I think the Level 3 uneven bars routine should definitely include undergrip/reverse grip work, but a stride circle is
not needed; I love skills from older eras of gymnastics, but stride circles (mill circles) are
completely useless. A basket swing/kip is a bit more practical to more antiquated skills and the kip itself, so I'd be okay with that still being an option, but the stride circle is entirely pointless. I also think the front hip circle is okay, as it relates to the ending phase of a kip, as well as the general feeling of rotating around the bar forwards into a connecting skill, and even distantly relates to the Weiler.
If the point of the stride circle was to have a skill in the routine that familiarizes gymnasts with undergrip/reverse grip, we can easily replace that with something better: the gymnast will jump to the high bar and execute a series of tap swings with grip changes. At the peak of every swing, the gymnast will change
grips and tap accordingly. That is to say, when she catches the high bar, she will tap forwards in overgrip, then at the peak of the swing, she will flip her grip to under/reverse grip and do a backwards tap, then change
grips again at the top of the swing to tap forwards once more into a slight counter hecht technique for the dismount, similar to the underswing dismount in Level 3.
My ideal Level 3 bar routine would be:
- Glide swing to pull-over
- Forward hip circle to cast
- Second cast to squat-on
- Jump to high bar in hollow shape
- Forward tap to grip change (under/reverse grip)
- Backward tap to grip change (overgrip)
- Piked underswing dismount
I feel this routine would remain within the skill level of the average Level 3, while eliminating the useless skills and replacing them with more useful, appropriate skills to introduce them to different grips and how to move through them while swinging.
I didn't realize they were considering still having 6 be compulsory at one point!
