Damien’s definitely a superb tumbler. (22nd at Worlds in Quebec City 2007, I believe.) And his latest parkour / martial arts / gymnastics showreel is the best thing I’ve seen in weeks. Funny, original, well-edited:
Seems Damien’s also won the Olympics. How about that?
The 2006 Olympics on Beam. Here’s the proof. (You may want to close your eyes when he gets to his signature skill, the “Walters”. It’s every girl’s worst nightmare.)
The most detailed overview yet of the main candidates for the US Women’s Olympic Team. Well worth a read.
I don’t agree with many assumptions made about the selection process which will be used by Martha Karolyi and the committee. Trust me. Their motivation will be to put the team on the floor who can hit the highest A-start routines. Confidence and consistency will decide it.
… Less we repeat the mistakes of 2004, Martha Karolyi should keep all doors open for Kupets and Postell to return to elite competition. Although she says she won’t try, Kupets is in fantastic shape and has upgraded bars, beam and floor. Prior to her announcement, Kupets was training routines with 7+ A-scores on bars and beam that were designed by Kelli Hill.
If NCAAs are successful, don’t be shocked if either makes a late bid. Kupets would only have to add her toe on+ tkatchev to her NCAA bar routine. Her bid is more likely than Postell’s because of her long history of good favor with USAG, her mental toughness, competitive consistency, leadership, and prowess on the Uneven Bars—USA’s weakest event.
Both girls are hesitant to try, which is likely due to wariness about their political standing with USAG. Sacramone was discouraged from competing in the NCAA and the national team staff is unlikely to name two team members who have forgone the traditional camp system. Kupets’ bid was curtailed after she was unable to secure an academic waiver for a lightened course load. In 2004, Kate Richardson benefited from UCLA’s quarter system, which allowed her to withdraw from her courses after the NCAA Championships.
This yet-to-be-released book should sell a kerzillion copies. In the Olympic year.
It’s written by Jennifer Sey, ex-Parkette gymnast. Recall the name?
At her first major international meet, the 1985 World Championships, Jennifer Sey fell off the uneven bars and broke her femur (one of the bones in the leg). At the time, she was not being spotted by her coach because the official rules prevented coaches from being on the podium during routines. As a result of this injury, the rules were changed to allow spotting (though not at Olympic competition).
“Chalked Up pulls no punches…Sey’s writing is brilliant…offering perceptive psychoanalysis of everyone in her isolated world…Chalked Up is proof that she still has alot of guts.”
— International Gymnast
“She has eloquently and fairly exposed a dark side to our sport that parents have long needed to be made aware of.”
— Dominique Moceanu, Olympic Gold Medal Winning Gymnast
In his Stretching Out column, International Gymnast editor Dwight Normiledreams of routines not dictated by a code of points rewarding primarily A-score difficulty.
I quote only a few of his “Skills and Combinations I’d Love to See”. Click through to read the rest.
Floor Exercise
• Full-twisting Arabian dive roll. I don’t think I would ever tire of seeing this breathtaking skill. Remember, it was the exclamation point that completed that memorable back-to-back pass by 1985 world champion Oksana Omelianchik. And refuting the notion that more is always better in gymnastics, I don’t think I’d like to see a double-twisting Arabian dive roll. Ever.
• Morgan Hamm’s Airflare is really cool, even if it’s been done already by B-Boys. However, to incorporate it in a floor routine could bring new fans to the sport.
Uneven Bars
…
• During her lengthy career, Svetlana Khorkina performed several different elements that took her from the low bar to the high bar, but my favorite was the Stalder-hecht she used only briefly. From a handstand on the low (back facing high), she dropped into a Stalder. But just when you thought she would complete her ascent to a handstand, she simply let go and caught the high bar. It was beautiful and unexpected. I can only guess that it also was inconsistent, because she didn’t keep it for long. Or perhaps her coach, Boris Pilkin, had already invented that crazy, whirling Shaposhnikova she used for years.
Parallel Bars
• I must admit, when I first saw Shinji Morisue chuck a tucked double back to upper arms at the 1984 Olympics, something inside me said it wasn’t good gymnastics. Not that it wasn’t difficult, mind you. I just didn’t think it belonged on the event. I had a hard enough time accepting bent legs on giant swings, but throwing a skill on p-bars in the tucked position seemed to show complete disregard for tradition.
Well, these doubles have overtaken what was once a beautiful event. So if they’re here to stay, how about following them with something other than a front uprise? And let’s be honest, some of the front uprises we see after Morisues are skidding, arm-scraping, reverse push-ups. Still others employ a small kipping action to reach a full support. Why not do a simple back shoulder roll? Or better yet, one of those interesting slip-kips, where the gymnast reaches back from the upper arms, catches in a piked inverted swing, then kips to a support. And if you’re really strong, maybe a Streuli? Or back shoulder roll to Streuli! See, the combinations are endless! …
Horizontal Bar
• More dismounts in combination with release elements. A Tkatchev seems the best candidate to link directly to a dismount, since the gymnast usually has plenty of swing and has time to tap after regrasping. …
This is a big honour. Congratulations to the girls and their coaches. To everyone in USA Gymnastics, in fact. That team is a culmination of the system.
Brett on the Tramp and Tumble blog notes that trampoline is one of the “events” in a new game:
… the Sega video game Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games, released last month for the Nintendo Wii and to be released later this month on the Nintendo DS. Normally I wouldn’t post about a video game here, even a game about the Olympics, but in this case I decided to make an exception. You see, the initial gymnastics event that you can try your hand at is – Trampoline!!
I tried to find a video of the Trampoline part of the game that I could post here, but didn’t find one I could use. You can, however, see a video of the Trampoline (and other) part of the game at the game’s home page: click on the Events tab, then Gymnastics button, and you will see the button for Trampoline. …
The October 2007 CrossFit Journal (#62) had a cover story on using a pommel bucket for general strength conditioning.
“Bucket Circles” – Gymnastics coach Phil Savage explains how to use a simple bucket-and-rope contraption to allow the Rest of Us to train like gymnasts. Working the ability to perform circles on the floor (as male gymnasts do in competition on the pommel horse) with the feet supported and rotating around the body provides excellent strength and coordination work that carries over to all sorts of endeavors.
I like these buckets for beginners, and for recreation. The flat floor (as shown) is safest. Be sure to put marks on the floor so the kids know where to place the hands.
The bucket shown, however, is not the ideal design. Having built many over the years, the best way I’ve found is to suspend the bucket in a “twist belt” by height adjustable chain and cable. Attaching to a boxing swivel on the roof.
Expensive, yes. But worth it.
Leave a comment if you have any other advice for coaches who want to build one.
Wow.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 