WAG Kips,grips,and rips....OH MY!!!!

[Hayleigh]

At my gym, we get palm grips whenever our coaches feel necessary (normally when squat on jump to catch starts). But we only get dowel grips when we are doing upstarts (kips) consistently, and even then only if the gymnast wants them.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

At my gym, we get palm grips whenever our coaches feel necessary (normally when squat on jump to catch starts). But we only get dowel grips when we are doing upstarts (kips) consistently, and even then only if the gymnast wants them.

Same here Hayleigh - must be a Brit thing, Pink & Fluffy got palm grips as soon as she was competing (age 7) and dowels when she was 8

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Ok, I'll bite. Why wouldn't a coach or club allow grips anytime a gymnast wanted them? (and yes, dowels would be another story)

=

I am sure people have different reasons, here are mine.

First is grip strength/hand strength. I like for the kids to spend a few years developing hand strength, as opposed to just putting grips on. Advantage
Second is, I want the kids to actually be able to swing with rips and never think twice about it. I have seen and had kids in the past get a rip the night before a meet or worse yet during warmups and completely shut down. Currently (past decade) my kids don't even think about a rip when working out or competing. big advantage.
Third, getting a feel for the bar and learning to swing and execute tricks without the use of grips makes kids less dependent on grips and gives them a better understanding of the mechanics of swinging/ shifting etc... another big Advantage
Fourth, putting grips on a child too early in my opinion and in my experience can lead to injury. These kids have no idea how to swing on the bar and now they have a piece of leather in the way. Safety
Lastly and most important is peel factor, when you take into consideration that the four examples I gave you can actually cause a peel then you can conclude that a lower peel ratio is the result of spending at least a couple years with bare hands. This is the biggest advantage of all because a safe kid is a healthy kid.
Conclusion, the pain of a rip is worth a lower peel ratio and a well rounded swinger.

 

[Ari97]

I use tape grips and I barely ever get rips since I started using them !

 

[teksquad]

We don't have a fixed policy. We have noticed that the older, taller girls, and those with bigger hands, and those with moister hands tend to rip more easily. They get their grips sooner. My daughter is one of these, and got her grips before she had her kips consistently. However, her first few months with grips were miserable. The rips were even worse, and for a very long time, she wore tape grips under her real grips. Now her hands are accustomed to the grips alone. She told me awhile ago, after doing a quick skill demo without grips, that she is really glad to have them!

 

[gymmiemom]

Our gym typically has the girls get them when they start training kips. My DD got grips at the beginning of this last summer when she started training kips every day. But she HATED them. So then we tried a different brand (ginnasta) and she like those better. But she still didn't love them. So her coach relented and let her train without them. She finally got her kip just about 2 weeks ago (yay!) and her coach told her that as soon as this season was over she was going to have to start using them, when training for L4 and L5 goes into full swing. Fingers crossed she can get used to them without too much trouble. She's only 7 so her hands are so tiny + she has sensory issues so anything new or that "feels funny" takes her a long time to get used to.

 

[Becauseisaid]

I'm not sure I understand our HC's thoughts on grips. It is not a "get kip, get grip" rule. Instead he says that he uses the gymnast's weight as the deciding factor. I was told that my daughter (50lbs soaking wet) will be many years before she needs grips. I would think rotation - so working on rotation skills - would be when you would need grips.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I'm not sure I understand our HC's thoughts on grips. It is not a "get kip, get grip" rule. Instead he says that he uses the gymnast's weight as the deciding factor. I was told that my daughter (50lbs soaking wet) will be many years before she needs grips. I would think rotation - so working on rotation skills - would be when you would need grips.

==
size and weight are a common factor. Some coaches abide by it some have other criteria. The bottom line is, no one really needs grips. There are plenty of world class bar swingers who have never worn a grip.

 

[Becauseisaid]

==
size and weight are a common factor.

Do you know the science behind using size and weight as a determining factor?

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Do you know the science behind using size and weight as a determining factor?

=
I understand the concept and argument, but that is not what we practice. I have my own criteria and beliefs.

