Rings A Skills

A SKILLS

• Start in a picked inverted hang. Extend the hang by moving your toes straight towards the wall. Arms should be kept squeezed against your body throughout.
• Work skin the cat pull out, trying to lead with the heels. This can be done with a spot.
• Work tucked back levers slowly extending the legs. Generally someone will need to watch to ensure that the gymnasts back is kept level with this drill.
• Do lever pulls with a spot. Go from front lever to back lever with a straight body. This helps develop both front levers and back levers.

• Heel drive is the key. Most gymnasts will want to lift their shoulders early to get to support. It is very important that the heels lead during the upwards swing, not only for the backuprise, but for just about every rear swinging skill.
• After the heels drive towards the ceiling the gymnast should think about pulling the rings well underneath them while continuing to drive their heels.
• The gymnast should focus on controlling the support in the planche position and lowering to a straight support slowly.

• Work throught the arm motion on low rings initially to develop an initial feel for the shoulder motion.
• Wide arm back extension roll fall to hollow. Do a wide arm back extension roll. Be sure to stay tight and hollow, after reaching the handstand fall to a prone maintaining support on the hands. (very important to keep the arms straight)

• Start in a dead hang on rings, pull up so the rings are close to your chest. Fall back to inverted hang slowly.
• Pull up to lever: Start in a dead hang on rings, pull up so the rings are close to your chest. Fall back to lever, then pull back to rings to chest position.
• Do lever pulls with a spot. Go from front lever to back lever with a straight body. This helps develop both front levers and back levers.

• Don't pike.
• The common mistake is to lift the toes, pike at the hips and pull down on the rings. This results in a piked pull up to nothing.
• Immediately after the tap the hips should be pushed upwards and the rings pulled back and down.

• Work the arm motion on low rings. Be sure that the chest is open. (This is more important for larger gymnasts when carrying them through the skill is not an option.)
• On low rings kick one leg back. Head up and inlocate being sure to stay arched while driving the one heel back. Alternate legs.
• Hug a twinky. See conditioning for details. Be sure to drive the heels hard basically to a chest stand.
• Open forward rolls on P-bars. Though they are painful this is an excellent drill for straight body inlocates. Work upper arm swing to forward roll. Be sure to lead with the heels and stay slightly arched throughout. This teaches the feeling of leading wiith the heels and not pushing too soon. (This will also help backuprise handstand on P-bars).
• Once the gymnast has a good concept of the heel drive and turn over they can start working on keeping pressure on the rings. If the gymnast is light enough (or the coach big/strong enough) carrying them slowly through the positions on low rings having the gymnast push on the rings throughout can help.
• When learning an inlocate some gymnasts will pull on the rings and bend their arms. It's important to stress that the arms must remain straight. The motion simply does not work right with bent arms.

• Common error is to just swing and let go of the rings. While this does result in a flyaway it will never develop into anything more.
• A quick turn over at the bottom is important so the toes are directed upwards.
• Immediately after the turn over the gymnast needs to pull down and back on the rings aggressively. This will generate height.

• The first key here is for the gymnast to lift as they press even when just going to shoulderstand. A very common mistake is to drop the shoulders to the rings and try to press from there.
• The gymnast needs to think about pushing down on the rings aggressivly as they press. The shoulders should be pushed out, not shrugged.
• Lot's of presses on floor and P-bars wouldn't hurt.
• The gymnast should think about turning the rings out to start to develop the habit so that straight arm presses will be possible.

• Work backwards rolls on low rings with and without a spot. A false grip is very helpful to do this. While harder than a shoot to support it teaches where and how the gymnast needs to push.
• The turn needs to turn over very quickly on the bottom. Immediately after the bottom the rings should be pushed back and down.
• The gymnast needs to focus on keeping the rings in front of them throughout this skill. If the rings get behind the gymnast the skill will not be completed, and there is a risk of injury.