Author: Rick Mc

Gerard Atzeni

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Linked by Tsuk the Pain.

For the first time I’ve seen, Taylor talks about the injury on Bars that left her partially paralyzed.

She under-rotated a toe-on double front dismount. A new Bars skill. No pit.

Every coach I’ve spoken with feels that skill is too dangerous without a pit.

Taylor is very active online. Google her. She’s moving forward.

http://taylorln.tumblr.com/
http://taylorln.wordpress.com/

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via GymFever

American Gymnast:

This video explains how girls should put on their pair of American Gymnast grips and answers one of the most common questions we receive about our grips – how to use our unique elastic band finger-locking system.

First, make sure you are putting your grips on the correct hand. For gymnastics grips with a Velcro strap, as you tighten the grips, you want to be pulling the strap in towards your body. For grips with a buckle strap, as you lay the palm of your hand down on top of the grips, you want the buckle to be on the outer most side of your hand.

Next, put your middle two fingers (i.e. ring finger and middle finger) into the finger holes of the grip. As you do this, make sure the elastic band is sticking out between your two middle fingers.

Next, twist the elastic band once and bring it down over and around the fingers and grips. Then, twist the band again and bring it back up over and around the fingers and top of the grips. Watch the video for a demonstration of this.

Now your fingers are locked securely in the finger holes and will not slip out while you are swinging on the bars. Once you do this a few times, you will quickly get the hang of it and it should only take a couple of seconds to put the elastic band into place. If you feel your fingers are secure enough in the holes without the elastic band, it is very simple to cut the elastic band out with a pair of fingernail clippers or scissors, being careful not to cut any stitching around the dowel area. …

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I’ve always preferred a soft wool tie down from grip holes back to the wrist strap. But elastics seem to be the most popular safety tie-ons these days.

Score: 10.000

John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships 1998

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Brent Klaus is today the man behind International Gymnastics Camp and the Professional Challenge.

Awesome trick biking. (Crashes are revealed at the end.)

Don’t bother to click PLAY — watch it on Red Bull instead.

http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.jshttp://admin.brightcove.com/js/APIModules_all.jsbrightcove.createExperiences();

Red Bull uses crappy Brightcove for hosting their videos. Always a mistake.

You are invited to participate in a research study of participation motivations and online media usage of masters gymnastics participants (Adult gymnasts). The study is being conducted by Andrea N. Eagleman, Ph.D., a Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise at Massey University in New Zealand. …

SURVEY

It takes about 15min to complete.

(via Rec Gymnastics)

The Hard Way To Success – Episode 9.

Entire episode will be online November 4.

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… When she was 11, she earned first place all-around for her level in the state, all ages. It was an incredible moment, and I started believing that maybe she was good enough to get a college scholarship.

Then the injuries started. She fractured the growth plate in one wrist, then the other. Later, there was an ankle fracture. After that, the fear crept in. The skills were getting harder, and the back handspring on the beam gave her anxiety. Her palms often had giant blisters from the bars. I asked her often if she still wanted to do gymnastics. She always said yes. …

We were driving home after a vacation in Virginia a few weeks ago when she told me: “Mom, I’m done with gymnastics.” Just like that. After almost eight years — about half her life — she was ready to trade in her leotard for a life outside the gym. She said the sport wasn’t as much fun anymore. She was tired of being afraid. …

It took me a few days to realize that the huge investment of time had made her who she was now. She’d had to be organized to get her homework done. She was meticulous, focused and strong. Gymnastics had done that.

She’d learned to take risks. She’d learned to fight fear. She’d learned perseverance in the face of disappointment. She’d learned to succeed at one of the toughest sports on earth. She’d learned to give it up on her terms.

Grief turned to relief. …

read more – Gymnast’s decision throws her mom off balance