Parents Hardest Skill To Acquire

[For Flip Sake]

I thought it would be a fun discussion so here goes…

What has been the hardest skill for your gymnast to acquire or “get” so far? I don’t mean the most difficult skill necessarily, but the one that took your gymnast the longest to get. Include your gymnast’s level in the comment.

Curious to see all the different responses!

My Xcel Silver struggled for months to consistently do her ROBHS, and she’s still working hard at her kip

 

[skschlag]

I've always thought that the hardest skill to get is the next one. Whatever that is lol. I think it was BHS, then circles on mushroom, then kip, then giants (on 3 events), then fulls, then release moves, then flops. It just always seems to be "the next one" lol.

 

[Coach Kate]

I was the first one with a kip, cast hand stand, most of the beam skills, but the round off backhandspring, and later, front handspring front tuck, took me forever!

 

[For Flip Sake]

I was the first one with a kip, cast hand stand, most of the beam skills, but the round off backhandspring, and later, front handspring front tuck, took me forever!

My daughter got her cartwheel on beam and front tuck so easily! But that robhs really got her lol

 

[JessSyd]

Cast handstand was the years-long skill for my kid. She had to compete her first level seven year without it, using the clearhip to handstand as her element through handstand.

 

[JessSyd]

This is fun….MAG and WAG gymnasts talking about the hardest skill to learn at the recent world championships. Lots of DTY’s, but also lots of kips.

 

[RTT2]

This is fun….MAG and WAG gymnasts talking about the hardest skill to learn at the recent world championships. Lots of DTY’s, but also lots of kips.

That was fun to watch! So, the kip is called an upstart in some countries?

 

[DTAG]

My son said backoff on pbars. That skill keeps coming and going for him, and first meet is next weekend where he needs to do it as it is his required dismount. He's just scared of it because you can't see the bar or the floor.

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

That was fun to watch! So, the kip is called an upstart in some countries?

Yeah! I think in the UK. Definitely in India.

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

I'm honestly not sure, its probably a kip or ROBHS. Not sure about BHS - I wasn't able to consistently work on it because of back injuries and ankle injuries. So I wonder how long it wouldve taken without them. I'm level 4, and lost my ROBHSBHS in the middle of season. Working on it again. But i keep getting my ankle twisted, which restricts progress..

 

[GymnastMomX2]

My level 8 daughter just said her bhs on beam.

I’ll throw out there a double back, if she ever gets it gets it will be the longest. I think she started worked drills for it 2-3 years ago as a level 4, and now is at the point of doing it off of a rod floor or air track to a mat in the pit.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

The level 2 vault. lol. It's the only skill that she ever needed a private for. It took a long while to click.

She's a level 10 now and in general floor is the hardest for her. She's been working on a competition ready double back on floor for a while and won't have it this season. And I think her rudi will be ready for season, but it hasn't been easy for her. I think part of the problem with floor for her is she has hurt (broke and/or sprained) her same ankle 3 times in the past couple of years and I think she's worried about landing wrong and hurting it again.

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

My level 8 daughter just said her bhs on beam.

I’ll throw out there a double back, if she ever gets it gets it will be the longest. I think she started worked drills for it 2-3 years ago as a level 4, and now is at the point of doing it off of a rod floor or air track to a mat in the pit.

Drills for double backs as a level 4 sounds like a lot

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

I think part of the problem with floor for her is she has hurt (broke and/or sprained) her same ankle 3 times in the past couple of years and I think she's worried about landing wrong and hurting it again.

And then there's me, a level 4 (but had been training some higher level skills at old gym) who has sprained/twisted both ankles 3-5 times....

 

[raenndrops]

For OG, getting her back tuck and flyaway for the second time after an 18-month mental block that completely stopped her progress on both. She did eventually get the back tuck again, but never got the flyaway back. She retired when she was up to drills for the flyaway.

For YG, the squat on and the "mill circle". In all of her years in gymnastics, she had her squat on for less than a week between seasons. She had "started" a growth spurt and was able to do them for 2 whole practices. Over the weekend, she "finished" the growth spurt and couldn't do the squat on anymore. She has worked on it since then, but it never came back fully. In 3 years at Old L4/then L3, she only got credit for the mill circle ONCE ... then she had the fall back out of it, lol.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Drills for double backs as a level 4 sounds like a lot

All our level 4s work doubles into the pit. Off air track or off a mini tramp, and on tramp with a spot. ‍

 

[Janneke]

My level 3 (but in a different country) said round off back hand spring. She got it for the first time tonight! It probably looked awful, but considering they have only been practising it for just over two months I would say it is not too bad. She also managed to do her first "real" kip tonight apparently

 

[GymnastPotterhead]

All our level 4s work doubles into the pit. Off air track or off a mini tramp, and on tramp with a spot. ‍

They probably already have level 5 floor sorted then? What about other events? Do they train higher?

 

[NutterButter]

I asked my DD. I thought she'd say her giant but she said it was her back 1.5 punch front.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

6th year level 10 and future college gymnast still doesn't have a single bar release. She's tried multiple different ones but nothing seems to click for her. Luckily she still has a 10 1 start value on bars even without a release.