Gymnastics Drills on Rings, High-Bar and Rope

[joebro391]

so yea, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpzmZFw2VVQ

Bubka's: um...let me know, i just think i shoulda done more "swing-bubka's"

Whip-Swing's: i didn't get any pre-stretch in my shoulders and chest and i don't think i ever fully realised how much i kick like a girl )= haha

Rope drills: i'm happy with them. i coulda have dropped my shoulders a bit further, but that's about it on those.

Swing to Bubka's on Rings: um...i like them. not AS good as 'amy" but i don't see anything too wrong with them.

So yea, that's how i feel. But i could be wrong. let me know. -6P

PS: i remember that i said i kept hitting my shin when doing bubka's and i figured you why. it was all in my hand-grip. i had both arms, as if i was going to be doing a pull-up. i then realized that one palm must be facing you, and the other, away from you. {shrugs} who knew it could be such a simple glitch.

[KirkB]

6P, first, excellent work in getting into the gym and taking these vids. Watching yourself on vid will help you improve your technique. Guaranteed.

Remember to date and save your vids so that you can refer back to them, to see your progression.

Now I'm going to play the role of a hard-nosed coach ...

6P, if you swung your trail leg at the same speed in your vault as you swung it in the gym (almost every trick, not just a certain one), then you wouldn't clear 10 feet.

Go back and read my original request for what you need to do. The key is SPEED.

If you want to talk thru this, then I'll be happy to reply to any questions you have about HOW to do this. But I'm not going to hand it to you on a silver platter. That would take away the fun and impact of SELF-DISCOVERY.

Oh, BTW (back to the pat on the back stuff), I wouldn't consider your standing back somi to be just "For Fun". You demonstrated excellent athletic ability there, and that trick alone proves to me that you "have what it takes".

You have the gymnastic ability to vastly improve your rings and highbar tricks, which in turn will vastly improve your vaulting technique. Go for it!

Good luck!

BG Sr.

[KirkB]

You should also be titling your vid reviews on this forum with something that identifies you. "6P" will suffice. That will make it easy for us to find all your various vids and understand their chronology. i.e. Instead of "Gymnastics Drills on Rings, High-Bar and Rope", call it "6P 2008-10-17 Gymnastics Drills on Rings, High-Bar and Rope" - or something like that. Ditto on your titling within your vids.

[joebro391]

i told you, i kick like a girl {pouts} hahaha

any ideas on how to increase that speed??? i was honestly, just considering, going to the field one day and kicking a soccer ball around with my left leg. what do you think about that idea??? any other ideas????

[powerplant42]

I'm going to give this 'piece' of coaching a try. KB is most likely ten times as good, but I've got some things I'd like to add. I will try to play along with the idea of 'self-discovery', as I have done so before (with varying levels of success... but you seem to be very ambitious, and 14' should not be you PR for very long).

(KB - Tell me where I'm wrong. Just do it, don't wrap it up nice or anything, just play 'hard nosed coach' again. )

6P - Here's my advice on how to swing on the high bar and rings faster:
Firstly, do it more. That's an obvious one.
Secondly, watch John Horton ( the 'Guy from USA doing highbar'). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDbCL4V3ON8 Pay particular attention to his swing just before his dismount. What can you tell that is different (a RELEVANT difference)? (You could help me out with explaining this one a little bit KB, because I know that I will have trouble putting this idea into words... I know that you know what I'm talking about.)
Thirdly, why not try kicking the soccer ball while ON the high bar? I've often thought of that as as a potentially excellent excercise!
Fourthly, keep a training log!

Oh, and I forgot to mention: You don't need to use a mixed grip to do Bubkas. That is not the issue, it is a matter of abdominal strength/overall body stability and control. Perhaps you have developed since the last time you attempted a Bubka? Or maybe, for whatever reason, you just did them with a better sense of purpose. I don't know. They looked pretty good though. Also try them without swinging up for an added strength challenge. Just let your hips slide back down, then drive (shoot) them back up!

[joebro391]

thanks PP, i'll take a look at the vid, right now. I will deffinately bring some type of ball, next time i go to the gym to coach/train.

and I think you're right, i might like Kirk as the 'hard nosed coach' too. makes him rugged, in a way hahaha. But hopefully he won't start telling me that i'm getting caught in a grinder, anytime soon HAHAHAHAHAHA

[KirkB]

... going to the field one day and kicking a soccer ball around with my left leg. what do you think about that idea??? ...

