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There are five types of swings, all of which
have their own unique grip
(the way that the
gymnast holds the bar). A giant swing occurs
when the gymnast swings all the way around
the bar with straight body. The Five types are:
1 Backward Giant - Normal Grip: This is the
most common swing, where the gymnast
travels face-first around the bar. The bar is
held with hands facing forward. All elite level
gymnasts compete these.
2 Forward, or Front Giant - Reverse Grip: The
gymnast swings around the bar back-first with
arms rotated inwards and hands facing
upwards.
3 Inverted Giants- L-Grip (aka Dorsel Grip,
Eagle Grip): Swing around the bar back first
with arms rotated outwards and hands facing
upwards (try holding your arms above your
head and rotating them like this it's - not
easy!). These are best performed by the
Chinese team but also by many others with
varying styles including Elena Produnova
(RUS), and Viktoria Karpenko (UKR).
4 German Giants - Swing around the bar with
hands and arms rotated behind the back in
an inlocation. Elvire Teza (FRA), Anna
Mirodskaya, and Lu Li are some of the only
women to compete these.
5 Mixed Grip - One hand in L-grip, the other
hand in normal grip. This grip is swung out of
Healy turns also.
Other Basics
- Back Hip Circle - The gymnast rolls
backwards around the bar on her hips.
- Cast - This allows the gymnast to get from
front support to handstand position. From
front support, the gymnast pushes off the bar
with her hips and lifts her body to straighten
the shoulders and finish in handstand.
- Cast Handstand - Tips: Be sure the gymnast
leans well over the bar. Most gymnasts have a
tendency to cast back and not up. Work a lot
of casts. With spots, without spots. Work casts
with good form.
- Free Hip - From a front support, the gymnast
moves backwards around the bar with her
hips close but not touching it.
- Glide - On the low bar, the gymnast swings
forwards with her legs straight and roughly
parallel to the floor, then swings backwards
- Kip - This is the element that the gymnast
uses to get from hanging position to front
support. She first brings her legs to the bar,
then pulls her hips to the bar, and then pulls
herself all the way up until she is in front
support position. It is usually combined with a
cast to get to handstand. Tips: The timing of
the kip is everything and most gymnasts tend
to kip early. Work glides on a low bar, being
sure to keep straight legs, head in, shoulders
open. If the gymnast has a good glide then
they can work glide and lift their toes to the
bar on the rearward phase. Ensure that they
do not lift their toes too early. Once they can
glide and lift their toes then they can work
kips with a spot to develop a feel for the
motion. Hanging leg lifts will greatly improve
kips as it strengthens both the abs and the
critical muscle groups in closing the
shoulders. Stem rises: On a bar mounted near
a wall, or a set of P-bars set uneven (distance
apart will depend on size and strength of
gymnast) hang on the higher bar with feet on
the low bar (or wall) push off the bar/wall
with the feet and pull the bar to the waist
with straight arms.
- Stride circle - Tips: The key to a strong stride
circle is understanding extending away from
the bar on the downward swing. This is a
fundamental concept for all swinging skills.
From the stride support the gymnast should
push upwards to move their center of gravity
as far from the bar as possible. This extension
continues through the entire downward
phase of the swing. In addition to pushing
upwards the gymnast should lift their legs as
much as possible to further accentuate the
swing. A common mistake on the upwards
phase of this skill is to pull in to the bar and
bend the front leg. This will kill the swing and
interrupt the skill. The push is similar to a kip
(and will help with learning kips). The arms
should be kept straight. Downward pressure
should be applied to the bar. This skill is most
easily executed with an undergrip.
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