggest grips until they are training clear hip circles... and for some girls, not even then. We had one girl wait until Level 8 to get grips. Of course, other girls get grips in Level 4 ... and we have a few Xcel Golds and Level 3s that have palm grips, but none of them get dowel grips.

OG tried using grips several times over the years. After she got her kip, she wanted them before the start of Old Level 5. We got them for her. She tried to use them for 1 -2 months for parts of bars practice and gave up. Then, in Old Level 6, she wanted to try again... her old ones were too small, so I bought new ones. She only tried the new ones for a couple weeks before she decided THEY were too big and too stiff, so I bought ANOTHER pair. She tried those for about a month before she had to stop "to get ready for competition season" promising to "go back to them when the season was over." She took time off after the season and when she came back, she was competing Xcel Gold and "didnt have enough time" to get used to them before competition. Then, she decided after 2 years of Gold that she just didnt like the dowels, so she wanted to try pre-dowel grips (same size as dowel grips, but no dowel ... NOT palm grips), so I got her those. She used them until she took time off again and again when she came back, she tried them for a couple months. Then she was Level 6. She decided she SHOULD be using dowel grips. She started out with using the biggest of the ones I had previously bought her and they fit, but she was never able to get them broken in, so I got her a brand that was easier to break in. She used them in practices, but once it got close to competition time, she wasnt ready to compete in them, so she stopped. She resumed at the end of the season, planning to be prepared to compete in them a few months later... but she is on another break.

YG has palm grips. She used them in practice for 4 months. She hated them. She has tried both pre-dowel and dowel grips (her sister's old ones that fit her) and she couldnt do ANYTHING in them. She plans to eventually go back to the palm grips because "the Level 5s overchalk the bars" and it hurts her hands.

 

[Flyaway]

It will be fine. The coaches should handle the transition. It took my dd a good 2-3 months to relearn her bar skills in grips and be confident with them. Now she can't imagine bars without them.

 

[John]

Agreed once DD got grips she had to relearn her skills.

 

[gymmomx2]

For some the transition can be pretty seamless. DD got hers once she was kipping consistently, she was a tiny 7 yo then. She didn’t regress at all, it took maybe one day to get used to them and she’s never been without them since.

Grip lock happens when the leather at the fingertip wraps around the bar, making contact with the leather in the palm of the hand and tightening the grip around the bar. It is much more common in MAG on high bar than it is in WAG on the uneven bar. The diameter of the high bar is much smaller than the uneven bar, and men typically have bigger hands. It would be nearly impossible for my DD to get grip lock as her hands are small and cannot wrap all the way around the bar.

I have seen one grip lock, it happened to a friend of my DS. It was scary for sure but thankfully he wasn’t injured, just very scared!

For most gymnasts, grips are an exciting rite of passage kind of like getting pointe shoes in ballet her coaches will guide her through the process and will likely inspect them regularly to make sure they are safe.

 

[tpMom]

First - I bet if you read the waivers for the gym they also warn about the risk of paralysis or death. I think the youth bowling league in town actually has a similar waiver - so in most cases you have to take a step back, understand that the are inherent risks in any sport, and decide whether it's worth it.

Secondly, it's good that you are aware of the potential hazards of grips - it'll help you remember to check in with your daughter to make sure that they're fitting correctly and not wearing out. Most gymnasts use grips, so the chances are your daughter will need to eventually if she continues with the sport, but I always ALWAYS think that an educated parent is a safe(r) parent.

 

[ldw4mlo]

As with any piece of equipment. You need to make sure they are the right size and fit. You need to take care of them and replace as needed.

And you need to learn how to properly use use them and yes there is a learning curve.

And PS. Grips are not required. You can do gymnastics without them.
We have a L7/8 girl who doesn’t use them. I know few gymmie who didn’t use them until L10.

