Entries Tagged 'floor (men)' ↓

I like it.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click over to Gymnastics Planet to comment – New Floor Skill from Kieran Behan (IRE)

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The young gun proves it again.

We’ve got to start talking about John as a potential AA medalist in London.

Click PLAY or watch his Floor on YouTube.

Paul Hamm did not impress, but I’m glad he’s in the mix. Always a threat. The BEST NEWS for Team USA is the return of David Sender. He’s a Ring man and a great AA. I’d love to see him compete London after the silly accident that took him out of Beijing.

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OU’s Jake Dalton on floor (15.900) at Illinois (Jan. 28)

via @StickItMedia

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One of the BIG good news stories of Test Meet and the coming Olympics is Kieran Behan from Ireland.

Here’s a kid who was warned he might never walk again at age-9. Was hospitalized 8wks at age-12 with brain damage. In 2008 he ruptured a cruciate knee ligament. In 2010 he did the same to his other knee.

He wouldn’t quit …

… selling sweets and washing cars to finance his trips in search of world ranking points. His father Phil, a builder, and mother Bernie, their son admits, “have put every spare penny they have into me.” His coach Simon Gale revealed that, “It’s been a struggle for him. Gymnastics Ireland hasn’t been able to fund him really and last year alone he spent thousands competing in places like Japan , Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic.”…

Living the impossible dream

After all that, Kieran somehow placed 34th AA at Test Meet London, grabbing one of the last Olympic spots. He finished 4th in Floor (VIDEO), a serious contender for Olympic Finals.

Ireland has gone nuts over Kieran, despite the fact he trains in England. Here are some of the Google News stories right now:

• Irish Independent – I was told I’d never walk again — today I’m aiming for the Olympics

• Sports News Ireland – Kieran Behan has indeed ‘come from nowhere’ to gain a place in London 2012

Full Twist has been covering the story closely.

Keiran and entourage were flown last minute to Ireland’s #1 The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy. He’s already a national treasure just for qualifying to the Olympics.

From nobody to national celebrity. CONGRATS to Keiran.

You can bet on whether he’ll win the Olympic medal or bring out an award winning autobiography.

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This guy’s incredibly consistent. He hit slightly better tonight than prelims.

… Everyone in the arena is talking about Behan, he is the man of the moment. From the Press, to his fans, to the judges and other delegations, his story has truly touched many hearts in the O2 Arena this week. A star is born. …

Full Twist

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Kieran and his coach talked about possible upgrades for the Olympics, a couple of which he actually warmed up tonight.

Kyle Shewfelt likes the routine, but wants Kieran to add a real dismount.

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tidbits gleaned by THE ALL AROUND:

Tomás González

The Chilean had a great floor routine that he hopes to increase to a 6.8 D score. One of the skills he plans to include for the Olympics is the Kovalyonov. … On vault, he expects to have two competitive 7.0 vaults, including his Yurchenko 3/1″.

click through to see what these superstars are training:

Valeria Maksyuta
Jade Barbosa
Louis Smith

TAA

LIKE Tomás González fansclub on Facebook

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As much as I’d like to see fewer roll-out skills on Men’s Floor — and an option to get a high score with none — Brandon does them as well as anyone.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

14.266 (Difficulty : 5.300; Execution : 8.966).

Fact is he had a problem learning these as a young gymnast. His problem? … Intelligence. Why should we deliberately try to land on our heads?

Update: Bob notes that Brandon missed his front layout 2/1 twist dismount. Therefore gets no dismount and no skill as he had done front layout 1 1/2 twist earlier in the routine. Merde.

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Full Twist:

This popped up on the Official Facebook Page that was used for the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo. …

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Next time your kids tell you the Floor is too hard, show them this compilation.

at 1min – standing step in to triple twist … or double?

at 2:25 – ff quad twist … or triple?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Allison Hack for the link.

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Gerard Atzeni pointed out that the 2011 Tokyo World Championships Men’s Floor Final was pretty good.

A new Examiner post is related – Best of 2011: The men’s floor exercises.

One routine linked from that post:

David Belyavskiy, RUS. The Russian men have been lifted by youngsters like Belyavskiy and his powerful routine, which includes a stunning double full in back pike out and an easy looking triple full to end. In addition, there’s a hint of style and choreography in the sequence after his tucked Thomas. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

A hint of style and choreography does elevate you above the likes of Zou Kai and Stephen Legendre. I like David’s routine.

