ÿþ<html> <head> <title>How to Swing</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <table width="1000" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="24%" height="67">&nbsp;</td> <td width="1%" height="67">&nbsp;</td> <td width="75%" height="67"> <div align="center"> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="+3">Ring Swingers Manual<br> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="+1">by Michael Teisan</font></b></font></font></b></font></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="24%">&nbsp;</td> <td width="1%">&nbsp;</td> <td width="75%">&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="24%" valign="top"> <table width="85%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td><img src="logowourl.gif" width="222" height="166"></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com"><font size="+2"></font></a></b><font size="+2"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com">Home</a></b></font></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/techniques.html"><font size="+2">Techniques</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/handhealth.html"><font size="+2">Hand Health</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/photos.html"><font size="+2">Photos/Videos</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/volunteers.html"><font size="+2">Volunteers</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nycringswingers"><font size="+2">Message Board</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/news.html"><font size="+2">Rings in the News</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/getrings.html"><font size="+2">Get Rings</font></a></b></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="http://www.swingaring.com/links.html"><font size="+2">Links</font></a></b></font></div></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="1%">&nbsp;</td> <td width="75%" valign="top"> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="+2">Suggestions for Safe Ring Use<br> </font></b>&#149 Always coat your hands well with <a href="http://www.ems.com/products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775275&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574488340889&fromTemplate=search/results.jsp&bmUID=1099270410950">climbers' chalk</a>. <br> &#149<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Never use the rings when hands are wet or slippery. <br> &#149 Ages 12 and under should do the rings with adult supervision. <br> &#149 When in line, provide ample clearance for the person taking a turn. <br> &#149 Wait for the person before you to finish and move out of their way. <br> &#149 Going back and forth is one turn. If you see someone coming back, do not take your turn until that </font></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">person is finished and out of the way. <br> &#149 Avoid using the rings while under the influence of alcohol or stimulants.</font></font></p> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="+2"><b>Pre-Swing Warmup Exercises</b><br> </font>&#149 With arms stretched out horizontally do small circles 20 times each way. <br> &#149 With arms stretched out horizontally do large circles 20 times each way. <br> &#149 Stretch with your right arm leaning over your head and your left arm on your left leg and vice versa (20 seconds on each side). <br> &#149 Open/Close exercise with hands (20 times). <br> &#149 Rotate head each way (10 times). </font></p> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="+2"><b>Approaching the Rings</b><br> </font>&#149 Grab the first ring with your dominant hand and be certain you have a good grip. <br> &#149 Hang by the ring to get a sense of what kind of pressure your hands will be experiencing.</font></p> <p><font size="+2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Traveling from Ring to Ring<br> </b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">&#149 With the grip that you have on the ring, run backwards, inhale, run forwards and if you can reach it, grab the ring in front of you. If not, keep inhaling and exhaling deeply and running back and forth until you can reach the second ring. <br> &#149 With your eyes on the ring in front of you and your arm ahead of you pointing towards the ring, grab the second ring.<br> &#149 When you have a good grip on both rings you're ready to pull with your arms.</font></p> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="+2">Beginner Swinging Techniques</font></b> <br> &#149 When you first start doing the rings, your main focus should be pulling your arms and getting the swing the right way, as opposed to focusing on less important things like spinning or flipping. First and most importantly, do not jerk your arms. Jerking your arms will result in upper body pains the next day. <br> &#149 Also remember never to tense up your body, it just slows down your swing and you ll be lucky to get to the ring ahead of you with tensed shoulders. Hang entirely by your hands, which can and will lead to blisters that eventually turn into calluses after a month of consistent swinging. <br> &#149 When pulling your arms to get a swing between rings, pull down with the arm that was hanging on the previous ring while making opposite movements with the other arm. <br> &#149 As you're pulling with your arms, bend your legs to create a bigger swing. You ll eventually find that you have to use your whole body to get the maximum swing.</font></p> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+2"><b>Intermediate Swinging Techniques</b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">&#149 You've accomplished the basic aspects of swinging from ring to ring and can finally get to the end and back without jerking your arms. Now you re ready to improve your swing. When pulling down with the arm behind you, face that arm. You ll find that turning your body towards the arm you re pulling with will not only be less strenuous on your arms and shoulders, but will also give you a better swing. <br> &#149 As you pull with your arms, try moving your legs with the swing. In other words, use your legs to increase the swing by pumping them like you would on a swing but in a circular motion.<br> &#149 <b>Spinning</b> During your swing, as you turn the opposite direction cork up your body with the swing. Let go at the peak of your pull, and unscrew yourself at maximum velocity, then catch the next ring.<br> &#149 <b>Coming Back</b> The rings are swinging now so coming back is more of a challenge. When you let go of the second to last ring, either hold it in place or spin it without swinging it, so it will be easy to catch on the return trip. Observe the direction and velocity of the next swinging ring before you let go and adjust your timing and pull so that you can catch the next ring when it's swinging toward you. </font></p> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+2"><b>Advanced Swinging Techniques</b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> &#149 <b>Exaggerating Your Pull</b> An intermediate swinger usually pulls down at almost a 90 degree angle, which limits the swing. If you pull at a slightly slanted downward 180 degree angle, you advance your swing to a whole new level by creating a broader circular motion. The way to accomplish this is to imagine you're pulling back a bow and arrow except instead of stopping when at a certain point, keep pulling past that point until your arm is almost straight behind you (at a 180 degree angle). Use your whole body to pull and turn &#150 rotate your legs with the swing and even pike them when necessary.<br> &#149 <strong>Flips </strong>Start your swing without getting too much height. It's easiest to flip with your dominant hand on the ring you're not going to let go of. Once you're in that position, arc your body backwards to get a small swing, then launch you body forwards so that your feet are straight up. Then let go of the ring that's stopping you from proceeding to the next. All this should happen with in about two and a half seconds. </font></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="24%">&nbsp;</td> <td width="1%">&nbsp;</td> <td width="75%">&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>