Would you like an ‘MOT’ on your handling style? It’s easy for bad habits to creep in which can start to hamper your ability to make progress with your ringing.  Sometimes small bad habits might not have been spotted when you first learnt to ring and now you are ringing more complicated stuff, ringing for longer or visiting unfamiliar towers which might have ‘trickier’ bells, you’ve started experiencing issues. 

 

These sessions are not handling lessons – they are designed for ringers who can already ring confidently and independently for a few minutes at their home tower.

 

If any of the following ‘ring a bell’ with you, it’s worth booking a visit to our Handling Clinic to check that there are no issues with your handling style that are causing or contributing to these problems:

• I get tired quickly when I ring and notice others seem to make it look far more effortless than it is for me!
• I sometimes bump the stay when ringing
• I think I might be under/overpulling
• I struggle to stand a bell first time quite often
• I struggle with controlling the speed at which I can ring up and down, especially when doing so in peal.
• I get aches and pains in my hands when I’ve been ringing for a while
• I feel I need to grip the tail end really tightly or I might drop it
• I’m not very confident at handling unfamiliar bells
• I struggle on long drafts
• I’m not very confident at ringing light (<3cwt) or heavy (>10cwt) bells, even at my home tower
• I struggle to accurately change the speed at which I’m ringing (when hunting in and out or dodging for example)

 

All we ask is that you agree with the following if you want to come to a clinic:

• You have a desire to improve your handling style
• You come to the clinic with an open mind
• You listen to any advice in the spirit in which it is given - ie it is intended to help not criticise!
• You intend to follow up on the advice given and make a determined effort to implement the suggested changes (changing an ingrained bad habit takes real commitment over a number of weeks/months before the ‘new’ way becomes ingrained)

 

What happens at the clinic

• An experienced teacher will work with you 1:1 for an hour (with rests as needed!).
• They will begin by watching you ring to observe your handling style and identify any issues  that are present.
• If they spot issues, they will work with you to demonstrate the technique you should be using and help you understand what you need to do to tweak your handling style to correct these issues. They will then allow you the opportunity to practice what you have learnt.
• You will be given an ‘MOT’ checklist to take away, with any ‘advisories’ that were found noted along with advice on how to address them.
• You will also be given information to remind you about watchpoints for good and bad handling styles.
• We will discuss whether or not you think it is worth having a follow-up session in a few weeks to see how you are getting on.

 

How to book

We are currently only offering the Handling Clinic to ringers whose home tower is one of our affiliated towers.

If you would like a Handling Clinic session and you ring at an affiliated tower, please contact us.

(We may be able to offer this more widely in the future, so do check back periodically.)

 

Cost

We have a small charge for our Handling Clinic, which enables us to make a regular donation to the Church towards the  maintenance of the bells we use/contribute to the Church's running costs and also contribute to the running costs of STARS. We don't charge for the actual tuition, our teachers give their time for free.

Please contact us for more information.