Author: Rick Mc

George H. Hery is one of the most recognized figures in the gymnastics world as an acclaimed gymnast, acrobat, performer, and mentor. For over 40 years he has been one of the most well know clinicians and presenters worldwide on trampoline and acrobatics. …

Click PLAY or watch George on YouTube.

I like everything about this sequence. Artistic gymnasts can do exactly the same progressions, but with an Artistic arm position.

The next drill I’d like to see Krista do is 1/1 twist to prone fall on a throw mat. … There’s something odd about the way she finishes the twist. That drill would improve her “untilt” more cleanly … and help her finish the twist earlier.

I’ve got George’s Trampoline Flipping and Twisting DVD. It’s solid.

You can find additional DVDs and booklets linked from his GymSmarts page.

The tech company Palm is at risk of disappearing completely. They are banking on two smart phones, the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi, to save the company.

To help generate some buzz, Palm sponsored an online comedy TV show called “Narrow World of Sports”. (Goofing on famed ABC’s Wide World of Sports TV series.)

Former Seinfeld Producer Peter Mehlman is the host.

One of the first “guests”, … Shawn Johnson.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

She handled herself well, don’t you think?

Another great wrap-up by Gymnastics Examiner.

Highlights include:

• Hollie Vise is back …

• Phil Cahoy Sr. is back coaching at Nebraska

• Zonderland Dutch Sportsman of the Year

• Olympic Vault Champion Leszek Blanik to retire

• Another award for Kupets

click through for details – The gymnastics week in review

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Epke Zonderland

Every year at MSN Lifestyle, we assemble our list of influential people and every year we struggle to separate the truly influential from the merely popular. The women on this year’s list come from many different fields and backgrounds but they all share one common feature: they are doing something that inspires or encourages us and yes, influences the way we live. …

MSN Lifestyle’s Most Influential Women of 2009

Much as I’m thrilled a gymnast was listed with Oprah, Hillary, Aung San Suu Kyi, Angelina and the rest, I think it’s silly to include a young athlete (Nastia or Shawn) or young Pop star like Taylor Swift. It devalues the word “influence”.

Nastia and Taylor are popular, not influential.

These end-of-year top 10 lists are getting out of control.

medstudent24 started another great thread on IG forum:

… I ran the numbers to see what translates into more medals, a high start value, or a high execution score…

I looked at every World Championships since 2006 and the Oympics. The results are:

Probability that the gymnast with the highest SV will win Gold: 61.2%
Probability that the gymnast with the highest Execution score will win Gold: 54%

Probability that the highest SV will medal (place in the top 3): 68%
Probability that the highest E score will medal: 60%

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Essentially, having a high SV is more valuable than having a high E score. This is really not that surprising, but once you break it down for each event, something interesting happens:

On FX- Highest SV means Gold 74.8% of the time
On BB- Highest SV means Gold 45% of the time
On UB- Highest SV means Gold 51% of the time
On VT- Highest SV means Gold 74% of the tie.

Soooo having a high SV will serve you well on VT and FX, but no so much on BB and UB. The odds seem to be against you the most on BB, where a high enough E score is needed to come out on top.

Note- Several times, the gymnast with the highest SV failed to medal because of a fall. If those cases were not accounted for, the probabilities would rise to around 95%

click through to IG forum to comment

So, every time FIG tells us that execution is as important as difficulty, let’s quote this stat.

… Admittedly the sample size is very small. But intuitively I believe it’s correct.

Obviously we want the gymnast to win who has great execution … and the highest start value.

The rings is the most difficult apparatus in gymnastics to hold a great handstand. Here Hideo (Mizo) Mizoguchi gives several drills and tips to master this difficult skill.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Watch more gymnastic training videos on The Gymnastic Minute Channel on YouTube.

Follow on twitter @gymsmarts

From Sports Illustrated …

Often referred to by the ladies as “Sexy Alexei”, a gymnast was named one of the best of the last decade, in all sports.

The Russian won six medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, including two golds, to duplicate his haul four years earlier in Atlanta. In Sydney, he captured the all-around crown, certifying him as the most accomplished gymnast of his generation. He was also known for the sportsmanship he showed after receiving a low score for a sensational high-bar routine at the 2004 Athens Games. That controversy — and not the celebrated Paul Hamm controversy — led to an overhaul of the scoring system.

top male Olympians of the 2000s

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Bit of a surprising choice since many of his greatest accomplishments were in the 1990s.

Lizzie Dolan, Mismo Gymnastics.

Hire photographer Jonathan Qualben to do one for YOU.

I don’t know how they create these video edits.

Is Shawn flipping in front of a green screen?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Well, the latest viral videos to hit the Internet is here, and it features 2008 Olympics gymnastics gold medalist Shawn Johnson vs. 2006 short-track speedskating gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno.

In the videos, Ohno challenges Johnson to backflip over a bobsled as it careens down a bobsled run. If she accepts the offer and completes the challenge, Ohno agrees to skate down the boblsed run. …

Fabulous Forum

Click through to Gymnastics Examiner to see the Ohno stunt. Oh no!

It looks much more realistic.

There’s much positive buzz about the return to greatness of Russian gymnastics.

What are they doing right?

grishinagan from Russia has hundreds of routines posted on a YouTube channel.

Senor Nico linked to 3 of them:

Like the US, the lower levels of gymnastics in Russia have compulsory routines. But I just noticed how they go about doing them. …

Basically the actual elements they do (tumbling passes, dance skills) have to be the same. But they can choose whatever music and choreography they like. They can also arrange the skills in any order they wish.

Click PLAY or watch Floor routine 1, Baturina Ekaterina, on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Floor routine 2, Orlova Aleksandra, on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Floor routine 3, Yazidzan Aleksandra, on YouTube.

I’ve always liked the concept of “compulsory optionals”.

Read more comments on IG forum – Something interesting the Russians do with compulsories