A gymnast’s
career is loaded with skills, increasing in difficulty from
the very first forward roll. Like few other sports,
gymnastics is forever demanding more from its participants.
There is always another twist to add, another flip to learn.
And the first major roadblock in most gymnasts’ career is
the KIP.
This is one of the first skills that a gymnast comes up
against that requires some real work and training. Even the
most talented gymnast will not learn a kip on her first try.
A kip requires timing, strength, and practice.
In
order to perform the skill, the gymnast must have
sufficiently strong abdominal and hip muscles. She must have a
strong “glide” swing, and the flexibility to hold her toes at
the bar, at least momentarily. She also will need strong
shoulders and triceps. Clearly, the Kip requires a lot of tools
in its performance.
When doing a kip properly, the gymnast first swings forward in a
pike or a straddle position, and lifts her toes to the bar at
the very most forward point in her swing. With toes just below
the bar, the gymnast’s body begins to swing backward. She then
pulls downward on the bar, keeping her legs in close proximity
to the bar, as her body rises upward, ending in a support
position on the bar, with the bar on her hips.
Many exercises help the gymnast as she works on
her kip. At home, hollow rocks have a direct correlation to the
kip.
SEE FLASH MOVIE AT THE RIGHT FOR
A SEQUENCE
The gymnast should lie on her back, with her back
rounded, and arms over head. Feet should be about 4 inches from
the floor, and the head and shoulders should be lifted from the
floor as well. Then, the body rocks almost exactly as the tread
of a rocking chair would rock. This is a common exercise in
gymnastics, and it strengthens a key position in many skills,
not the least of which is the kip. Pushups are a good general
exercise as well, helping the arms develop the strength to hold
the body in a support position at the end of the kip.
Many gymnasts spend time at home using two
chairs as parallel bars, and performing “dips” as well. These
exercises use major muscle groups in the arms and shoulders, by
repeatedly bending the arms, and using the body’s weight as
resistance. Dips provide the exact same strength needed to hold
the body in that final position.
In the gym, glide swings, dips, and repeated kips
with a spot are helpful. Some coaches like to have the gymnast
put her feet on a short rope hanging from the bar (similar to a
small trapeze), and have her simulate the kip motion with the
rope supporting her feet. A drill called a “drop kip” or a
“basket kip” involves repeating the same kipping motion – from a
support to a hanging position, and back to a support. There are
products available that replace the coach. (or at least the
spotting of the coach) These products support the backs of the
thighs of the gymnast, allowing her to go through the motion of
a kip with lesser strength requirements.
At Gymnastics Revolution, we have found three pieces to the
puzzle of coaching a gymnast to perform a kip. Those three
pieces are: repeated motions with a spot, repeated motion
without a spot, and consistent encouragement. In all but the
rarest of cases, a Kip takes weeks or even months to learn. As
long as the gymnast is getting stronger, we believe that the kip
will develop. So, the gymnast must be kept motivated, and
excited about working on that difficult skill. Hence, it is
important to continue to encourage her efforts.
We use ropes, and kip drills, and kip
swings, and have even created different “bungi” spotters and
bouncers to help put the gymnast through the kip motion. In the
end, there simply is no substitute for the coach. While spotting
may be tiresome for the coach, and in fact, back breaking at
times, it remains the best proven method for teaching the skill.
The coach’s responsibility as a spotter is to adjust the level
of help inversely with the gymnast’s ability to perform the
skill. No inanimate object can do this. There is no getting
around it, and there is no easy way out. Spotting is a necessity
to learning a kip.
Finally performing the kip alone also is facilitated by repeated
attempts at the skill. At Gymnastics Revolution, a gymnast may
spend a considerable amount of time repeatedly attempting a kip.
Even if she is unsuccessful after many, many attempts, we feel
that she is learning and developing the proper muscles. In the
case of the kip, continued efforts will pay off. The gymnast
needs only to be trained properly, and continue to be motivated.
Eventually, those efforts will pay off.
Tel: 203-798-8651