Front giant spotting and mechanics

[ryantroop]

So... my head coach has decided that our front giants need to be the "whip" method (for girls), something that I need to work on a bit.

I can teach front giants for girls, and I have done so successfully using a hollow rise method. I feel comfortable spotting this (shoulder in front, wrist/hip through the bottom, solid hold on peak).

However, I feel that if I use this spot for the whip front giant, I will be encouraging an arch that may lead to pulling into the bar, and Im afraid to pancake spot because I will lose the ability to spot the front/shoulder to make sure they are extended. Also, since they are piking hard through the bottom, there is a big increase in the chance they will peel, and I don't want to be in position for a pancake when they may not be circling.

So far, my progressions have been this -

Front drop and shoulder conditioning on low/floor bars.

Straps - working on technique until they can do both jaeger and front giant whips (which they can all do).

Real bar, over grip, swings with boxes or bar in position to give a timer for when to pike and drive. I have been considering spotting this to a back-uprise, but it still does not cover the reversed grip problem. With this, we have even successfully done swinging jaegers for "fun."

All of my gymnasts can do giants using the regular (men's) method for circling with minimal or no spot.

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Im not sure where to go from here... I want to spot them to keep them safe, but Im not sure if Im over thinking, or if Im just missing something and Im hesitant because Im inadvertantly skipping a progression. I can see them driving so hard with an arch that they lose pressure on their hands and peel off or flip into the bar..

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Any other progressions suggested would be, as well. There is a lot of power here, and I feel it can go out of control if not trained properly.

Thanks for any input!

Ryan

 

[CalEliteCoach]

If you and the head coach believe the whip tap technique is sound, double hand spot the front giant. Is the purpose of the whip technique to push for Jaeger and/or double front dismount? If not, stick with the traditional technique. As for lack of pressure on the bar, check to see that the head is between the arms. Have your gymnasts look down the arm instead of looking over the bar.

I have 2 athletes right now who also have a traditional giant technique and are trying for piked Jaeger. We spent tons of time in straps with the whip tap and are now on to spotting Jaegers in the belt. They do not have a full whip tap giant.

 

[JBS]

Just double spot. If they already have front giants...you shouldn't have that much of a problem.

Seems to me like the whip tap is the way to go for girls. I believe it was Tom Forster (or maybe Resnick) that was really promoting that technique at congress this year. It seems to be much preferred for pirouetting skills. It seems there is a push for the whip technique to help increase "D" value.

Dunno???...help out here...what's the deal with the two different techniques? What have you found?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

some kids just can't learn/do the whip tap. while very few do. front giants on a whole are more difficult for the girls due to their hand size and the low bar. you typically only see it (whip) at the elite level. most are anthropometrically short in their body part measurements (chinese gymnasts) yet even a couple of them perform the straddle pike press to hand technique.

the best technique for jaegers IS the whip tap. but jeagers from a whip tap are much easier on a large scale compared to taking that swing further and up to a handstand.

khorkina's and markelov's are for another discussion.

 

[ryantroop]

Sorry to take so long on responding...

Yes, it's for both Jaegers and for turning front giants.

I teach this method for men's highbar on jaegers, so I don't really know why Im so hesitant with the girls... I agree the double spot may be the way to go, but with how our gym is set up and the time restraints, I may have to belt it up or just go slower than usual to make sure Im comfortable. For me, I just see one major mistake being that they whipe and bend their arms - basically pulling them over the top of the bar, or peeling off entirely and whipping backwards.

For the record, Dunno, in this case, I wish I had a pit

Thanks for the replies...

Ryan