For Coaches Pirouettes and Post Arm

[Scott W.]

I know this question has been asked before but never really got a good answer. What do you all teach as far as which arm to use in pirouettes? I've been told before that you post on your non-dominant arm, and some people say to teach both arms. But when it comes down to competing, is it dominant or non-dominant? Or is it better just to let the kid choose whatever arm they feel most confident on? When I was a kid I did blind change and pirouette on the same (non-dominant) arm. Looking back that was a a little strange!

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[gymisforeveryone]

I'm interested in this topic too. Right now my optional gymnasts just do what ever feels right to them. They started learning these skills before I started coaching them so this is something I'm not planning to change for them unless it's absolutely crucial.

 

[2gymmies]

My dd turns her left hand first in a pirouette and her left hand doesn’t move in a blind change.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

My dd turns her left hand first in a pirouette and her left hand doesn’t move in a blind change.

So she is twisting in 2 directions. The problem starts with beam dismounts early on. They usually learn to turn on the dominant arm. So work pirouette in both directions, this will help them if they ever do a full pirouette.

 

[2gymmies]

So she is twisting in 2 directions. The problem starts with beam dismounts early on. They usually learn to turn on the dominant arm. So work pirouette in both directions, this will help them if they ever do a full pirouette.

Her toe 360 and giant 360 are just fine and she is a great twister on floor and vault... might just be a quirky thing about her pirouette because she turns the “wrong” way after her front giant too... she says it’s because she doesn’t like to get too far away from the center of the bar

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I know this question has been asked before but never really got a good answer. What do you all teach as far as which arm to use in pirouettes? I've been told before that you post on your non-dominant arm, and some people say to teach both arms. But when it comes down to competing, is it dominant or non-dominant? Or is it better just to let the kid choose whatever arm they feel most confident on? When I was a kid I did blind change and pirouette on the same (non-dominant) arm. Looking back that was a a little strange!

Thanks for any feedback!

I typically teach them to blind in the direction they twist . And most kids learn to pirouette on the dominant arm from beam dismounts. So they end up on the same arm ... so I have them work pirouette in both arms . They compete which ever is better

Her toe 360 and giant 360 are just fine and she is a great twister on floor and vault... might just be a quirky thing about her pirouette

if shendoes a 360 then she is pirouette on the other arm . However when she just does a regular 1/2 pirouette she probably uses the dominant arm. No worries problem solved

 

[JBS]

I know of at least one elite gym that teaches the blind the opposite way of their twist so that it lines up with their “good” pirouette. So they spin pirouettes the opposite way they twist in the air.

 

[Scott W.]

I typically teach them to blind in the direction they twist . And most kids learn to pirouette on the dominant arm from beam dismounts. So they end up on the same arm ... so I have them work pirouette in both arms . They compete which ever is better

if shendoes a 360 then she is pirouette on the other arm . However when she just does a regular 1/2 pirouette she probably uses the dominant arm. No worries problem solved

That makes sense. I've been teaching blinds the same way. So they blind change on their dominant arm, then pirouette on non-dominant. Should probably start working them on both though! Thanks!

 

[blantonnick]

For me, I like to relate all twisting skills in the same direction in order to reduce complications for future development of higher level skills. Very often, this relationship deals with familiarity and skill similarities.

(I aim to do this with all skills with the exception of the roundoff)

For instance, if one is looking for exploring giants with turns and pirouettes and which direction to choose - you can relate a Giant to a Backwards Layout on the floor..

Sure, there are clear differences, i.e. attachment of the hands to a bar and being in free space.. However, the fact remains, a gymnast is rotating 360 degrees.

If we use this same process to evaluate a Giant with 360 turn in handstand, the skill similarity is related to a Full Twisting Backward Layout on Floor Exercise.

This relationship creates a familiarity of movement patterns for the gymnast that hopefully will aid in performance reliability.

All this being said, I base turning direction on Bars to the turning direction the gymnasts assume whilst performing lateral axis rotations on the Floor Exercise/Trampoline:

If a gymnast is a left twister during lateral axis rotation, they will blind change by releasing their right hand (posting body weight on left hand) and pirouette by releasing the left hand (posting body weight on right hand).

If right --> Opposite of above...

For me, this template creates a solid foundation of familiarity and skill similarity.

I do believe however, that the argument of allowing gymnasts to do what they find comfortable, does have merit. If a coach allows this, they must be quite knowledgeable in skill selection and problem solving should a directional complication occur in future development and maturation of skills.

I would teach both pirouettes... I normally do this for three reasons:

1. Routine construction... Being able to move either way in a pirouette, or top, can decrease shuffling and deductions for lateral movement.

2. When spotting and learning blinds, the gymnast can top back into me and avoid shuffling back towards me after pirouetting away from me.

3. Creates a symmetry in support strength on one arm.

Hope that helps!

 

[Aero]

I know of at least one elite gym that teaches the blind the opposite way of their twist so that it lines up with their “good” pirouette. So they spin pirouettes the opposite way they twist in the air.

You must be referring to Excalibur, right? I talked for a while with Jim Walker about his unorthodox methods on bars at Region 7 Congress last year.

 

[Hollowarchkick]

Everyone has their own ideas on this. I tend to try to rely on what would’ve made sense to me as an athlete. The blind was harder to do than the pirouette and I think that’s true for most. So I usually let them do the blind whichever way feels comfortable and then do the pirouette. I can always set up drills for an opposite arm blind and spot when necessary.