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Grips or Rips?
To: <AskTheCoach@GymnasticsZone.com>
Subject: Rips!
Dear Coach,
My daughter has been doing gymnastics for almost 3 years. She
couldn't get her kip. She used her grips so she wouldn't get rips
or blisters. One day she tried to do her kip without the grips and did
the kip very well. Now she won't use the grips anymore. The problem
is, she is getting rips all the time now. Any solutions?????
Thank You,
L&C
The Current World Bar Champions Wear Grips
It might help your daughter to know that most high level gymnasts
wear grips, including 2005 World Uneven Bar Champion Nastia Liukin
and 2005 World Championship Bar Silver medallist Chellsie Memmel.
USA gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel were first and second at
last year’s World Championships and they both wear grips.
Will Want Grips for Giants
While your daughter may not need grips for doing simple skills
like doing kips, she will most likely want grips for learning and practicing
skills like front and back giants and other circling skills on the bars.
Dowels Help Gymnasts Get a Grip
Dowel grips are designed with a wooden dowel positioned on the
grips to help gymnasts have a better hold on the bar during circling skills
and catching release moves.
Grips Help You Work Longer on Bars
As you mentioned, grips are useful for extending the amount of
time you can work bars. If she wants to be able to learn high level
skills, she will have to be able to work bars for long periods of time.
She will either have to learn to work through the pain of rips or wear
grips in order to be able to spend enough time practicing on bars to learn
high level skills.
Rips before Calluses
The few high level gymnasts who do not wear grips often have to
go through a period of ripping before their hands callus enough to stop
ripping. Every time they take a break from gymnastics for any significant
period of time, they have to go through the ripping cycle again before
their hands toughen back up.
Calluses Everywhere?
All gymnasts get calluses on their hands from doing bars.
Gymnasts who wear grips only get them around the edges of their grips.
Gymnasts who don’t wear grips get calluses all over their hands.
Bigger Rips?
Callused hands or callused areas of the hand often rip bigger than
non-callused areas. Rips often take off the whole callus when the
hands rip. The callus comes off in one whole piece. Gymnasts who
don’t wear grips can have this happen over their whole hand area, not just
around where their grips are. So when they rip, gymnasts who don’t
wear grips are likely to rip in more areas and have bigger rips in the
sensitive areas of the hands that grips usually cover.
Summer/Off-Season Ideal to Get Used to Grips
Summer, the off-season, is the ideal time to get used to wearing
grips as opposed to switching to grips in the middle of the competition
season.
Tougher to Switch to Grips Later
As gymnasts get older and grow, they tend to switch to wearing
grips because their hands rip more when they are taller and weigh more.
It is easier to learn to wear grips when you are younger and at a lower
level than to switch later. If your daughter thinks it is hard to
get used to grips doing kips, she will really have trouble later switching
to grips and getting used to them doing skills like giant pirouettes.
Done the Hard Part
Your daughter has already done the really hard part - getting used
to wearing grips. It is only a very small step more to learn kips
with her grips on. It is easier to learn to wear grips doing simple
skills than to have to change later. It is very likely a wiser choice
to get used to grips now rather than later.
Heal Rips
In the meantime, we use Melaleuca oil products to heal rips (usually
in only about two to three days) and gymnasts can also put those products
on their hands overnight to start to heal rips before they actually happen.
If you don’t have access to Melaleuca oil products (the company is located
in our town), Preparation H (yeah, we know) also works. But when
using Preparation H overnight gymnasts usually will have to wear gloves
because of the smell and it would not be good if a gymnast were to suck
their thumb while wearing it at night.
Ask Your Own Question
If you have your own questions relating to gymnastics, we will do our
best to provide you with answers to the best of our ability.
Submit your questions to AskTheCoach@GymnasticsZone.com
GymnasticsZone.com
321 West 13th Street
Suite 4
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
(480) 264-1885
webmaster@GymnasticsZone.com
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