That's an excellent idea. Are you naturally right-footed or left-footed? How far can you kick a soccer ball with either foot?

A football on a tee is slightly better, but a soccer ball will suffice. In either case, you should be striking the ball with your instep - not your toes. Take some measurements of how far the ball goes with either foot. You can either measure how far in the air it goes, or how far it rolls to. Unless you have a spotter, measuring the roll of a soccer ball is easier. With a football, it needs to be air-distance only, since the roll depends on the luck of the bounce. You might want to test yourself on this on a regular basis (bi-weekly or monthly) to observe your improvement.

Do you play soccer regularly? I did, and I had a much more powerful kick with my right foot than my left. That's part of the reason why I switched from right-handed vaulting to left-handed.

One problem I had kicking the soccer ball though - and don't laugh - is that I had size 12 soccer cleats, so if I kicked directly under the ball, my toes would hit the turf, which was very hard on my ankles. And if I raised up on the toes of my left foot more, so that I would strike the ball a little higher (to clear the turf with my right toes), then I would be striking above the center of the ball. So that technique wasn't very optimal at all.

I settled on always swinging my leg at an angle, catching the middle of the ball with the middle of my instep. This worked just fine while playing soccer, but did not simulate the PV trail leg swing nearly as well.

My description above is just how I played soccer. I did not do extra drills with a soccer ball to improve my trail leg swing. The reason was as above, but also because I played soccer from about ages 8 to 18 - on the school team in Jr. High, and on club teams the entire time. For the last 2 years (ages 17-18) I played on my dad's team. There was also one other father-son duo on our team. It was a Sr. B men's league.

Kirk

[KirkB]

... watch John Horton ... Pay particular attention to his swing just before his dismount. What can you tell that is different (a RELEVANT difference)? (You could help me out with explaining this one a little bit KB ...

6P, just google "tap swing" (include the double-quotes in the search box) and read pages that refer to it specifically in the gymnastics sense.

You can also search PVP for "tap swing". However, that search function ignores the quotes, so you'll get a lot of extra "junk" that you'll have to filter thru manually. Just look for instances of the two words together.

You're going to find more pages that you really need to get an understanding of what it means. Just read enough to understand the definition, then take another look at Horton's vid to answer PP's question. Reading too much about "tap swing" is overkill. You just need to understand what it is, then watch it, and then try it - instead of studying it to death. SELF-DISCOVERY!

... why not try kicking the soccer ball while ON the high bar? I've often thought of that as as a potentially excellent excercise!

Yes, that's a good one too - even better than on a field. You won't be able to measure the distance that you kicked the ball, but it certainly gives you the right swinging motion.

I'd use a tether ball, if you have one handy.

But a pool noodle would be even easier to use. All you need is a target to kick at. It doesn't need to be a ball.

For an alternative to the pool noodle, search for "Bryde Jump Drill" and use the "soft pole" as described in point #9. It's handy for lots of other drills too.

Kirk

[powerplant42]

I like the pool noodle idea.

6P, also try the long swing drill (it's in my 'database' thread). Actually, you should just buy BTB2 if you haven't done so yet, it's described a little bit in there as well. (Although, not quite as well as I describe it in my thread... I had to ask Coach Launder for some clearer description on exactly what was supposed to happen. But if you haven't bought the book, you have 1 week to put the order in or I will stop commenting on your videos... How's that for incentive? )

[Cooleo111]

i was honestly, just considering, going to the field one day and kicking a soccer ball around with my left leg. what do you think about that idea???

Practice makes perfect. I injured my right foot when I was younger and for a long time could only kick with my left. Best thing that ever happened for my soccer/vaulting career.

[joebro391]

TO KIRK: i kick a lot better with my right leg than left, but that's just the way it has been conditioned. i'm certain that if i work a bit on kicking with the left leg, that it'll pick up rather quickly. i'll start working on a bunch of kicking drills right away

TO PowerPlant: GRRRR, i have the DVD, if that counts haha. i watch it all the time. i would have bought the book when i met alan, but i no have the cach )= (apparently, coaching doesn't pay so well haha)

[VaultPurple]

I think the problme with ur swing is ur concentrating so much on keeping a long trail leg, you are locking it out at the start. You bend it up at the back but accelerate the extention behind you. I think that if you kept your knee looser and kicked more at the bottom of ur swing it would go faster.

Kind of in the perspective it looks like you are kicking a ball that is placed behind ur body instead of right under you or slightly in front.