WAG Glide Kip Diagnosis Needed

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carriebc

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Hi,

I was wondering is someone could look at a video of dd's glide kip. She can do one with bent arms but isn't allowed to compete a kip until arms are straight so she's stuck in this limbo land of not having a bar routine until the last minute when it's decided she isn't going to have her kip good enough for the meet then she does a different routine she hasn't practiced much. She's little and doesn't feel confident with this. It's also causing tension with her coach, who has said he's overwhelmed and a private lesson is not an option as he doesn't have time.

Her gym, which I do love, isn't doing drills on bars at this time, sadly, just kip after kip after kip. Very few spotted kips with a few spotted drop kips here and there. My goal is to pinpoint where she's off and do simple, safe, drills at home. Preferably without a bar, but we can keep it (borrowed bar) for a few months if needed.

Videos: (she put the spring board this far away and said it was how it was at gym but it seems further than it should be?).
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Big caveat: We are borrowing this bar, I have coached as a teenager, but only pre-team type stuff. I was an optional gymnast. I break this thing down and she doesn't even touch it without me. It will be going back asap after we do some drills.
 
The gym may have a reason for having the board back that far. Don't change what she is being asked to do by her coaches.

As for the kip, she's not shifting her hands and she's looking up, kind of tipping her head back at the end.

This video breaks it down nicely, esp the stop motion section.

I believ the point where I am saying she should shift her hands is where the narrator says to pull down on the bar.

At the point that this girls hands have shifted on top of the bar, she is looking forward, your dd's hands are still down and she is looking up.

This video is interesting too.
 
Definitely seeing a lack of wrist shifting. Front support can't happen without your hands being on top of the bar. Also looks like she is throwing her head back. (Same stuff previous poster said. )
One drill would be to put her feet on something below and slightly on the other side of the bar and simply push off her feet and pull to front support with straight arms. Working the wrist shift. I'm not sure how to explain this drill better!!

Also working on her glides with her head slightly through her arms instead of behind. Keep the head tucked in.
 
There are a few issues, although she is very close!
  1. At the end of the glide, she is bringing her shins to the bar. Instead, she should bring her ankles/feet to the bar. Getting this tight compression will allow her to keep her shoulders open at the bottom of the back swing, and is important for the timing and flow of the pull that comes after.
  2. In addition, and as other posters have mentioned, she is not using an effective head position. There should be no tilting of the head forward or backward, as it can change the shape of the body slightly. A backward tilt of the head doesn't allow her to use her eyes to see what's going on! Her head should be neutral at all times.
  3. There are very slight timing problems. I think if she started the pulling motion a tad bit later, like when she is directly underneath the bar, and then pulled faster and more aggressively at that moment, it would greatly facilitate her finishing the kip.
As other posters have mentioned, there needs to be a wrist shift as she rises up. However, this is not possible unless the other problems are fixed first, since a wrist shift is useless if the body's center of mass isn't going to end up above the hands anyway. I suppose she could shift her wrists, but it wouldn't make a difference since she isn't getting up to support anyway.

She is very close though!!! Are you one of her coaches?
 
@Aero Thank you! No, not her coach, thank goodness, just mom. If she's desperate enough she will come to me/listen to me, tho. I'll ask her if her coach has mentioned the other issues. I know he gets on to her about throwing her head back. So many kids work bars with chin tucked, so is neural ok, better?
 
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@Aero Thank you! No, not her coach, thank goodness, just mom. If she's desperate enough she will come to me/listen to me, tho. I'll ask her if her coach has mentioned the other issues. I know he gets on to her about throwing her head back. So many kids work bars with chin tucked, so is neural ok, better?
Do not coach your kid. I mean that in the kindest way. :)
 
Do not coach your kid. I mean that in the kindest way. :)
I agree with coachp!

I thought you were one of her coaches, and that is why I shared my thoughts on the skill. That being said, everything I said is WRONG and only her coach knows how to truly fix it! Do not listen to anything I have to say! :p

In all seriousness though, maybe have her read what I typed, instead of you telling her how to fix it. Sometimes a kid can really benefit from another explanation. I do think you shouldn't say a word about it, though. Her coaches will fix it and she will get it very soon!

And yes, neutral head always in everything.
 
Yes, definitely agree on not coaching! I will facilitate only when she comes to me, however, and this is only the second time I have "crossed the line", the other being her leap pass last year. I'm ok with stepping in when she's determined enough and desperate enough to listen to me, lol. She's just 7, so as long as I'm cognizant, I can work a bit with her. For the most part gym stays at gym! As it should be :).

And I do communicate with her coaches on exactly what she works on gym related at home. This exercise was intended to get eyes on this, coach is Russian, total sweetheart, dd loves him, I love him, but bless, he has a hard time with English, so just need to get pinpointed to get a drill going, the responses have been very helpful!!
 
Work wrist shifts. Even just holding something similar to a bar with a rounded, hollow back and shifting the wrists might give her some idea of the feeling. Keep her head tucked in.

Pull the springboard in, or at least that is my opinion. I've seen many girls (myself being one) make tremendous changes in straight arm kips by pulling the springboard/mat in. Listen to her coaches, they will know best.

Maybe talk to the coaches? Get an opinion from them? And extra conditioning never hurts :)
 
I know parent coaching is a big "no no" but those videos do help me understand what dd is doing wrong. Sigh. The kip=biggest test of patience.
 

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