The Men’s Horizontal Bar rules are a mess. (I grudgingly concede they have been slightly improved this cycle from the last.)
Of many problems on Pipe, worst is overuse of Rybalko and variations. It’s almost a “compulsory” element.
Here’s perhaps the best one I’ve ever seen.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
THAT’s an exciting skill.
But it’s more often done like this.
The Rybalko is deemed completed when the 2nd hand regrasps. Unlike WAG, 0-30 degrees on the regrasp is NO deduction, 31-45 = 0.1 deduction, 46-90 degrees = .3 deduction. After horizontal, it’s non-recognition of the skill.
Under the 2016 Code, if a gymnast does one Rybalko, he cannot do another to mixed grip. That’s good.
But he is allowed to do a Stalder Rybalko. Still too repetitive, for my liking.
Obviously, the Rybalko should have been devalued from D-part to C-part.
More gymnasts would work the flying giant with double twist (D-part) instead. A change I’d love.
related – Anna Li works the skill. Hers is even more a Giant full, roll to Eagle grip, however.
Those gifs and videos were linked by Masters Gymnastics.
6 comments ↓
The ridiculous thing is that if you do the awesome rybalko like Legendre you get a 0.3 deduction for a late turn, so no point in doing it. Everyone is instead forced to do it the usual way.
I think the whole angle thing is BS for HB. Let them swing pipe.
I feel you are not noticing girls are allowed to walk the skill across the bar, men must hop, girls have blind full in the code, men have hop full in the code, when you start the skill for the most part you are on one arm, until you catch, it’s been years since I have done it but I can still do it like the girls, it’s easy!
What they should do is rybalko without hop should be -C-
And with hop stay the same. It’s Tak full that should be devalued
a couple things
1) The rule about not doing two of the same skill to different grips is not a change for 2016. It’s a longstanding rule.
2) I don’t remember Anna Li ever finishing in (double) el-grip. I think she catches in mixed grip, which is significantly easier.
3) Zou Kai gets flack for form sometimes, but his Rybalko technique is worth posting; he gets that 2nd hand on in el-grip close to 30 degrees, with close hands, and with good body extension. It’s VERY hard to do it that way, and it’s the only reason he do a good Balabanov or Pogorolev after it.
4) That flying 1.5-twisting hop from Legendre could be considered a different skill. I wonder if they ever submitted it separately.
One more thing… There’s nothing wrong with the value of the skill. What’s wrong is that a LOT of guys do that skill, accepting that they will get hammered for turning way past 30° and for bad body posture, too. Only a handful of guys in the world SHOULD be doing the skill. If the rest of them took the damn thing out of their routines, they would score higher and we would see far, far fewer poor attempts.
Zou’s rybalko has improved a lot over the years. Back in Beijing he was finishing near horizontal. By London he certainly much better, probably only a 0.1 deduction for height, but it’s a pity he does such shitty releases out of it.
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