Vladimir School – Yuri Korolev

Famed Vladimir School of Gymnastics celebrated their 50th anniversary on October 12th. That the gym that produced Nikolai Andrianov, Yuri Korolev, Yuri Ryazanov and many others.

Rewriting Russian Gymnastics has a very interesting post on what’s happening at that gym:

… (coach) Yuri Korolev intends to leave Vladimir. He is convinced that Vladimir doesn’t need him.

– I was working with a gymnast – Yuri Barkalov, but he’s gone, – said Yuri Korolev. – Currently, I’m unemployed although I earn 20,000 roubles a month. I have prospects. I’ll have to leave my home town.

Yuri Korolev was very harsh on current gymnasts.

– They lack ideals. Now everything valuable is measured in money, and not with your country’s prestige, – he said. – By the way, the situation is natural, since we have a group of six rich athletes and the rest works as hard as them but earns much less. …

Vladimir School of Gymnastics 50 Years on … an allegory of Soviet and Russian gymnastics history?

I was there when Korolev won the 1985 World Championships in a stunner. He’s one tough competitor.

Click PLAY or watch a Korolev montage on YouTube.

Korolev is, quite arguably, the most decorated non-Olympian (male or female) gymnast of all time.

wikipedia

gymnastics coaching posture

It’s interesting and sometimes amusing to watch gymnastics coaches, especially in competition.

In preparation for his role in Stick It, Jeff Bridges studied American coaches at Junior Olympic competitions. And asked gymnasts, including Isabelle Severino, how he should act in certain situations.

Scientific research contends that “power posing” actually works. That you can “fake it until you BECOME it“.

Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

Click PLAY or watch her TED talke on YouTube.

Thanks Ron.

concept – Trampoline bridge

Brain child of Atelier Zündel Cristea for a Paris bridge design competition:

… It may result in some broken necks and legs but screw it, that’s the price you pay for having a way to cross the river Seine jumping like Spider-Man. …

It’s made with “inflatable modules, like giant life-preservers, 30 meters in diameter” and filled with “3700 cubic meters of air.” Each of them have a trampoline mesh In the central part of each ring, a trampoline mesh is stretched. Oh, and they got stairs and slides on both sides. …

gizmodo – This Is the Coolest Bridge I Can Imagine

via Hal Halvorson and Dian Nissen Ramirez on Facebook

Rosie – Female Athlete of the Year

Many sites have linked to this good news:

… Gabrielle Douglas of Virginia Beach, Va./Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, was named the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2012 Sportswoman of the Year …

Olympic all-around champions Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Nastia Liukin (2008) previously won this award.

USAG

In the Great White North, more recognition for Gymnastics sports:

2012 Canadian Sport Awards Winners

Female Athlete of the Year: Rosannagh MacLennan, Trampoline, King City, ON

Volunteer Achievement Award: Slava Corn, Gymnastics

Rosie MacLennan won Canada’s only gold medal of the London Games in the trampoline event. It was MacLennan’s second Olympics on the trampoline, having finished seventh overall at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Star

Michigan Mens Gymnastics

Nice edit. Fast cuts. Plenty of close-ups.

This weeks workout is with the preseason #2 the University of Michigan Wolverines. In 2012 the Wolverines finished 6th in team finals at the NCAA Championships after winning their preliminary session. Two Michigan gymnasts Sam Mikulak and Syque Caesar were busy over the summer as they competed at the 2012 London Olympics. Looking ahead to 2013, this Wolverine squad is stacked with talent and depth with sights set on a National Championships.

This season five scores will count toward the team score instead of four as it has been …

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NTEyNjU4OTg4?related=1

Watch more video of Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on gymnastike.org

walking in ‘bridge’

I’ve never liked this drill. Especially NOT the GAME of racing in bridge position.

It has little value for gymnasts. Encourages bad form, bad technique.

And some kids have been injured while attempting it.

I’ll always recall when the great Russian Power Tumbling coach, Skakoun Senior, told us at a clinic in Canada:

“If you can do a bridge, get out of my gym. You can’t tumble.”

His demonstrator, a 3-time World Champion, did not even know how to get into position to try a back bridge.

That’s going too far, in my opinion. There are powerful tumblers who can do a back bridge, but it’s not essential.

related – discussion on Chalk Bucket

recovery – Stanford’s Cooling Glove

This technology has been around for years. It promises much for those athletes where training is limited by overheating.

I’m not sure I see any applications for acrobatic sport, though.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via All Things Gym)

BBS – Utah preview

Because last year’s Super Six and the subsequent discussion was all about the close margin between Alabama, Florida, and UCLA, it’s easy to forget that Utah finished less than half of a point behind the champions. Now, I would make the argument that a lack of proper separation between scores was a problem there (and throughout the season, and always, a point I will be sharpening for, oh, the next six months), but even taking that into account, Utah wasn’t completely blown away by the top three last year.

The single biggest deficit that the Utes faced when compared to the eventual champion Alabama came on vault, which accounted for nearly half of the difference in scores. Utah fans should therefore be pleased that the new freshman class features two standouts on that event (Taylor Allex and Breanna Hughes), both of whom boast solid Yurchenko 1.5s that were consistently scoring in the 9.750-9.800 range in JO. With these two, Utah should be able to withstand the loss of Kyndal Robarts on this event and improve on last season’s scores …

The less pleasant news comes when we rotate to bars. …

read more on Balance Beam Situation

Click PLAY or watch Breanna Hughes’ vault on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/Njk1NjM0OTYy?related=1