 

[gothgymmom]

I dont believe there is a rule at my gym. The comp teams starting at level 2 have grips and train with them regularly. Not too many rips come out of it either. My daughter in her 2 years competing has only had maybe 1 or 2 rips. Now, somehow, one day a few weeks back, she got a rip on her foot from the bar......not sure how but she did.

 

[stxrdusty]

Getting grips at my gym depends on when we get to optionals and when our hands can actually fit into grips. We have two little level 7s that do giants without grips because their hands are too little to fit into them haha.

I got mine in old level 6 (I was 12 at the time), but my old gym didn't really have a policy or grips. If anything, they tried to get us into them as early as possible. I agree the kipping rule makes sense. Grips don't prevent rips though. Tape grips are good for covering rips.

 

[mOm2gymnast<3]

Same at our gym. NO KIPS= NO GRIPS. Coach said she wants the girls to get used to the callus and she wants the girls to actually feel the bars.

 

[mariposa]

Prevention is important, too. My daughter has been in grips since she was 8 year old L5, but didn't use them consistently until the next year when she found the right grips for her. She still gets rips at 11/level 7.

I've found when she takes care of her hands, she rips less, way less. When her hands are really sore from a lot of bars, she soaks them in warm salt water, then puts lotion on. And at the end of her shower, she uses a pumice stone to scrub away the thick build up of callus. Keeping her hands moisturized outside of gym seems to help. When they are really bad, we use a thick creme lotion or ointment, something like bag balm or Balmex hand lotion and she sleeps with cheap gloves that we've cut the fingers off of.

 

[dynamicduo]

I have twin level 5s and dd1 wears grips and dd2 doesn't! The rest of the team wears them, but HC doesn't want dd2 to wear hers yet because she is a very good bar worker without them and she is just starting to swing giants on the regular bars! I think she likes the extra 3-5min she has to practice on the bars alone while everyone else is putting on their grips!! haha Also, no one below level 5 wears grips at our gym!

 

[Gymsanity]

I have twin level 5s and dd1 wears grips and dd2 doesn't! The rest of the team wears them, but HC doesn't want dd2 to wear hers yet because she is a very good bar worker without them and she is just starting to swing giants on the regular bars! I think she likes the extra 3-5min she has to practice on the bars alone while everyone else is putting on their grips!! haha Also, no one below level 5 wears grips at our gym!

Wow, followed your link! Looks like your daughter is getting great coaching and doing a terrific job! She is going to have one mean set of giants! I better keep cracking the whip on my girls!

 

[GYM0M]

DD is an 8 yr old level 5. She was 'approved' for grips over a year ago and we bought them & she has yet to wear them. Coach says her hands are still too small. . I promise she has hands the size of a toddler. Well, in all actuality, she's not much bigger than a toddler anywhere. She just had a birthday and she received several outfits size 6-6x and they are all too big! She's been wearing them but it resembles a child playing dress up!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

=

I am sure people have different reasons, here are mine.

First is grip strength/hand strength. I like for the kids to spend a few years developing hand strength, as opposed to just putting grips on. Advantage
Second is, I want the kids to actually be able to swing with rips and never think twice about it. I have seen and had kids in the past get a rip the night before a meet or worse yet during warmups and completely shut down. Currently (past decade) my kids don't even think about a rip when working out or competing. big advantage.
Third, getting a feel for the bar and learning to swing and execute tricks without the use of grips makes kids less dependent on grips and gives them a better understanding of the mechanics of swinging/ shifting etc... another big Advantage
Fourth, putting grips on a child too early in my opinion and in my experience can lead to injury. These kids have no idea how to swing on the bar and now they have a piece of leather in the way. Safety
Lastly and most important is peel factor, when you take into consideration that the four examples I gave you can actually cause a peel then you can conclude that a lower peel ratio is the result of spending at least a couple years with bare hands. This is the biggest advantage of all because a safe kid is a healthy kid.
Conclusion, the pain of a rip is worth a lower peel ratio and a well rounded swinger.

This is a better, more eloquent explanation of how our gym/coaches see it. I'm glad to see you post this as I was starting to wonder since so many got them early! Thank you!!