Revenge of the Sixth!

If the Fourth was with you on Saturday, then surely Monday arrives with a vengeance!

There's an interesting discussion going on at the Chalkbucket Forum between parents, coaches, and judges regarding the new level changes in the women's J.O. program- with some baffled by what the point is of level 6.

Coach "Dunno" has an excellent idea for a conditioning game:

i lurve rope! fastest 1 up 3 times gets "gets out of conditioning". get it?

Now why didn't I think of that?!

Reminds me of a couple of my favorite sayings to the girls:

"Don't worry.  The Pain will go away when it stops hurting."

"You only have two choices:  You either do it with straight legs and pointed toes; or with pointed toes and straight legs."

"Stop getting sick.  It's bad for your health."

To kids with birthdays:

Moi:  "How old are you today?"
Kid:  "Six."

Me:  "Really?!  What a coincidence!  Did you know that I used to be six years old, too, when I was your age?!  Seriously, what are the chances?!"

Me:  "Six, huh?  How time flies...It seems like it was only a year ago that you were five..."

We should call these "Michaelisms"

Head position, hips curled....and breathing

The Forster Octagonal Floor Bar

From almost 3 years ago:

 Tom Forster showed this to me (also on Forster's Gym Smarts video, "Inbar Work", the same concept is demonstrated with a more standard floor bar that has rounded edges on the top ends) and I've since had 3 made for my gym, with two of them not completely octagonal on the ends.

I'm still playing around with the value in this piece of equipment and not sure how much actual carry over there is into real giants and ingraining a sense of wrist shift.  It's taken my 5's/6's a bit of getting used to (we started on inclined cheese mats) and they should be spotted until it's clear that they understand that they have to push out through their shoulders to end up on top or behind the bar (as opposed to finishing shoulders leaning in front, planched- makes for some).

As of late, I've started adding an 8 incher behind so that they back extension roll handstand or 3/4 handstand/simulated giant to land flat stomach.



*UPDATE June 19, 2011*

Tumble Trak is now selling these as "the Forster Bar".

One problem for coaches to be vigilante on, is the tendency for the chest to go out when trying to roll over.  This has a lot to do with the relationship between the athlete's physical strength and the height of the octagon bar off the floor.  It's extremely hard to discipline a locked-in rounded-candle shape and apply the right amount of pressure with the right muscle groups to get the body over without wriggling it.

The likelihood of losing shape lessens on the cheese wedge, though.

When I returned from Colorado, I had Jaime (former UCLA gymnast who happens to be the uncle of a former SMGC team gymnast whose father owns the cabinet-making business next door) construct a couple of octagon bars for me and the gym.

"Come to the Edge..."

I love spotting flyaways.

There's an art to it and my method of spotting (as well as expanse in my knowledge base in how to teach it) has definitely evolved since I first made this video.  Sometimes I will hand spot in ways unique to the individual gymnast, at a particular moment, to never spot that way again as the gymnast progresses to a new stage of development.

As the student evolves and learns, so too, does the teacher....

“Come to the edge.”

“We can’t.  We’re afraid.”

“Come to the edge.”

“We can’t.  We will fall.”

“Come to the edge.”

And they came.

And he pushed them.

And they flew.

-Alternate version of poem by Christopher Logue (popularly attributed to Guilliaume Apollinaire)

Level 5 & 6 Dismount Assembly Line

Coach Manzanet loves shape-spotting.

Here's a great "one-size fits all" setup for mass number of gymnasts, to generate mass repetition of turns:

Kendra Workshop Highlights

Some highlights from Kendra's workshop today:

Bars Side Station

When the newbie 7s were still 6s last month, during their strap bar rotation, we went through a phase where this was one of the side station drills I set up for shape and strength:


Alaina showed the best acclimation toward what I was aiming for in this drill:


10 second hold in straddle pancakestand; 10 second handstand; return to pancake for 10 seconds.

The Energizer Teacher

If you call him "Chris", he'll tell you you're being lazy for not calling him "Christopher".

