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first time i have seen this and just thought i would share and see what everyone thinks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy1GijcIuO4

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I like that drill. I prefer taking a run at it, then catching it, then swinging, but this drill is a good intro to that one. Both work. The main point is to try to simulate the vault however you can ... to excercise the right muscles in the right direction ... and rope drills do that.

You should also include ring drills and highbar drills in your repetoire.

Kirk

i do rope drills all the time, and rings, and high bar, and paralell bars, and uneven bars, but i've never seen a rope drill quite like this. . .

all the ones i've done have a running start and jump as high as you can on the rope, This is the first time i've see it done running while holding the rope and feeling the resistance on the shoulder

has anyone else seen this variation before?

H.I.S. wrote:i do rope drills all the time, and rings, and high bar, and paralell bars, and uneven bars, but i've never seen a rope drill quite like this. . .

all the ones i've done have a running start and jump as high as you can on the rope, This is the first time i've see it done running while holding the rope and feeling the resistance on the shoulder

has anyone else seen this variation before?

You mean jumping as high as you can to the rope? We do this in our group. I think it's really good for building the take-off. You just need to watch that you're taking off properly. It's a rope, not a pole, and you're not starting off by holding on to it so you can cheat yourself by doing all sorts of different types of take-offs when jumping to the rope. The "basketball jump" is the most common problem I think.

It also puts into mind the concept of "feeling nothing" or "jumping into nothingness" just after the take-off since you have to jump to the rope while trying to hold a take-off position like you would with a pole. Getting this mental training through is one essential key to pulling off a good pre-jump so we use it as one of our pre-jump drills. If you want to do this drill I highly recommend doing it over a mat or a foam pit. Some people get the jitters trying to jump onto a rope like this over hard ground and do all sorts of funny things. Give them confidence that they're safe doing it the way you want them to do it and they'll succeed.

Here's the drill where you take a run at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeTPgONnrV0&NR=1

This is Amy Chow. She has an incredible downswing, which makes her upswing look easy!

Here's her rings drill, where she developed her incredible downswing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn5LIiHmPlY&feature=related

Do you see the importance of learning how to swing on various apparatuses (rope, highbar, rings, pole)?

In the rope drill, Amy actually adds a second drill, where she extends to an inverted position several times. I like that drill too. To add to the fun of it ... and also to feel the sense of timing your body actions with the pole's uncoiling action ... do one extension per swing ... in each direction. You'll be adding more energy to the rope/gymnast system by doing that, which will increase the height of your pendulum action ... much like "pumping" on a swing.

BTW, don't expect to be as perfect as Amy. She's the 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the uneven bars! Becca said she's vaulted about 13-0.

Kirk