I wonder if it might be a good idea to post a video of your swings? Perhaps there is something going on in the movement that is causing undue demand on your grip? I know for me there was in the beginning; I had to learn to hike the bell back without allowing it to "flop" upwards toward my butt at the bottom. That little movement was incredibly demanding on my grip at the time.
Thanks David.
Your comment gave me lots to think about. As my grip issues are mostly at the top of the float, I hadn't even considered examining the back swing.
You are absolutely right, at the end of the back swing the KB is indeed facing upwards. It should be at 8 o'clock position but mine is more like 9 o’clock, sometimes even 10 o'clock (yes, it sometimes smashes into my behind). I suspect this is causing me to overgrip in the backswing as I try to gain control of the wild kb. In today’s session I intentionally tried to limit the kb to 8 o’clock by doing a less active back hike (use gravity instead of muscles), ensuring my arm didn’t go beyond 8 o’clock, and loosening my grip to a hook grip in the back swing. It felt more comfortable when I made these changes.
(grey circle = ideal, green circle= me)
On the opposite side of the spectrum I noted what the kb was doing at the top of upswing - the float. Normally, it should end at 3 o’clock. However, I noted for me my arms stop at 3 o’clock (good), the bottom of the kb carries on further to about 2 o’clock, sometimes even 1 o’clock. This again is causing me to over grip as I try to bring the kb back into control. I’m going to try dialling down effort in my hip drive from 90% down to 80% - see if that helps.
(grey circle = ideal, green circle= me)
I’m pretty sure I have the same issues with my 2H swing. The two hands can more easily bring the kb into control so I don’t notice as much.
Thanks again for your advice. It is appreciated.