Parents 8 months to get kip?

[LittleGymmie88]

My new little level 3(she does have all level 3 skills) has just started working on kips. Some of the girls on her team are close to getting them, while mine is nowhere near, she doesn't even really understand how to do one. I asked her coach if I should be concerned, and she said no because she has 8 more months to get it. I keep reading though that it take a year or more, is it getting in 8 months even possible?

 

[Coach Kate]

Some kids take days, others months, so it's impossible to really say. Timing is an important element and some people just get it faster than others. I made mine the first day we tried them. My teammate struggled over a year.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

It takes as long as it takes. No need to worry about something ypu can’t change

 

[Dahlialover]

8 months is a long time! Don’t worry. That’s about how long it took me and I was the slowest person in my group. (I was 5’7, so I had a disadvantage. None of the little girls took anywhere near that long.)

 

[TheXcelMom]

Took my daughter 6 months to get it and over a year before it looked good.

 

[high5]

My new little level 3(she does have all level 3 skills) has just started working on kips. Some of the girls on her team are close to getting them, while mine is nowhere near, she doesn't even really understand how to do one. I asked her coach if I should be concerned, and she said no because she has 8 more months to get it. I keep reading though that it take a year or more, is it getting in 8 months even possible?

Yes, in my daughter's gymnastics, the fastest one needed only a month, while others needed 3 to 11 months. Our gymnastics are on lower practice hours than nearby competitive gymnastics, but they eventually got it before the end of the L3 season. One thing to note is that the speed of getting it does not necessarily lead to higher scores or a successful gymnastics career. It is a skill you need before you hit L4, and the last girl who finally got it (now L7) in the group is doing fantastic as am optional gymnast right now.

 

[GymDadWA]

Oldie but goodie:



The Kip and ROBHS are sort of the first gateway skills that take a lot of time to develop but need to really be taught right else you just get stuck at the next skill. If it doesn't happen in eight months and it is recommended to repeat it is OK, most gyms will keep developing the skill throughout the year and they can compete it once it is proficient and catch her up to the group the following year.

 

[Sandpapertongue]

I had never seen that video before but I am laughing so hard. As a parent of a level 3 and level 4, gym life revolves around kips. Pretty sure our coaches have had the exact same conversation multiple times!

“Susie believes if you let her she will be able to start kipping.”
“Susie also believes in Santa Claus.”

 

[TheXcelMom]

I watched all 10 minutes of that video and the coach's slow breakdown into honesty was glorious to watch.
I wish she'd been my daughter's first coach, frankly.

 

[Chocolate_Chip]

My daughter just finished her level 4 season and it took her so long to get her kip, probably a good 4-6 months, and it's still looking muscled, but she has level 7/8 floor skills. Bars just doesn't come as naturally to her as the tumbling does, but she's super determined and slowly but surely getting there.
There are probably skills that your daughter might have perfected that others haven't, but every gymnast has their own areas where they excel. It definitely made her feel a lot better to know that the kip can take some kids months to get.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

The time it takes to 'get' it will also depend on how the practice is structured by the coach. If one gymnast just keeps trying kips from a young age it is likely to take a long time vs the gymnast who is doing drills and specific exercises before actually trying and in some cases may not have know they were actually working on a kip for all that time.
I've had plenty kip (with straight arms) within a month of trying - but there was a year of preparation before they really started trying on their own.
The first approach is fine for talented kids, but for the average kid, continuing to do a skill before they are ready often leads to a sense of hopelessness. Feeling successful during training is really important for the non superstar kids, breaking things down so kids are continually feeling/seeing progress is an easy way to achieve this.

 

[jmg378s]

My daughter is older and may be a bit of an unusual case. She actually learned to kip on her own prior to be invited to join the gym's L3 team. I would estimate that it took about 4 months of trying on her home bar and school playground bar over and over. She told me once that she probably failed a few hundred times before doing even a bad one. And even then it wasn't consistent. Consistency and form improved quickly though. By the end of the L3 season her form was excellent and she was getting little if any deductions on the kip in meets...probably a little over a year in all to get to that point. I suspect it would have gone quicker if she'd started with more structured drill-based training.

 

[katrid11]

I just had time to watch that video. OMG it is hysterical to watch the coach break down to pure honesty ....

Kips take time. I think DD was working on progressions during practice for 6-7months before her coaches started letting kids attempt a kip. It is so important to get a good technical kip so the casts can be strong.

The lesson of patience is so important as the gymnasts get older. Sometimes it will be a floor element. or beam. bars will ALWAYS have months of progressions to get to a new skill. DD has been working progressions on giants for a year. She has a great front giant now. her back giant is progressing well. There is a slight chance of competing a back giant this fall. so that will be close to 18 months of slow work to get to a skill. Her coaches are very clear - slow and steady lead to great technical gymnasts.