Parents Is your kid a leftie or a rightie?

[duyetanh]

Unbeknownst to me until last year, there are lefties and eighties in gymnastics. Almost all the girls at dd's gyms are righties. HC was a rightie also. Just wondering if you all know, and if there are a higher percentage of one over the other out there....

 

[htimcj]

Mostly a righty but does random skills on the "wrong" leg. Shoot through in old level 3 was with the left leg, everything else on bars was on the right. And apparently her switch leap is done on the the "wrong" leg.

 

[AGymDad]

Dd1 (the gymnast) is left handed, but right footed (jumps with right leg) so she tumbles the "right" way.
I'm right handed, but left footed (I used to do high jumps competitions in school, and always did this at the side with the lefties). Dd2 is also right handed and also seems to prefer to jump with left leg.

I read a study some time ago that most people that are right handed are also right footed, and left handed are mostly left footed. Right handed/left footed people are also quite common, but the left handed/right footed combination is quite rare (could be due to statistics. If only 10% is left handed, the combination with right foot is automatically rare).

No idea if it has any advantage or disadvantage in gymnastics. If you are left footed, you tumble the different way, so that difference is clear. But what if you are a left/right or right/left combination? Any advantages disadvantages? (Eg with a one handed cartwheel, you always use the weak arm)

 

[Amusibus]

I started a thread about this subject a while back too, got a gazillion replies and even got Dunno to spill a bunch of info on gymnastic theory stuff. (You still around, Dunno?)

Anyway...in answer to your question, my daughter writes with her right hand, and in gym her natural "best" cartwheel is righty. BUT her gym insists on making her a lefty gymnast. This seems to work out fine for the majority of kids, but for mine, not so much. This will be her third year on team and though her lefty roundoff/cartwheel has come a looooong way, to this day her righty round off is still far stronger, straighter, and more powerful. When she plays gymnastics outside of the gym she always cartwheels to the right. After Dunno explained the rationale behind this thinking, I do understand it, but somehow my child's body/brain is just so resistant to totally switching over. She is doing "ok" in competitions, but I think she'd do much better if they would just let her do the side she is naturally strong at. I have talked to them about it, and they are completely stubborn and resistant and won't hear anything else. Sigh...

 

[AGymDad]

When she plays gymnastics outside of the gym she always cartwheels to the right. After Dunno explained the rationale behind this thinking, I do understand it, but somehow my child's body/brain is just so resistant to totally switching over. She is doing "ok" in competitions, but I think she'd do much better if they would just let her do the side she is naturally strong at. I have talked to them about it, and they are completely stubborn and resistant and won't hear anything else. Sigh...

What do you mean with a carthwheel to the right? The most common side is right foot first, then right hand (face to the left), then left hand and left foot, which is the cartwheel for right footed people. There is a connection between right/left handness, but a right handed person can be left-footed.
I don't understand why a gym would try to change the "natural side". Even worse is that they would even change that to the side which is unnatural for most people.
You can train on the "other side", but as you said, it will never be as good as the natural side.

 

[raenndrops]

I read a study some time ago that most people that are right handed are also right footed, and left handed are mostly left footed. Right handed/left footed people are also quite common, but the left handed/right footed combination is quite rare (could be due to statistics. If only 10% is left handed, the combination with right foot is automatically rare).
Any advantages disadvantages? (Eg with a one handed cartwheel, you always use the weak arm)

I am left dominant in life (ambidextrous, but everything from writing to throwing a ball and batting look better lefty - even though I am equally proficient both ways).
In the gym, I am a righty. Right hand down first, right leg splits... but my one handed cartwheel is righty - with my "back" arm (left hand down on a right side cartwheel). It's the only way I could ever do it... kinda had to fake myself out and pull the right hand back before it hit the ground, but after I had started the cartwheel motion.
Not sure if there are any advantages or disadvantages for me

 

[flp07]

My daughter is a righty in everything except when it comes to gymnastics where she is a lefty. When she was 3 and started gymnastics the coaches saw her lefty cartwheel was way better than her right.

 

[cbifoja]

A rightie I believe. I know that she still struggles with right versus left and if I tell her something is one right of the bookshelf, she instantly goes into her "cartwheel lunge". I guess she knows what direction she is and uses it to help her remember her right from left.

Teaching her to drive should be interesting........

 

[profmom]

Both my gymnasts are right handed, but one rounds off right hand first and the other left hand first. I know also from soccer that a good left foot is somewhat more uncommon than a good right. In terms of true left dominance (doing routines in reverse, pirouetting/circling in the other direction), these kids look to be more uncommon in my kids' gym than those with right or mixed dominance. Last year, DD had two (of eleven) teammates who did reversed floor routines and DS had two (also of eleven) teammates who did mushroom circles the other way. I assume that these four kids are all lefty in other things as well, but I haven't asked! It's entirely possible that one or more of my kids is mixed dominance, as they have two lefty grandmothers.