Chris has been the tumbling and trampoline coach for the team girls on Saturdays.  He brings high-octane energy and an entertaining, highly engaged personality to his teaching style.  He's an entertainer (you can see him in the gym juggling at times) and knows how to command attention from an audience.

Yesterday, the girls worked on the back tuck kick out.  The focus was on getting a tall set, neutral head, and rolling the hips over into the flip; plus, being able to thrust out.

Here's an example of how he teaches:






Some of the 7/8s in action, "having a go" at making the corrections:







Aside from the tuck not getting in very tight and the head thrown back, the opening on this one is right on:





How long can you set and rise before pulling into your tuck?




Incidentally, the level 6 RO BH back tuck at the end of the compulsory floor routine is supposed to be a tuck kick open.

Morgan's BH Back Layout

This was done on May 19, 2012

The Thrilling of the Rail in the Absence of Restitution

BGS inherited Cara from another gym about 3 weeks ago. She's hovering around level 6, up-training with the level 7/8 group.  Last Thursday, she made a couple of straddle cast handstands for the first time.

 Sunday's workshop focused mostly on her flyaways.

The few other times I've spotted her on her flyaways, she'd start out great. I'd spot her the first couple of turns by holding her up in her candlestick from a cast into tap swing. But after a couple of times turning it over, she'd start letting go earlier and earlier rather than be patient and enjoy the ride all the way up to the peak of her swing. So Sunday, we did a workshop and, like we did on Saturday, I made her a little makeshift wall setup, using whatever was available on hand:

I prefer teaching the layout as opposed to a tuck flyaway because I think there's less likelihood of the gymnast pulling into the bar, thinking they need to flip really hard.  Even though Cara's never hit her feet on the bar before, she admitted that's her fear.

I think having gymnasts land in a "mad cat" position (doggy stand on all fours, with a rounded back) for tucks; or a push-up position for layouts as opposed to landing on feet, helps the gymnast get comfortable with not rushing the "flip".  It's not really a flip:  Swing up to candlestick and release, you're already half way around; turnover and drop.

I like having the inclined wall because you can either have gymnasts hit the wall with their backs and backward roll down; or layout to hollow push-up in a more upright position.  I think having the wall there also helps give a clearer visual of a release point that's toward the ceiling, so as not to let go early- feet should aim above the top of the wall as opposed to releasing toes-first into the wall.


I am encouraging Cara to learn her flyaway from a cast as opposed to tap swings for a couple of reasons:

• Since she's doing a layout, going from a higher swing makes it easier to accomplish the flyaway.
• She can get more turns in without wearing down her hands from so many tap swings.
• It gets her prepared for flyaways from handstands and giant swings.

 She still has to compete out of level 6, which requires a flyaway from a tap swing.  Once she gets her layout, it'll be easy to simply release straight body and tuck if she has to tuck, in the event that she lacks adequate swing.

The great thing about Cara's attempt(s) is that she taps at the bottom (tapping and keeping the head neutral are important key elements to a good flyaway).

In the video, you can tell when she lets go early simply by the "twanging" sound the rail makes when it happens.  She always tends to start out just fine; but after several turns, she starts jumping ahead into letting go early.

 It's not an uncommon problem.  The mind is preoccupied with the critical juncture of having to let go of the bar and "flip".  So steps 1 and 2 are bypassed and straight on to step 3.  In this case, it is not best to arrive early (or late), but always to arrive on time, on schedule.

 The fiberglass rail has elasticity and bends with the pull of gravity at the bottom of the swing; if she doesn't ride the swing up during the bar's restitution (when she should release) but let's go while it's still depressed at the bottom, that's when she gets the sound of the bar thrilling (i.e., quivering).  It's basically her peeling at the bottom.

Not exactly music to the ears for a layout flyaway off of bars. The thrumming of silence is far the sweeter sound....

The archer bends the mighty bow and takes aim that her arrow might fly swift and far...

-Championship Gymnastics by Gerald S. George, Ph.D., Chapter 12 Concepts of Uneven Bars, pg 264