A new Men’s Artistic Gymnastics blog from Adam Paterson (Dynamo School of Gymnastics) and Lee Woolls (City of Birmingham Gymnastics Club).
The latest news, gossip from the World of Gymnastics!
Here’s a sample video tutorial from Lee. Teaching Ring swing. (using straps or — as Lee would call them — ”loops”)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (12min)
The goal is to swing to invert cross position as efficiently as possible. The kids need learn to keep the shoulders low.
See the interesting trench pit at 7min 30sec.
Great stuff. Exactly what Edouard Iarov, former Men’s National Coach of Canada, recommends. Delay the gymnasts going for handstand until they are able to keep arms relatively straight.
This site is must follow for all serious MAG coaches. Both coaches are on twitter.
6 comments ↓
Wow! That’s a really great video.
wow great video…made it look really effortless! What about those gymnasts in the lower levels just starting with swings that maybe have a few in their routines, the basic swing looks quite different when you use this technique, do you think the judges will recognise this as a progression or might they deduct if they see a body position ‘out of the ordinary’. I suppose it depends on the competition.
Very young boys can start in the traditional way. Using straps is quite an ADVANCED training modality. Wait perhaps until boys are training 3 times / week before starting drills like those.
Actually, I don’t spend much time on Rings with boys until they develop some real strength.
Thanks for the comments guys.
Coach Rick. I agree with your point about not spending much time on rings during the early stages of their development as conditioning is far more important at the start however as much as i DO NOT use loops/straps for beginners i do try to introduce them occasionally as i think if nothing else, they help build confidence in taking the feeling of ‘slipping off’ away.
Hayley. You judges comment is a good one. My rings technique is pretty much nation wide in the UK now after talking to coaches about the pros of using it and it being promoted by the National staff however sometimes the judges (who are perhaps not from a coaching background) are quick to criticise the lack of height etc. What i would say is there are 2 options. I) try to explain to the judges the thinking behind the swing and hopefully they will see the benefits in younger children. II) take the hit during the early phases. By the time your children are really at a stage where scores matter they will be swinging well above the ring height and therefore will be seen as a gymnast who shows virtuosity in their gymnastics.
Cheers!
Lee Wools – Taking the UK by storm!!! You da man…
How would you explain to a younger coach who participates in close to 15 competitions per ‘season’ to explain this both to the judges and the parents when their gymnasts are not on the podium due to this ‘correct’ method in pedagogy? The US has so many more competitions per season than the UK…
Nick…..Good one!
Everything over here in the UK is on a much smaller scale so it was easy for me to discuss my theories with the people that matter. I am sure it would be much harder in the US to achieve such support for prototype technique for a new coach.
What i would say is that if a young coach is going to start something like this rings swing then he would need the complete trust of his gymnasts parents in the first place. Maybe if he explained to them his thoughts and what his expectations were in changing to this swing then they may be fully behind him. Ultimately the coach is the expert so the parents should trust his judgement. Judges can only judge what they see. During the early stages they may penalise low swings but within a season i would expect these gymnasts to start making vast improvements in the shape and height of their swings.
Results will come!
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