Most of our gymmies started in L5

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Grip locks don't happen often but when they do the results are pretty frightening. One of our girls probably had it happen almost a year ago. She was doing a simple free hip (not even to handstand) that she had done probably more than million times before. Somehow, her wrist got stuck and didn't move when the rest of her body did. We are not sure if it was a grip lock, but it sounds like that. Her wrist bones unlocated and her ulna or radius (can't remember anymore) broke and she needed to have a surgery and all, it was a long recovery.

 

[LJL07]

Geez. Never in my life have I heard of "grip lock." It's always something with this sport. We have never had one problem with grips. Yes, they need to be properly sized and broken in, but never had an issue. Both of my girls started using grips in level 4. I would hope the coaches are keeping an eye on if the grips fit properly. Ours let us know when it is time to order new grips. I personally prefer my girls using grips for big skills like giants. Although I have also seen a very few girls not using grips for giants at level 7/8.

 

[jessifrostR]

Geez. Never in my life have I heard of "grip lock." It's always something with this sport. We have never had one problem with grips. Yes, they need to be properly sized and broken in, but never had an issue. Both of my girls started using grips in level 4. I would hope the coaches are keeping an eye on if the grips fit properly. Ours let us know when it is time to order new grips. I personally prefer my girls using grips for big skills like giants. Although I have also seen a very few girls not using grips for giants at level 7/8.

I’m surprised you didn’t have the sign the scary waiver that we have! I’m sure our coaches will help stay on top of it when the time comes. I will definitely keep an eye on them too.

 

[jessifrostR]

Grip locks don't happen often but when they do the results are pretty frightening. One of our girls probably had it happen almost a year ago. She was doing a simple free hip (not even to handstand) that she had done probably more than million times before. Somehow, her wrist got stuck and didn't move when the rest of her body did. We are not sure if it was a grip lock, but it sounds like that. Her wrist bones unlocated and her ulna or radius (can't remember anymore) broke and she needed to have a surgery and all, it was a long recovery.

Ugh that sounds awful. I get so much anxiety about injuries with this sport.

 

[ldw4mlo]

I’m surprised you didn’t have the sign the scary waiver that we have! I’m sure our coaches will help stay on top of it when the time comes. I will definitely keep an eye on them too.

We signed no grip waiver. Just the usual no matter what happens this is a sport, could be dangerous, we are not responsible waiver.

 

[jessifrostR]

As with any piece of equipment. You need to make sure they are the right size and fit. You need to take care of them and replace as needed.

And you need to learn how to properly use use them and yes there is a learning curve.

And PS. Grips are not required. You can do gymnastics without them.
We have a L7/8 girl who doesn’t use them. I know few gymmie who didn’t use them until L10.

Most of our gymmies started in L5

Interesting! I assumed after a certain level they were required. What happens if you don’t use them? What’s the difference?

 

[raenndrops]

Interesting! I assumed after a certain level they were required. What happens if you don’t use them? What’s the difference?

If you don't use grips, your hands are often rougher.
The dowel in the grips helps to hold onto the bar (the dowel goes over the bar) ... so it can make swinging big bar skills and catching the bar after a release easier for MOST gymnasts.
There are even ELITE gymnasts (moreso in other countries) that dont use grips or use "tape grips."

 

[ldw4mlo]

Interesting! I assumed after a certain level they were required. What happens if you don’t use them? What’s the difference?

Nope. There is no you must use grips rule. Now your gym might have such a rule. But no, no official rule.

The difference? I’m sure there will be many answers.

From my view. We were a gym that did them later rather then sooner.

Problem from the girls point of view. The girls who use grips like a “chalkier” (is that even a word) bar. So our girls would go to meets and hate “the bars”, too chalky. Coach made decision to get them all in grips. It worked well. They all got the same grips. There was only one massive learning curve. And not one kid moans about “over chalked” bars at meets. One girl just couldn’t deal and uses tape grips as she heads to L8.

Our coaches don’t care if you use them or not. Bars coach prefers buckles because kids seem to be forever messing with the Velcro. And get them on the off season. So the learning curve is not during the season.

I only know my gymmies hands. She got rips without grips. She gets rips with them.

States next week. Up training gets kicked up a notch shortly after. So begins rip season.