Gymnastics Coaching.com

by site editor Rick McCharles

I enjoyed the second of three Cirque special performances at the Charlottetown Festival in PEI.

Cirque du Soleil will give three performances — Wednesday, June 30, Friday, July 2, and Sunday, July 4, at 9:15 p.m. …

Flight over P.E.I. inspired Cirque du Soleil director

It got great reviews in the local paper. I felt most got good value for the $40 ticket.

Obviously it’s not easy to put together a show for only 3 performances.

The troupe was invited for a local barbecue.

Thanks to hosts Lea and Jim Rand.

All’s good. … Right Jim?

more photos from Charlottetown

Gymnastics Examiner has a great write up on the results from prelims at the Japan Cup:

The Japanese men and the Russian women led the way on the first day of competition at the Japan Cup, being held this weekend in Tokyo.

The host men posted top team scores on five of six events to defeat second-place Germany by nearly 10 points (276.1-266.9). The U.S., propelled by the second highest team scores on rings and parallel bars, finished only seventh on vault and ended third (265.4), a point and a half behind the Germans.

The competition used the three-up, three-count formula also used at the World Championships and Olympic Games. …

Fabian Hambüchen was pretty psyched that his team, Germany, finished ahead of the USA.

… The U.S.’s Alex Naddour, a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma, posted the highest score on pommel horse (14.75). …

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js

The women’s meet was much weaker than the MAG.

… the day belonged to Afanasyeva, 19, who was left off the A-team European Championships squad earlier this spring and sent as the veteran of the team to the Pacific Rim Championships in Australia. Afanasayeva posted the highest score on floor exercise (14.7) and was second on vault (14.75) and beam (14.55) in this Russian intrasquad …

Gymnastics Examiner – Japanese men, Russian women win team titles at Japan Cup

OKYO (AP) — World champion Kohei Uchimura has led Japan to the title in the men’s team event at the Japan Cup gymnastics competition.

Uchimura, the individual all-around world champion, scored more than 16 points in the vault and high bar disciplines Saturday and had 15.650 points in the floor exercise for defending champion Japan, which won with 276.100 points. Germany was second with 266.900 points. …

USA Today

1. Russia 173.850, 2. Japan 169.850, 3. KOR 150.650

full team results (PDF)

via The All Around Gymnastics News on Facebook

Some interesting clips.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The most valuable to me is at 28 seconds: double full twist to kick open to full twist in the opposite direction.

We’ve known this was possible biomechanically, but that’s the best video evidence I’ve seen on Earth that you can untilt one way, and retilt the other, mid-air.

Astronauts have done it perfectlly in weightless conditions.

Steve Elliot, for fun, could show half-in, half-out four different ways. R,R – R,L – L,L – L,R.

related – saltocafe → Claire from GK’s showing off her twisting skills.

Have you heard of a “Poetic Funk Psychedelic” band called Elite Gymnastics?

Neither have I.

They are a duo, James Brooks and Josh Clancy from Minneapolis, MN.

Here’s the cover of their album Real Friends.

MySpace

I do wonder how they decided on that name.

(via Gymnastics Examiner)

by site editor Rick McCharles

We just finished a busy 5-day training camp, week #1 of 10, in lovely Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Coach C.J. here leads his rhyming warm-up.

Thanks to Head Coach Jim Rand for inviting me once again. This was his 34th annual summer gymnastics camp.

Shout out to the top girls: Desiray, Annika, Perri, Katherine, Jordan and Cassie. I was proud of your work this week.

Island Gymnastics Academy

That was the deliberately provocative title of my post on the jump from low bar to high bar:

“the most dangerous skill in gymnastics”

The mini-tramp progressions on the video linked above are good. But I like the more systematic approach presented by JAO even better.

… a few drills to use when teaching a jump to the high bar, specifically for girls who are very young and might otherwise find jumping to the high bar scary. The goal of these drills is to help build confidence in the gymnast and teach her that she can jump to the high bar in a good shape, and that she doesn’t have to do a flying-squirrel leap just to survive.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The first section deals with the shape and strength, generally.

The timing section is intended to help the girl get into a rhythm where she tucks, stands, and jumps. This is done by putting her through an action that simulates that rhythm, but in a fear-free drill. The goal is to get her in the habit of standing up and going, rather than standing up, thinking too hard about it, and then deciding to get back down.

The last section deals with breaking the jump into familiar pieces to help take some of the scariness out of getting to the high bar.

And yes, I still feel that most girls gyms have more injuries on that skill than any other. I’ve heard of some who have 1 broken arm/wrist each year. Almost all avoidable.

more JAO videos

… Scott Burns from California Sports Centers shows how to develop strength for the Azarian on rings.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Watch more gymnastic training videos on TheGymnastic Minute Channel on YouTube. Support the Gymnastics Minute free videos by . buying GymSmarts DVDs

An interview with one of the hardest working gymnasts in Hollywood:

Heidi Moneymaker attended the University of California, where she joined the gymnastics group and became uneven bars and vault team champion in 1997 and 2000 and individual champion in 1998 and 1999.

… Heidi competed in the 1999 World University Games and received two Honda Award nominations. With this skilled background, she made the step and has worked as a stuntwoman and stunt actress on television series and films since 2002.

24, Hancock, Mission Impossible III, My Name Is Earl, Serenity, Spider-Man 3 and Star Trek are just a few of the many well known and high profile movies and TV shows that Heidi has done stunt work for and I was lucky enough to be able to get in touch with her recently to ask her about some of her latest projects including being Scarlett Johansson’s stunt double in Marvel Studios‘ Iron Man 2! …

read Heidi’s interview