However … the vast majority of FIG Men’s Floor routines in 2011 are rushed, ugly and repetitive. The rules are responsible. They must be improved in the next Quadrennial.

As you can see, I’m not convinced that the current rules are the best they could be, even though a handful of the best gymnasts in the world are able to show quality routines. They are succeeding despite the rules.

related – IG – Belyavsky Aims for All-Around Maximum in 2012

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guest post by Gerard Atzeni

Ever since the open-ended Code became the systematic gospel for Artistic Gymnastics, controversy has established itself as the undermining malignant for this somewhat forgotten pastime.

Despite the F.I.G.’s attempts to make amends for the proverbial judging debacles made in Athens, various stakeholders have raised concern for the eradication of Artistry within the sport. Although the levels of distress for this subject may vary, it is clear that this issue is no myth. For example, when comparing the finesse of the 1976 Olympic gold medal winner on Floor Exercise, Nikolai Andrianov, to that of Beijing’s gold medalist, Zou Kai, it is evident that a shift in values has occurred.

Men’s Gymnastics has evolved so greatly in the past few decades that it is difficult to comprehend just how far gymnasts will be able to push their bodies in the year/s to come. However, unfortunately for the sport, this rise in difficulty has caused people to believe that it is the fundamental issue which deters athletes from executing skills ‘artistically’. Although this statement is true to some extent, Men’s Floor Exercise seems to be taking all the blame for this notion. For this reason, it will become the primary focus on why exactly spectators believe this deprivation to be factual.
 
In order to successfully evaluate the effectiveness of the current code (applying the elements of Floor Exercise [FX]), it is best to begin at the beginning: the MAG Code of Points. A modern Floor routine has been described by the F.I.G. as being:

 “A Floor Exercise is composed predominantly of acrobatic elements combined with other gymnastic elements such as strength and balance parts, elements of flexibility, handstands, and choreographic combinations all forming an harmonious rhythmic exercise which is performed utilizing the entire Floor Exercise area.” – MAG Code of Points, 2009: Version 6 (Pg. 34)

This is quite a standard definition and leaves room for a lot of interpretation; however, it is clear that the need for a routine to be predominantly acrobatic is, indeed, a priority. This, of course, means that innovative and difficult tumbling passes –both singular and in combination – are mandatory for a routine to be considered admissible by the F.I.G.’s proposed definition.

After seeing the 2011 Tokyo World Championships final on FX, it was clear to me that this focal topic was being satisfied. Surprisingly, it was demonstrated by the top 8 athletes in such a way that proved testament to the current Code’s success. Each man in the final, no matter the country, proved himself and his routine to be virtuously diverse – the variety of skills and combinations shown was absolutely mind-blowing. Of the 8 men, such high difficulty elements as the Kolyvanov, Hypolito, Tamayo, Double twisting double back tuck/lay, Two and a half twisting double back tuck, Arabian Double Pike and the Ri Jong Song [G] were demonstrated in a masterful and aesthetically pleasing manner. This was further reinforced by the breath-taking combinations that the athletes demonstrated (for the record, every man hit his routine).

Click PLAY or watch Uchimura’s Gold medal Floor on YouTube. (200,000+ views)

 
So if this ‘major’ requirement for FX is being reached, why must audiences continue to condemn the system? After reading a tonne of complaints, it seems to me that the most pertinent issue is that modern day Floor routines lack the fluidity of time’s past. I see this assumption to be generally correct because the lack of artistry and innovation that people complain about can be collectively portrayed by the fluidity of a routine.

Although the Code of Points has dedicated an entire element group to encourage gymnasts to be exciting in the ‘quiet’ parts of their routines, it seems that audiences are unsatisfied with how athletes and coaches are utilizing these skills. For this reason, the man’s routine is automatically dubbed by many as ‘unartistic’.

I, for one, reject this opinion as it is far too subjective and intolerant to individual expression. Imagine a male gymnast who has just done 3 amazingly unique and perfect tumbling lines… He then falls into a prone position and does a Fedorchenko (1080 Russian Wende) to finish in front splits. Is the routine really then considered to be unartistic if he were to swing his leg around and kick to a forward roll kneeling scale? I believe that to be an ignorant view point to take because the forward roll is merely a transition and a part of no value. Sure it is unimaginative, but the D and E Scores only provide incentive for the gymnast to execute the major part of the corner move to a standard that is interesting and well executed. The code cannot change entirely for this minute detail, though.
 
