Parents Please advise: a very long struggle for a kip

[Rc1em8]

My daughter aged 10 has been trying to get her kip for longer than 2 years, moved up to L4 without cause she was so close. Did well in beam , floor vault, but kip remained elusive only making it a few times in January, once at a meet. Many privates later still no kip. It is heartbreaking, we can not even discuss too upsetting. All coaches say the same glide is very good gets 80% and falls back, one coach suggested working ab wheel for shoulder strength so she has been doing that, but also suggested she may be 'blocked'. Does not want to quit has resisted my suggestions for different activities, what do I do to help her thru this? Please help!!!

 

[z2akids]

That kip can ne so frustrating. Is there a different coach she can work with? Sometimes a gymnast needs a different perspective and corrections given in different words. My DD had a gorgeous CW on beam, but is was inconsistent. This summer a different coach gave her a couple of small corrections and boy has it made a difference in her consistency.

The other main option would be to consider an Xcel team. Your DD can continue to work on that kip while competing a bar routine without it and can compete higher skills on the other events.

 

[Sasha]

Is she trying with straight/locked arms only (as some gyms insist they do)?

My daughter's teammate was struggling with kip long after many others (was only trying with locked arms), and coach finally told her just do it with bent arms to get up there. Now she is working on getting the arms straight, but at least she is kipping regularly.

Another teammate also went through L4 with a (mostly) missing kip (which was bent arm muscled when it did show up) after repeating L3 (because of no kip). Definitely over 2 years to get it!! But coaches were patient, and today she is kipping beautifully. Just took her longer. She first did it with bent arms also and is now (finally) straight.

I agree working with another coach could help. Something new to break it up. There are SOOO many kip drills, and she might just need a new way to think about the skill and get un-stuck.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Gosh - 2 years, that's rough. My DD struggled w/ her kip for a year - had all other old L5 skills (including the squat on jump to high bar) and was "this close" on the kip when her gym at the time decided placements for the summer. They put her in 5 cause everyone was sure she'd have it in time, but oh boy did the stress build as meets approached and she still didn't have it. We ultimately got privates (sometimes 2 a week!) and luckily she got it in time. Now she still looks back on that experience as one of the greatest accomplishments of perseverance of her life (cites it in school essays and speeches and stuff ).

If the coaches aren't giving up on her that's wonderful. She needs to keep working and not give up. I agree that a different coach's perspective can sometimes help as well (the coach that did my DDs privates was not her regular coach - regular coach was too much $ . I wouldn't go to XCel if she really wants JO over this either - winning more medals is nowhere near as important as the long term goal.

 

[Rc1em8]

Thanks for replies, we have had many privates with many different coaches, all say she is close, she has tried just getting up there bending her arms but that is not working either. She has all L 5 skills in other events now but I'm sure will stay in L4, I don't think xcel is option even tho it has crossed my mind cause of her friends, there are a few others struggling with kip that will stay in L4 with her. Did I never discuss it? Not suggest privates?

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Honestly, I have never coached or met a hard working gymnast who didn't eventually get the kip. Just hang in there! When it clicks it clicks.

 

[sce]

Sounds frustrating for her and baffling. If she's strong enough, glides well and knows how to shift her wrists then it should happen at some point.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

How old is she?

 

[Committed]

She's 10

 

[Deleted member 18037]

How old is she?

Ugh, thats what I get for reading on the fly.

OK well that rules out likely just too small.

Upper body conditioning, wrists and core work.

 

[sce]

How close is she getting?

Have coaches identified an area that is the problem?

 

[Sasha]

You might ask if there are coaches on here who would look at her video privately and give you their assessment of what might be holding her back. Many are happy to. If possible, get video from a couple angles. You could post it here, but that could be seen by anyone.

I do think she will get it eventually, though. It is not unheard of to take a very long time.

Edited to add: if it is upsetting her to discuss, and you have already tried many privates, then just try to relax about it and tell her she will get it someday. Only offer privates if she brings it up or asks for them. Just assure her to keep trying, and try to to be hard on herself. Treat it as a non-issue and do not ask about it after class, etc. If you do talk about gymnastics, focus on the things that are going well for her and celebrate that. Kip will come when it comes.

 

[munchkin3]

My DD had this problem for a long time.
She was 99% up with straight arms, and good form....but just could NOT GET UP........unless spotted.

I took her to an open gym one day (different gym) and told her to just play around with it and see if she could get her shoulders over the bar, IN ANY FASHION.....bent arms, bent legs, whatever.......
No coaches, no 'corrections', just her and the bar. The game was, end up over the bar somehow.

After 10 minutes, she made the ugliest kip.....but she was UP...and happy, and instantly had confidence.......and guess what.....after a few practices, her kip was looking just fine.
We never told the coach.

My point is, sometimes it just takes them figuring it out all alone, with no fear of corrections.

 

[Rc1em8]

Thanks for the encouraging replies, I try to not be an interfering mother and talk to coaches but my daughter has told her they say it all looks good, shift her wrists... And so close... She has always had to work for her strength but has gotten a lot stronger in last 6 months , I know I can't give up on her she has so much determination... But can be so hard to watch. I really try not to ask...

 

[Flyaway]

My dd struggled too. She actually finally got her long hang kip first, coming out of the squat on-jump to high bar. Something about that momentum gained from the jump was enough to help her get it over the bar. After she did that and understood what it felt like, the glide kip on the low bar came quickly. Had she tried long hang kips? Maybe that would work? Hang in there, I understand how frustrating and discouraging it can be.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

DFK

 

[2gymkids]

I feel your pain, we've been having a lot of kip drama and tears in our house as of late as well, finally getting it this week but still discouraged by inconsistency. I have no brilliant words of wisdom, but hang in there! Like I've been telling my DD for the last several months, "One day you're going to end up on top of that bar looking down and surprise yourself!"

 

[OzZee]

Has she tried watching drills on you tube? There might be something that clicks with her

 

[duyetanh]

I remember there was the coolest video of a girl learning how to do a kip. The coach brilliantly put a rubber ball IN the girls leo and it helped her get over it. Now this was two years ago. But it was so cool. I don't know if her coaches ate up for new ideas, or if this is crazy....but it worked for this girl, who tried for quite some time to get the dfk...and she was a bit younger than yours, I think.
Hugs to you! After the dfk is the bfg....and trust me when I say that ain't fun eother. Igh.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

I remember there was the coolest video of a girl learning how to do a kip. The coach brilliantly put a rubber ball IN the girls leo and it helped her get over it. Now this was two years ago. But it was so cool. I don't know if her coaches ate up for new ideas, or if this is crazy....but it worked for this girl, who tried for quite some time to get the dfk...and she was a bit younger than yours, I think.
Hugs to you! After the dfk is the bfg....and trust me when I say that ain't fun eother. Igh.

You might be talking about this Old video but so good! Just imagine being a coach and going through this almost desperate struggle over and over again, year after year