The internet is a wonderful tool. But it has a downside too.
George Palmer sent me an important question by email:
I think hearing what you think of instructional videos on you tube would be interesting. Is it promoting dangerous “park gymnastics”. Is it the blind leading the blind? Is it useful? How about for regular gymnasts? Is it useful for them or should they pay attention to coaches? Any value in having home gymnasts watch instructional videotapes (like a coach would)?
George pointed me to this fairly typical example: (UPDATE: Editor Sizzi took this video down after my critique below. Perhaps that’s for the best.)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube (8min).
SIzzi does many things right in this tutorial. And he is very good at standing full twist.
Even the dumbest kid on YouTube cannot miss his disclaimer:
*W A R N I N G* …
THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. THIS SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS A REFERENCE. DO NOT TRY IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PROPER TRAINING, A GYMNASTICS INSTRUCTOR, AND A PROPER GYMNASTICS GYM. I’M NOT HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES WHILE ATTEMPTING THIS.-
People need to stop “chucking” moves …
… if you just came across this video and have no former training, then you have no business trying this move, so DON’T DO IT! Have some common sense.
Still, I wish Sizzi would take the video off the net.
Any trampoline coach would criticize:
What Sizzi should do instead is show his COOL SKILLZ. Then tell young kids to go join a gymnastics or trampoline club. To find a good coach.
His other videos are better.
I DO find Sizzi partly responsible for kids hurt trying the progressions he “taught” them in an 8min video.
Honestly, Sizzi, how many of the people who tried your drills do you believe can learn a standing full using your methods? Two? Three?
I think you are misleading everyone else who does not have your strength to weight ratio and acrobatic background.
… End of rant. Leave a comment if you have an opinion, especially if you know of some good online tutorials. For example: Gymnastics Warm Ups on Expert Village
Another example I like better is this tutorial on backward handspring by Chelsie Memmel.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
It’s inspiring for kids to be “coached” by a “star”. (Chelsie, by the way, was an advanced but awful tumbler as a young child. Doug Davis of TumblTrak has videos of her back to when she was 3ft tall.)
5 comments ↓
I remember those videos! Yeah she sure has cleaned up
I like that idea. I think more USA gymnasts should do little videos on skills, especially ones that can be a little scary.
My personal opinion is that actually the video is not really dangerous, and it is serving a different target audience then little kids with a backyard trampoline. That fact that YouTube will host the video and its accessible to everyone is really the major problem.
The progressions he does are the same as Paul Hall in his videos (Paul Hall being a National UK Coach, and the videos are the ones that have been advertised on the blog). the only difference is that Paul Hall does the progressions into a foam pit. He also advocated the early twisting, for the standing full.
Personally i think the video is clearly aimed at trickers/free runners who are usually in their teens. 3/4 of the time these teens go to Open gym session and try stuff out until they get it, there is proper supervision, and it is in a safe environment. The progressions offered in the video are relatively safe, and are actually as safe as you can get RE teaching a back full without aids such as a pit or spotting belt which are not available to everyone. The author of the video does advocate that the twisting is hard, which is true, especially from standing on a hard floor, and he does start on a trampoline, he offers the safety tips of making sure to spot the ground . There are some mistakes in what he describes but nothing that will effect performance, or make the video any more dangerous.
Personally i think there are farrrr more dangerous tutorials out there, this is definitely not one of them in my opinion. Yes the standing full is a hard skill that does take a lot of time, practice, and conditioning to attain, but in the manner taught in the video you will either get it, or you will give up.
Valentin Uzunov
TheGymPress
http://www.thegympress.net
Ohh one more thing.. i personally don’t like the Chelsie video, because.
1- It makes a potentially veryyyy dangerous skill look over simplified. Giving an illusion that ohh just in 3 easy steps i can do a standing flic.. A kid who sees this on YouTube and then sees the Standing full twist video is wayyyyy more likely to try the standing flic then the twist. Simply cause the flic is made to look easy, but the twist is not (the author ever says its its not easy)
2- She says one thing and does another in that her final skill is a flic step out but her instructions were for a standing flic with legs together.. kids pic that up, and it does matter. Particularly from a coaching point of view. (this is however trivial, point 1 being the main reason)
The good thing is that she does encourage viewers to do it at a gym with proper supervision. However to an eager fearless kid that won’t matter, and won’t stop them from trying.
Valentin Uzunov
TheGymPress
http://www.thegympress.net
Rick, I corresponded with him and he agreed with you and took it off the net. Sheesh. I’m feeling bad somehow.
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