What is a Kip and Why is it So Hard?

A kip is the first milestone skill gymnasts learn on bars. It is the first challenging skill for many gymnasts to learn, let alone master.

But what is a kip? A kip begins from a swing or glide, and the gymnast snaps their legs to the bar using that momentum to swing up to front support on the bar.

What makes the kip harder to learn than other skills? First, it's more complicated because it involves multiple actions. Second, it also requires specific timing to perform it correctly.

When done correctly, the kip is seamless and effortless looking. When it's not performed well, it looks awkward or choppy.

When teaching how to kip, we break it down into component actions.

Glide, snap, push and shift are the cues we give to our gymnasts so they can focus on the movements while learning to kip.

Cues are verbal signals that help your body remember an action while you build muscle memory. Good cues are short and describe the action. Cues help gymnasts know when to perform specific actions. Timing is crucial in a lot of gymnastics skills - just like the kip! If your gymnast snaps too early, they won't have enough power to kip up, while if they push early, they will be working against gravity. Likewise, the shift of the wrist needs to happen at a specific time, or they won't be able to rise behind the bar and pop out of the kip.

Great timing is one of the keys to a great kip!

The Glide: The Powerhouse of the Kip

When gymnasts first learn to kip, they often rush the glide, wanting to get to the kip part. I get it completely! They've waited a long time to kip, and they're anxious to get started.

Unfortunately, the glide is the powerhouse for the kip. All of the energy and momentum of the kip come from the glide. If the glide isn't powerful, the kip won't be successful - or pretty.

So how do you get power in a glide? The power of a glide comes from the energy of your jump.

So to start a kip, jump from both feet simultaneously. As you jump, raise your hips backward and upward while extending and rounding your shoulders. You should be in a hollow body shape when jumping, and you should grab the bar in an overgrip. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart.

To transfer as much energy as possible from the jump to the glide, you need to block your shoulders when jumping to the bar. Many gymnasts jump with bent arms and grab the bar, and swing under it. While this will give you some power, it will not give you maximum power in your glide.

Blocking your shoulders means they're tight and extended. (If you haven't heard of blocking before, get used to it. It's a basic premise of gymnastics, and without it, a gymnast can't do higher-level skills.)

When you jump to the bar, you want to be in a straight-hollow shape, with rounded shoulders. Your legs should be tight and straight, and your head should be neutral.

Glide Tips:

• Jump with power

• Arms straight (No bent arms when jumping for the bar)

• Arms tight

• Shoulders extended and blocked

• Glide with feet low to the ground 
(but not touching)

• Feet should be in front of the body during the glide

• At the end of the glide, be fully extended, with hips open

• Legs straight and tight throughout the glide

• Keep your core tight and squeezed through the glide for maximum power

• If you straddle glide, make sure your legs are together before the end of the glide

The Snap: Power & Direction

To add power to the kip, gymnasts need to snap their legs to the bar quickly at the end of the glide. Their core muscles will add energy while the snap will change the direction of the energy, moving the gymnast upward and backward.

To have a good kip, gymnasts need enough core muscle strength to lift their toes to the bar while hanging. Many people think kips are all about arm strength, but arms are just one muscle group involved.

A lot of the power from the kip comes from the snapping motion of the legs. Without the power to quickly snap their legs to the bar (using their core muscles), gymnasts can't transfer the direction of that energy quickly enough to take advantage of it.

When snapping their legs to the bar, gymnasts should aim to get their toes to the bar as quickly as possible.

Keeping a tight core and tight legs makes it easier to move the toes to the bar quickly, so remember to keep those knees glued together!

Later in our Kip Tips, you'll find core conditioning drills you can do at home to improve your core strength needed for a kip.

Our kip drills target the muscle groups, muscle actions, and timing your gymnast needs to learn and master the kip.

Snap Tips:

• Legs straight and together

• Toes pointed

• Straight-hollow body shape

• Shoulders open

• When fully extended at the end of the glide, core muscles contract to quickly lift toes to the bar

• Start to lift the legs when fully extended for maximum power

The Push: Riding the Momentum

Now that the gymnast is moving backward and upward from snapping her feet to the bar, she is ready to keep her arms tight, so the bar slides up her legs.

Using her shoulder, arm, and core strength, the gymnast keeps straight arms and pushes the bar against her legs. Then, as the bar moves from ankles to knees to thighs, the gymnast will rise behind the bar.

Coaches sometimes describe this motion as 'pulling up your pants' to remind gymnasts to keep the bar against their legs as they kip up. Pulling the bar against their legs and holding their arms straight keeps the gymnast from dropping out of the kip. Gymnasts should push against the bar to keep tension in their body as they rise behind the bar.

Gymnasts need shoulder, core, and arm strength to hold themselves against the bar. Their momentum is pushing them away from the bar, while gravity is pulling them down. Without enough strength to keep the bar against their legs (without dropping their bum), they pop off behind the bar.

Kip belts are helpful for gymnasts that pop off the bar due to strength. Kip belts hang below the bar with a loop for the foot. When a gymnast kips with one foot in the kip belt, they can push their foot against the kip belt to help them pull the bar along their legs. If they can keep a tight straight-hollow body shape, a kip belt will allow them to feel the motion and timing required to kip up the bar.

Of course, kip belts won't solve the strength issue, but they will assist gymnasts with understanding the timing required to kip up. For help solving the strength issue and some great conditioning ideas, see the section titled "Kip Drills."

Push Tips:

• As soon as the gymnast pulls her toes toward the bar, she holds the bar against her legs

• Gymnast keeps straight arms and her body against the bar

• As the gymnast moves backward in the kip, the bar will move from her ankles to knees to thighs

• Hold the bar against the body to keep in contact with the bar throughout the kip

• With shoulders and back rounded and legs straight and together, the gymnast maintains body tension

• Gymnast will rotate around the bar toward front support position as she keeps the bar against her body

The Wrist Shift

Once the gymnast has kept the bar against their legs as they start to come up behind the bar, it's time to begin the wrist shift.

Timing is important for each part of the kip, but timing is crucial for the wrist shift.

As the bar gets to the upper thigh, the gymnast should be almost horizontal. If they maintain extended rounded shoulders and hollow chest body shape, the gymnast will need to shift their wrists as they pass horizontal and come above the bar. Shifting the wrists enables them to push against the bar and go into front support.

If a gymnast doesn't shift her wrists in time or shifts too early, she won't be able to rise to front support position and will pop off behind the bar.