 

[amiandjim]

DD is a right or but has quite a few lefties in her training group. Back in my day (a LONG time ago), I was a rightie in everything except cartwheels/Round-off/Aerials....this messed up one of our compulsory beam routines because I had to go straight from some dance move into a cartwheel/handstand hold and I had to use my right foot! It caused much anxiety/arguing with coach!

 

[Pea'sMom]

Pea's a lefty, in life, in roundoffs, and in twisting.

I do remembering being told by someone is did their Theseus work on lefties that there are degree's of left handedness. Pea is closer to a total lefty as she does everything with her left hand, eat, throw, kick, etc. Pea's little brother is a lefty too but kicks with both feet in soccer, breaths on both sides swimming, throws and eats righty. So he has less of a lefty than Pea.

 

[Amusibus]

AGymDad, when I say righty cartwheel I mean lunge with right foot forward and right hand down first.

The rationale behind switching has to do with saving the naturally dominant side for the more difficult, higher level tricks, specifically twisting. The premise is that if I am right handed, it will be easier for me to twist towards the right. It's complicated to explain, but I'll try.

When you do a roundoff there is a twist/rotation built into it. The direction of twist in a right roundoff is to the left. When a kid starts connecting back flippy twisting kind of things straight out of their roundoff/cartwheel (as they might do on beam, for example) is is important that the direction of twist of their round off is the same as the direction of twist of their back flippy thing- meaning you can't start twisting in one direction the suddenly switch to the other direction midway through the pass.

This is how Dunno explained it to me. If you want I can try and dig out a link to that old thread (from 2013 I think?).

Like I said, I totally understand this explanation...it just isn't working out for my daughter.

 

[Amusibus]

There, I found it. Title is "Lefty Gymnast?" in forum Women's artistic gymnastics from date December 21, 2012. There is some really good stuff in there from Dunno, definitely worth the read if this topic is interesting for you.


http://www.chalkbucket.com/forums/threads/leftie-gymnast.39252/

 

[suebee]

I find this topic fascinating!

I'm confused by the posts above, though. If you start a cartwheel or roundoff with your left foot, does that make you left footed or right footed? (Someone above seemed to indicate that it makes you right footed - meaning that is your stronger foot/leg?)

I am a righty but am a lefty for gymnastics - left leg split is much better, do cartwheels, roundoffs, etc with left foot down first. I never got to twisting in gymnastics but am sure I would twist left. I cannot even turn to the right as it feels extremely unnatural for me. I kick a soccer ball with my right foot though, can balance on my left foot extremely well but very poorly on my right foot alone, and skateboard, snowboard, and scooter with my left leg in front. I also used to swim competitively and started off the blocks with my left leg in front.

I always figured that my right foot/leg was stronger, and given I am right handed, I thought that made sense. But when I was a kid doing gymnastics, I was in the huge minority, starting with my left foot.

My dd also writes with her right hand and is a lefty gymnast. But she rides a scooter with her right leg in front and pushes off with her left leg, and can't do it the other way. She can do a righty cartwheel and roundoff much better than I could ever have from my "bad" side, though, although it's not as good as her left side. Her team has slightly more righty gymnasts than lefty, but they seem fairly close to equal (maybe 60/40) whereas I distinctly remember that I was usually the only or one of 2 kids in my group who were lefty gymnasts.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Ok I read the other thread. I got the spoon and tried to stick with it. My eyes started to glaze over. My head was spinning and I think I have vestibular issues now.

So I decided the better use for the spoon was to stir the kids mac and cheese.

I am righty, never did gymnastics in an even remotely big way, but my cartwheel I lead/start with my left.

Watched some of my daughters videos. Cartwheel on the beam she leads with right foot. Cartwheel (if you could call it a that at 3 yo) she lead with right. BWO, leads with right leg. Mill circle, right leg up and over bar. Then my head started spinning again.

And this reminds me I don't watch practice.

 

[l.c.o]

DD was totally ambidextrous in everything until she was in first grade - since then, she's been a rightie 100%.

DS has always a rightie for everything... I mean to the point that, as an infant, he only fed himself with his right hand. Except gymnastics. From day 1, he's always been a left tumbler.

 

[beachgirl]

left hand, right foot

 

[MILgymFAM]

DD is a righty in life and a lefty in gymnastics.

 

[raenndrops]

A rightie I believe. I know that she still struggles with right versus left and if I tell her something is one right of the bookshelf, she instantly goes into her "cartwheel lunge". I guess she knows what direction she is and uses it to help her remember her right from left.

Teaching her to drive should be interesting........

Lol, I still use the "thumb and index finger method" for determining left and right. Hold the index finger up and thumb out and the one that makes an L is left.
For driving, directions (from the passenger seat) are "my way" and "your way" ... works for me

 

[GymMomXcel]

Leftie gymnast, Rightie otherwise