2010 – Page 108 – Gymnastics Coaching.com

introducing backward handspring

Another terrific video tutorial from JAO:

A skill as old as the back handspring will have a thousand different drills to help learn it. This video represents a few of my favorites, but it is by no means exhaustive.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Of thousands of good drills like these, for me only 3 are critical:

• trust fall (spotted)
• trust fall bend knees slightly, straighten knees, return to start position (spotted)
• … same as #2, but the gymnast is spotted on a tip over to handstand on some

The trust fall is the most difficult part of the flicflac for beginners.

Beginners, once they can do it on the trampoline, should train downhill to ensure good technique.

Beginners should do long and low backward handsprings until they can do series. At that point coaches can consider advanced techniques … shortening the distance of the second half, for example.

There are 8 more great video tutorials on the JAO YouTube channel.

handstand walking – bad for gymnasts

These two gymnasts are quite good at handstand walking.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

But I don’t like gymnasts doing these contests. It’s a pet peeve of mine.

Why?

Handstand walking teaches many bad habits. (bad line, bad form)

Kids learn to maintain balance by moving the hands (base of support) forward underneath them. This is bad preparation for many skills, particularly handstand on Parallel Bars.

My personal philsophy is to allow handstand walking backward and sideward, but almost never forwards.

… These girls are great tumblers, despite my concerns.

_____

Update: JO and K send us a related link, gymnasts from Capital Gymnastics in Texas doing handstand drills, including some handstand walking. (better form, still poor “line”)

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://c1403192.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/player.swf

… I’d still recommend the walking course be backwards and sidewards only.

gymnastic grip breaks after 2-days

Sho Nakamori had a ring grip break after only 2-days use.

He was lying on the ground after peeling off on a dismount before he discovered what had happened.

The manufacturer is Reisport, as good as any of the competitors, I’d say.

Over the years I’ve seen many Reisport grips break in only a matter of days, but never Ring grips. Horizontal Bar grips normally get stretched and break sooner.

Solution?

Dave Bucci in a comment on Full Twist said this:

NOT unheard of. Our friend, Mario West, had the exact same thing happen at the Winter Cup a year and a half ago — High Bar was his first event, and it happened during warmups. It didn’t injure him badly, but it affected the whole meet.

Since then, he’s been going to a gentleman in Gaithersburg, MD named “Tien” (not sure of the spelling), who handcrafts his grips. Apparently, the Japanese and Chinese national teams both buy from this craftsman as well, and Mario seems to have more confidence in his grips.

Leave a comment if you have any advice on where to get gymnastics grips more durable than Reisport.

Cal Gymnastics history

Yesterday Andrew Hampy on behalf of Cal Berkeley Gymnastics submitted a business plan for financial viability to their chancellor’s office. It will be 3wks before they get a response.

Gymnastike linked a video from Cal Gymnastics Forever.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13222752&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

2007 Cal Gymnastics from Cal Gymnastics on Vimeo.

Click through to Cal Gymnastics Forever to see what you can do to help save both the Men and Women’s College Teams at Berkeley.

gymnastics – bars – Church, Ray, Nabieva

The International Gymnastics Federation has a laughable record for bungling skills named after gymnasts.

In my copy of the code of points they misspell Shavahn Church‘s name. (Some might quibble that she should be listed as British since she competed internationally for England.)

Church Savannah (USA) Hstd on HB – Pike sole circle bwd counter pike reverse hecht over HB to hang

Click PLAY or watch the Church (2005) on YouTube.

Elise Ray has 3 skills named after her on Bars including this one:

Ray Elise (USA) Hstd on HB – Pike sole circle bwd counter straddle-reverse hecht over HB to hang

Click PLAY or watch the Ray (2000) on YouTube.

That brings us to the skill done recently by Tatiana Nabieva …

It’s at 6min 20sec on this YouTube clip from Japanese TV. Or you can jump directly to that skill here.

You could call it a layout Church … if you give it credit for layout. I do.

Hopefully Tatiana will get it named after her good self. Gymnastics immortality.

Grace McLaughlin – Bars

Aunt Joyce linked to Grace McLaughlin’s Bars from the last Elite Qualifier. She’s from WOGA.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

rumour – Jason Burnett broken leg

From Grace Chiu on Facebook:

From Record Breaker to Leg Breaker in a Month

… word around the Hershey Centre is that Jason Nicholas Burnett , Olympic silver medalist who has broken the world DD record 3 times, broke his leg at Pulsars last week while attempting a double side somi sort of par-kour move.

Update. Broken leg confirmed.