Topic: stiff arms on kongs

[deltron3030]

i feel like my arms or just absorbing my intial dive into the kong on really long kongs...  how should i be asorbing it and follow through with it.. i feel like my arms arnt leting my body goin as fluently as i can

[Adam McC]

Bring your hips up, then shoot your knees through, and flick with the wrist right at the end. If you have enough running momentum, this will complete your kong.

[Jack C.]

couldn't understand the question mate 

[deltron3030]

umm

my arms arnt continueing the motion...

instead they are like brakes....

slowing me down..

[Jimmy Lee]

You're extending your arms too early.

When you're doing kong, try to imagine flinging yourself forward. Do you have your arms extended out in the front before you launch yourself? No. Keep your arms close to your body, or even better swing them to your back right before you jump. While you're in the air, now is the time to extend your arms forward and catch yourself before you hit your head on the object.

You're not used to the movement. You're probably trying to put your hands down before you get airborn as if you're doing safety vault or monkey vault. Kong vault doesn't work that way (Speed vault either). You have to launch yourself first, then you put your arms down to get you away from the object. Yes away, not over. You should be already more than halfway over the object when you're about to put your hands down.

[Jeff Whalley]

Try and think of your arms as returning you to your normal orientation with a slap.

[deltron3030]

aight next time ill try what jimmy said

cuz i do extend my arms out early

i throw them out in front of me to get more distance

[Dan Frank]

Think of a horse's front two legs when the horse is galloping; your arms should do basically the same thing, except your arms are usually together and not staggered.

[Rowe]

Here's a very simple movement that will show you what's wrong.

Stand up straight with one leg sticking out in front of you, so you look like a sideways 'T'. Let yourself tip over (going forwards) and keep your body rigid. The weight distribution of your torso, which should be almost over your front foot when it hits the ground, allows the momentum to continue forward. Don't forget to catch yourself before your face hits the floor.

For round two, stick your leg out again and stay rigid, but lean your torso back. When you fall forward, all of your momentum goes straight into the ground and you stop dead. This is probably what is happening to you on kongs, and it's the reason you'll see the same advice over and over in other threads - keep your hips up.

If your hips stay high, at least parallel with the shoulders, you'll have enough momentum to pivot right over your arms. If your hips stay low, you are feeding the momentum straight through your arms and to a dead stop.

[Vampiric]

You may also be having the same problem I've struggled with on my kongs. That is, you may be diving too much forward, and not punching up enough.

If you've spotted your hand placement at the end of the obstacle, it's easy (and natural) to dive straight for it. Unfortunately, this results in your hips being too low in relation to your shoulders and your arms to absorb the impact and stop your momentum (acting like brakes, as you've put it).

I'm not suggesting that you should jump straight up and drop directly down on the obstacle; that would be something different altogether! Rather, spot your placement and think of your body movement towards it as an arc, rather than a straight line. Jump higher than what you think is necessary while still traveling forward to place your hands correctly.

This may result in your kong being too high at first, but this will be correctable as you develop your skill and your kinesthetic perception (your "body feel").

In addition, remember to block through your shoulders, shoot your knees through the vault, and keep your hips up.

If my perceptions on any of this are less than correct, please feel free to correct me so that I don't continue teaching myself bad habits!

[Shamas]

When I do kongs there are 3 things I remember. Start running 1-keep your head up at all times, 2-bring your hips higher than youre used to, 3- your hands should not absorb impact but guide your legs through.

I have seen kids run and leap into an object essentially stopping their momentum with their hands. The trick is to have enough momentum with enough height of hips to glide over the obstacle with guidance from your hands.


Hope that helps