In order to conclude, I believe that art can never be effectively encouraged by the Code as it doesn’t have a definition apart from the one that the individual grants it. I love the current system because the rules and element groups involved with FX force athletes to show a diverse skill-base whilst maintaining the aspect of fluidity. It is not horrible that Floor routines are no longer as dramatic as the Soviets made them out to be! Routines like that cannot even exist in modern day society as they are not at all feasible with the new Code of Points… And people tend to forget the reasons that the rules changed: the scores were unfair. If a gymnast does not show that he is brave and willing to take a risk, then he does not deserve to win.

On the same note, though: if a brave gymnast does not show that he can do his skills neatly, he does not deserve to win either. I’m sure everybody can agree with that? Therefore, the Code has essentially captured both sides of the argument and named the aspects the ‘D and E Scores’, respectively. The best gymnast at a competition is always the one who finds a happy medium between the two sides… Kohei being an exception, of course. It is no coincidence that Kohei is as good as he is! He has adapted to the expectations of the Code brilliantly and for that reason he is the world champion. His gymnastics does something that I believe epitomizes everything that I am trying to say: artistry comes from the flair of an individual. Many gymnasts are putting their own spin onto their routines now (i.e. The Uchimura-style Kovacs, the Daniel Purvis rollout, etc.) and that is the only type of artistry that can exist without the gymnasts sacrificing points for execution.

It is for that reason that I believe execution scores are the only genuine indicators of how ‘artistic’ a routine actually is… If a gymnast really wants to do interesting transitions then it is up to him and his coach to do so; the Code needs to accommodate for more than just FX and it is for that reason that the encouragement for simplistic innovation can continue no longer.

My conclusion about execution being the new form of artistry is further enhanced by the remaining 5 apparatus that fall under the category of ‘Artistic Gymnastics’. For example, there is no way that a Vault can be seen as artistic without emphasizing the qualities of a high execution score – it is the only universally-applicable incentive that motivates gymnasts to do skills well. That, in my mind, is what makes ‘flipping’ artistic and, furthermore, proves that FX is still artistic even though it doesn’t capture the drama of the old system. 

Gerard Atzeni

_____ Gerald is posting in response to …

• FIG ruined Men’s Floor
• MAG FX: E, F, G elements

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I’m surprised how many coaches defended the current Code and FIG rules on Floor in the comments of this provocatively titled post – FIG ruined Men’s Floor.

I disagree.

In 2011 the FIG Floor Exercise rules are not working. (Report Card). Routines are rushed, ugly and repetitive.

… But there is one point on which we agree. Today there are too many combination passes, not enough BIG TRICKS.

Future rule changes should encourage at least one “BIG TRICK”. Winning routines should include a triple back, triple twisting double back or something equally uniquely impressive. The best BIG TRICK tumblers should win.

Which of these BIG tricks do you like best?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

RedNasvw has more MAG Code edits like this on his Code of Points YouTube playlist.

related – MostepanovaFan has many WAG Code related videos.

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Frank Costanza:

“The tradition of Festivus begins with the Airing of Grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you’re gonna hear about it. …”

Flavius Koczi was named Romanian male gymnast of the year for 2011.

He’s Mr. Twister on Floor.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

D-score: 6.6
E-score: 8.900
15.500 1st – European Champion

Not bad. Certainly one of the best routines in the world today. But watch what Flavius showed at the Gala in Belgium, without the constraints of FIG judges and rules.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Better, I’d say. Note he removed both roll-outs.

Compare Flavius with one of the many young guns out of Japan, Kenzo Shirai.

Click PLAY or watch Kenzo on YouTube.

To me that’s no longer a “Floor Exercise”. Kenzo is doing as many twists as he can and as little else as possible. If that’s what FIG wants, why not simply use the Power Tumbling Rod Floor and name whomever does the most twists in 8 skills the winner?

UPDATE: Gerard in the comments has seen rules for young guys in Japan that ban on Floor:

• any front salto into a roll out (including arabian)
• double front (including arabian)
• double back with a twist

… That helps explain why Kenzo’s routine so overuses twisting for difficulty.

This is a Floor Exercise demonstrating a variety of qualities, not only twisting.

Click PLAY or watch the 1979 World Champion on YouTube.

A routine from over 30yrs ago on a rock hard Floor is ‘better’ than what we are seeing today. The FIG rules are not working, in my opinion.

Thomas was the first to popularize those roll-outs, by the way.

(via Full Twist)

_____ Check the comments. There are a surprising number who prefer modern Floor over the traditional “Floor Exercises” of the past.

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