How Do You Guys Grip A Liberty???

We hold it in a "hamburger grip." I like the sandwich grip personally because I feel like I have better control, but we have to use the right hand under the foot like normal and the left hand thumb under the shoe. This is hard to explain, but imagine how you hold partner stunts and the turned to the side where you are basing. It's a strong grip, but if your flyer has small feet there's no way there's room for both of your hands and the mains.

here's another question: where do you guys have your flyers push off from when going into stunts? i know most people do it from the bases' shoulders but i've seen some do it off of the bases' heads... any commentary on that?

AshaFierce said:

here's another question: where do you guys have your flyers push off from when going into stunts? i know most people do it from the bases' shoulders but i've seen some do it off of the bases' heads... any commentary on that?

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Muahaha. I remember flyers doing that when I was on a junior team back in the day. So. Freaking. Uncomfortable. For everyone. Really, as a flyer/side base I simply could not do it.

AshaFierce said:

here's another question: where do you guys have your flyers push off from when going into stunts? i know most people do it from the bases' shoulders but i've seen some do it off of the bases' heads... any commentary on that?

Click to expand...

thay do that??? sounds horrible... How are they even able to push? you get more power from pushing from the shoulders...?
We only push from the shoulders...
I alos bet there's more stability in the shoulders than a wobely head

AshaFierce said:

here's another question: where do you guys have your flyers push off from when going into stunts? i know most people do it from the bases' shoulders but i've seen some do it off of the bases' heads... any commentary on that?

Click to expand...

Wow! I've never heard of anyone doing something like that haha. Sounds uncomfortable for all involved and a fairly unstable platform as well. I always teach my flyers to push off from the bases shoulders in a fast, upward motion, locking out their arms.

I've only seen little ones push off from heads and I'm assuming they're doing this because they're having difficulty keeping their butts up and setting up straight.

the pushing off on heads is usually done when the flyer is too small to hold on to the bases shoulders for the push off. therefor you often see it on junior teams.

i used to grip both hands around the foot and it works good for a flyer if she doesnt rock back and forth on heel toe.... so now i have switched to holding left hand on main's wrist and right hand under the foot!!!

When I main based I would have loved if the side gripped my wrist, it would have been much more helpful for me! But I'm a side base now and I know my flyer, and most on the team I think, likes when we sandwich it. I think it's just a mental thing for her because that's how it's felt for her since she started.

And I have seen some do the head thing! Cheer Athletic's point flyer did it at worlds, I guess just because she's short?

It's at about :52

nothingimpossible said:

When I main based I would have loved if the side gripped my wrist, it would have been much more helpful for me! But I'm a side base now and I know my flyer, and most on the team I think, likes when we sandwich it. I think it's just a mental thing for her because that's how it's felt for her since she started.

And I have seen some do the head thing! Cheer Athletic's point flyer did it at worlds, I guess just because she's short?

It's at about :52

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Awesome save on the left!

I used to do sandwitch grip but now i set with my right hand under the foot and the left hand to my side and the main starts to switch her grip then i take my left hand and grab her wrists. I would ALWAYS pull the stunt down when i did hamburger grip because i was so much taller then my main but grabbing her wrist helps me push it up and helps my other base by giving her a little less to hold. And i still have complete control of the center of the foot when i base like that.

Our coaches say that holding like a sandwich is pointless because there is no way you can control the foot by holding the top of it. They teach us to hold the main base's wrist for extra support because flyers tend to toe when they pull body positions, and we rarely have front spots. The main base should have his/her fingers spread wide enough to be able to control the side-to-side motion of the flyer's foot as well so an extra hand shouldn't be needed.

For summer camps: UCA teaches to hold the right hand under the foot and the left to help support the main's wrist. NCA teaches a modified version of the hamburger grip (right hand under foot, left hand also slightly under the foot with the thumb under). Its more of a style thing rather than one being better than the other, as long as the side's hambuger grip isnt completely on top of the foot to the point of it pulling the stunt.

The pushing off the head thing is for flyers than cannot reach their bases shoulders (they may be really short or just have short arms compared to their legs). I have also seen it been done in certain stunts where an odd grip is required.