I find 'Relax' is one of the most useful exhortations throughout all teaching of handling — Richard Pargeter
I think one of the problems with raising and lowering is that many learners are not taught to do it soon enough. Raising and lowering are often seen as peripheral skills rather than esential ones. Confident control of tail end length is a critical skill for good ringing. — Phil Gay
The main learner-outcomes from one of my first-sessions:We teach ringing up first, before the learner can ring. This gives them a feel for the bell and managing the rope ... they must know how to take coils and manage the bell safely — Phillip George
Yes I do this with learners doing well, also as an example of explaining the process while they are doing backstrokes, and testing if they can listen-and-understand while ringing, and then do as suggested ...I introduce lowering without making coils at the end of the first lesson, ... I look after the sally — Phil Gay
I have always taught learners to release the last coil when raising a bell by gripping with the fingers and opening the thumb,... — Richard Pargeter
Yes: it needs to be laid across the hand properly before starting, and just releasing the thumb-grip at the desired moment.Releasing the coil in the way described already is essential if slack rope is to be avoided — Phil Gay
... and were all nodding their heads as you were pulling, in the hope that this energy somehow transferred to just-a-little-more pull :-)I struggled to learn to ring up, ... the longer I spent trying to get the flippin' bell up ... the more conscious I became of the rest of the band waiting to start their practice,...I [now] realise the rest of the band were completely ... empathetic — Steve Pilfold
and were all nodding their heads as you were pulling, in the hope that this energy somehow transferred to just-a-little-more pull :-) — PeterScott
and the advice applies when the bell is almost-up as well as when ringing full-circle.What is the difference between pulling and checking?
This is one of the most important questions in ringing. You must know when to do which, and train your arms to be able to do one without the other.
- Pulling is applying force as the rope comes down. It makes the bell swing higher and more slowly.
- Checking is the opposite, ie applying force as the rope rises. It makes the bell swing less high and more quickly.
If you pull when you ought to check, or vice versa, you will make the problem worse. If you pull and check all the time, you will rapidly tire yourself but still not be able to control the bell very well.
Separating pulling from checking means you must be able to turn on or turn off the force in your arms between the rope rising and falling. This takes some practice, especially when you want to exert more effort. It is easier just to heave for the whole way up and down, but you must resist the temptation. — The Tower Handbook 13.1d
Check will advance the Bong. ... Etc — PeterScott
When raising I tell people to relax the grip completely on the up stroke so the rope, and only to grip and pull at the top of the stroke when they can feel the bell has stopped rising — John Harrison
As John says, if in their eagerness to get a good pull, they pull even slightly too soon, it is counter-productive, and stops the bell from rising. — Phil Gay
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