Category: Uncategorized

You probably want to skip this video. Unless you are into modern dance.

Weird Fishes – Rubberlegz – Berlin 2008

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Flip Catch, formerly Jump Club)

Snowboard Superpipe:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The thing I admire most about skateboard / snowboarder Shaun White is how he goes for it, no matter what, when the medal is on the table.

Related post: new Olympic sports – BMX 2008, skateboarding in 2012

I was talking today with Mike Lorenzen, assistant coach of the Stanford University Women’s Gymnastics team. He is looking at ways to grow attendance at Stanford and at NCAA competitions nation wide.

This is NOT the way:

As part of some sort of apparent fraternity hazing ritual at the University of Georgia, two guys showed up to a UGA-LSU gymnastics meet dressed like this.

In their defence, the meet was a “pink out” with proceeds going to support research to fight breast cancer.

Busted Coverage (via Deadspin)

Georgia posted a season-best and nation-high 197.550 to win the charity event.

Du Yize, the founder and trainer of the Beijing Du Yize Parkour Club, shows his skills in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing January 23, 2008. Parkour, “the art of moving”, which involves moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible and overcoming obstacles using mainly the abilities of the human body, is practised in urban settings worldwide.

REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

more photos – Reuters

Thanks Michael.

This is one coach who has been there. Done that.

Rumour is that Armine competed triple back off bars and double layout off beam back in the 1980s!

Wow.

Armine eventually immigrated to the USA to coach with Hal Halverson at Verdugo Gymnastics in Los Angeles. But of course she now coaches alongside husband Al Fong at the Great American Gymnastics Express (G.A.G.E.) in Blue Springs, Mo.

From the most recent International Gymnast magazine. Armine with Ivana Hong.

Whatever Happened to Armine Barutyan

Another excellent post by Rawles. Her first tutorial was on international Vault.

.. bars is the most technical of the apparatus and for this reason the hardest for the layman to accurately judge! It can actually be pretty difficult to even realize that some has done something wrong sometimes on bars if you aren’t aware of exactly what they are supposed to be doing and even though ub is arguably my FAVOURITE event, even I am really murky on the exact distinctions when it comes to certain types of skills and suchnot. …

Rawles uses Nastia’s 2005 World Championships finals routine as her GOOD example of how bars should be done.

Click PLAY or watch Nastia on YouTube.

Thanks Rawles.

See the entire lengthy, interesting post: Rudimentary Routine Evaluation Made Easy: Uneven Bars Edition

Defeat Tanner Hall.

Click PLAY or study your competition on YouTube.

Hall wins seventh X Games gold

(via GOblog)

Stumbled on to this somewhat humourous guide to women’s gymnastics for the uninitiated, penned by Rawles:

Women’s Artistic Gymnastics is performed on four apparatus. EACH ONE MORE DEADLY THAN THE LAST. …

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WOMEN’S ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

That is the first post in a series.

Rawles does not like the new code of point, in general, because judges are so far not severe enough in B-score deductions. As one example, she cites Steliana Nistor (Romania) at the 2007 World Championships during all around finals. Here’s the BAD example:

Click PLAY or watch Nistor on YouTube.

Compare that with the GOOD example, Annia Hatch at the 2004 US National Championships on YouTube.

Judges need differentiate more on execution if the current code of points is going to work.

Rawles has many more video examples linked from: Rudimentary Routine Evaluation Made Easy: Vault Edition

Next up – BARS.

At least for one competition.

Gafuik, from the University of Calgary gymnastics club in Canada, won the All-Around at a dual meet with NCAA powerhouse Minnesota over the weekend.

It was a “friendly”. The Canadian club team was bolstered by former Gopher All-American Jake Lee. In the end, Jake was the difference.

Minnesota outscored Calgary on four of six events, but dominant performances by the Dinosaurs on pommel horse and still rings proved to be the difference as the Golden Gophers dropped their 2008 home opener, 342.800-341.800, Saturday afternoon at the Sports Pavilion. …

One Gopher that appeared to be focused like a laser beam was Cole Storer. The sophomore posted top-3 finishes on floor exercise and vault and won the high bar competition and helped Minnesota (3-5) recorded season-high team scores on all three events. …

Current Canadian all-around champion Nathan Gafuik won the all-around competition with 89.100 points and captured event wins on floor, pommel horse and vault. Lee, meanwhile, won the parallel bars and placed second on rings. …

full results – Gopher Sports

University of Calgary coach Tony Smith likes competing in the USA and brings his team south about once a year.

I’m hoping that bringing in international teams from Canada and elsewhere will help the NCAA Men’s program survive for decades to come.

I first saw Allan at the Peter Vidmar competition in 2004. First chance I went to congratulate him on his awesome gymnastics and to meet his coach.

At age-8, Allan was already amazing.

He’s now 12-years-old and still amazing, competing double back & 2 1/2 twist on FX, Magyar & Silvado on PH, Tsukahara 1 1/2 twist, Heally and double back on PB, and much more.

Great technique and artistry. Careful coaching.

Allan debuted his new routines for this season at a competition in Phoenix this weekend in preparation for Blackjack / Winter Cup coming up in Las Vegas.

His coach, Chris Sommer, is concerned about FIG rules, as are most thoughtful coaches. Chris feels there is too much reward for tumbling, vault and ring strength, not enough credit for technique of swing on PH, PB and HB.

Coach Sommer is well respected as a strength expert. He sells Xtreme rings on his Gymnastics Bodies website.

interview with Allan Bower – Gymnastics Bodies

Related posts:

gymnastics coach – Christopher Sommer

rings – training Cross

strength training – hanging V-sit and variations