Question about motions

[Coach Reed]

This may sound silly, but I have a question about thumb placement when you make fists.  I make sure to keep up with trends and have gone to UCA camp for the past two years.  I just starting choreography for a college squad. As I was demonstrating a motion, one of the girls stated that she was told at NCA camp this summer that thumbs are now placed INSIDE your fists.  I was trying to find some recent info about this, but haven't.  Does anyone know about this change?  Is it a universal thing or is just NCA? 

[Kong]

I don't have any idea about what they teach at NCA camp, but I would find it difficult to believe that anyone would teach making a fist with thumbs inside the hand.

Kong

[CoachErin]

I have actually experienced a situation where an athlete dislocated the proximal interphalangeal joint in her thumb (closest one that connects to the hand) due to having her thumb inside her fist and somehow her fingers were pushed down on top of ther thumb enough to dislocate the joint so I would personally never teach with thumbs in. Although I would believe that this type of injury is quite rare, it is possible and I would rather not take that risk.

[Coach Reed]

Thanks guys! I had never heard of it myself but she seemed so earnest that I just thought I would check it out.

[CheerScot]

Not only does it sound strange, I personally don't think it looks good...

[CoachErin]

Additionally, my team had a two day home camp with NCA this summer and were taught no such thing.

[coachscoops13]

Believe it or not when I was in high school (about 20 years ago) we were taught to do our fists like this.  By the time I got to college it changed.  I hope it isn't making a comeback...

[coachamie]

I have never heard of thumbs going inside and I've done both UCA and NCA. I've been sitting at my desk for a few minutes looking like a goober trying motions with my thumbs in and personally I think its uncomfortable and harder to be tight!

[Coach Reed]

It didn't sound right to me either, but since the cheerleading sponsor agreed as well I had my doubts. I've always gone to UCA camp, so I had no idea about anything at NCA camps.  That's why I love these message boards!  You guys are a great help!

[jandotcom]

I think it's kinda hard to get the thumbs inside the fist when trying to quickly go from, say, a clasp to a fist.  Maybe I'm just uncoordinated, but it seems like more trouble than it's worth.

[coachscoops13]

I should have mentioned that when I was in high school so many years ago, we did not attend UCA or NCA.  We attended what I think was called Champion?  Maybe that had something to do with it.  Why someone from NCA or UCA would be telling you that now, I don't know.