- Nov 16, 2012
- 914
- 1,792
I'm curious about this topic because it seems to be the trend here in Finland to do a lots of strap bar work but I hear very little about other countries gymnasts using them. I've been wondering if there's a reason why not to use straps bars?
We pretty much teach all the fundamentals on straps first and then move to real bar. The kip is a good example: our kids start working on high strap bar kips usually two or three years before they need that skill on real bar in a routine. Usually kids get their strap bar kips in about a 3-6 months and after getting it on straps it usually takes a few months to get it on a real bar. None of our kids learn low bar kips before straps and usually it's easy to move to the real bar after getting it on straps. Usually kids also get very, very excited when they get the kip for the first time and that also helps them to get their "real" kips because it's easier to imagine yourself doing a kip on low bar if you KNOW you are able to do the kipping action.
Of course our kids work on glides and spotted drop kips at the same time with strap kips but focus is on straps. Even the first competitive bar routine is done on strap bar. The kids usually spend 15 minutes of bar rotation on straps and other 15 minutes on real bars.
How do you think about this? Do you love strap bars or not? We use gloves and no pipe so it's easier for them to learn to shift the wrists.
We pretty much teach all the fundamentals on straps first and then move to real bar. The kip is a good example: our kids start working on high strap bar kips usually two or three years before they need that skill on real bar in a routine. Usually kids get their strap bar kips in about a 3-6 months and after getting it on straps it usually takes a few months to get it on a real bar. None of our kids learn low bar kips before straps and usually it's easy to move to the real bar after getting it on straps. Usually kids also get very, very excited when they get the kip for the first time and that also helps them to get their "real" kips because it's easier to imagine yourself doing a kip on low bar if you KNOW you are able to do the kipping action.
Of course our kids work on glides and spotted drop kips at the same time with strap kips but focus is on straps. Even the first competitive bar routine is done on strap bar. The kids usually spend 15 minutes of bar rotation on straps and other 15 minutes on real bars.
How do you think about this? Do you love strap bars or not? We use gloves and no pipe so it's easier for them to learn to shift the wrists.