Gymnastics Coaching.com

That question was posted on the The Chalk Bucket forum. The advice given was NOT to spot 1/1 twist. To use progressions, instead.

I can’t think of a single coach in 2007 who advocates spotting twisting on Floor as a progression.

When I was a young coach, though, I spotted Jon Moffat for ten standing 1/1 twists every work-out. I got pretty good at that tricky spot, after a while. On the down side, I think I did more harm than good for Jon. In his mind, the challenge was to twist, not flip. That’s the wrong mental approach for this skill.

But lets say for sake of argument you MUST spot full twist on Floor. For a cheerleader, for example, who does not have a huge background of trampoline and gymnastics basics.

I think I’d start with the athlete in a twisting belt, from stand on a mini-tramp. And leave them in that safe environment until the motor pattern was quite stable. (For the athlete and the spotter.) We have something similar at Altadore.

Alternate front somersault with half twist. And back layout with half twist. Spotting both.

Eventually combining the two into a full twist. Eventually taking that skill out of the belt and on to the floor. The twist is fairly easy if the somersault is consistent.

Over Head Spotting Rig | Twisting Belt

Any other suggestions? Leave a comment below.

I suspect we could take another cheerleader of the same background, and teach her a full twist faster using trampoline devices. Without spot.

(Beijing, November 29)

In the men’s team final of the 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament this evening, China came from the fourth place after the second round to play strong in the rings …

Host team rallies to win men’s team title

Is this really China’s “B Team”?

Or will some of these competitors compete at the Olympics?

The biggest disappointment was the very poor finish of the USA. Durante, a gymnast I admire a lot, had a particularly bad day.

In the right hand navigation we’ve added quick links to past and future events we will be attending.

Screen shot:

Useful if you were there. Or will be attending in future.

by Rick McCharles

A fitness guru named Ryan Lee knows a lot about how to generate traffic on his website. And, clearly, not much about Yoga and Pilates. (Or how to increase resistance using your own body weight.)

It’s an old strategy, one I try to resist on this site. Post something with an inflammatory, sensational title. For example: The TRUTH About Yoga and Pilates

Rant emotionally:

For all you zealots out there trying to help me train my athletes, I actually have done OK without you. Just for the record, there are many folks like me who have been training athletes for decades who have drawn much of their warm-up and flexibility work from yoga but don’t feel the need to dedicate two of their eight hours a week to this relatively small area. I need to work on strength, power, speed, and conditioning — all in eight hours a week. I need to do that with a proper warm-up and attention to flexibility. Can’t you just see the yoga guy or girl jumping up and down saying, “I know, I know, yoga does all that.”

The truth is yoga does not do all that.

Yoga develops strength to a point and then simply works primarily on muscle endurance. …

The TRUTH About Yoga and Pilates by Mike Boyle | Ryan Lee

Then sit back as many industry websites link to your post. To refute it.

The comments on that post are entertaining.

Ryan Lee is all about the money, it looks to me.

That’s a bit of a shame. Because Ryan Lee has a good point under the bluster.

Yoga and Pilates are over-praised. Practitioners are oft too evangelical. I see both as supplemental to the main fitness training program.

That TRUTH will be lost in the heat of the argument, I fear.

By the way, Ryan. Send any of your clients to adult recreational gymnastics conditioning. We’ll get them more fit than you can. And we won’t need a weight room to do it.

… Lets see if I can generate some internet buzz of my own.

Thanks for the tip on this, George.

Related: posts on Yoga / Pilates

An athlete competes in China’s National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Nov. 28, 2007. The National Indoor Stadium started operation Wednesday to hold the “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Gymnastics Tournament.

(Xinhua Photo)

click on the PHOTO GALLERY link on this page for more – Photos: Gymnastics event puts National Indoor Stadium under test – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

The women’s all-around final of the 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament closed at the National Indoor Stadium this morning. China’s Jiang Yuyuan won the gold medal with a total score of 61.225pts. This was the first gold in this tournament. Daria Joura from Australia and Bridget Sloan from the United States placed second and third respectively.

… Lauren Mitchell, another Australian gymnast, finished fourth with 57.700pts, and Chellsie Memmel of the US team, the 2005 all-around world champion who just reappeared, stood at the fifth with 57.425pts.

China’s Jiang Yuyuan wins women’s all-around title – 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament

Full results are linked from the same site.

Cute:

Talitha’s Gymnastics |

A compilation of acrodunks from an internal team dunk contest.

http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/943054/acrodunk_solo_dunk_session.swf
Acrodunk Solo-dunk Session

And the man known as the “World’s Greatest Dunker”, Kadoure Ziani from France, 5ft 11in tall. He needs no trampoline.

Click PLAY or watch him on YouTube.

Ziani claims he has a 56in vertical jump. Even more impressive, he kicked a board 9ft 6in high on TV’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period. (an unofficial world record)

I think the cartwheel dunk is from Abdoul Bamba, also from the French dunk team Slam Nation.

The spotter counter balances the gymnast so they can “feel” the correct position before initiating the jump for backward handspring.

The RED line is the goal. Thee figures on the right (A,B,C), common errors:

For fun, with confident, experienced tumblers on a trampoline — the coach can release the grip, asking the gymnast to do an almost instantaneous back handspring.

This diagram comes from an excellent longer article by Steve Bonham, from Georgia Southern University: Body Awareness Drills

I really miss Cobi, the oddball Barcelona sheep dog. The best of all Olympic mascots, so far. Those were simpler times.

In recent years the mascots have been getting more numerous, and more confusing.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascots, Quatchi (C), a sasquatch, Miga (L), a sea bear and Sumi, an animal spirit are unveiled in Surrey, British Columbia, Nov. 27, 2007. The Mascots were inspired by local Aboriginal mythological creatures.

(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Miga — a snowboarding sea-bear inspired by the First Nations’ legends of the Pacific Northwest. Miga, described as mischievous and outgoing, is part sea-bear and part orca whale.

Quatchi — a shy and gentle Sasquatch with a long brown beard and blue earmuffs meant to conjure the mystery and wonder associated with the Canada’s wilderness.

Sumi — an animal guardian spirit, who flies with the wings of the thunderbird, is described as “a natural born leader with a passion for protecting the environment.”

Quatchi and Miga will represent the Olympic Games while Sumi will represent the Paralympic Games.

Mascots unveiled for Vancouver Olympic Games _English_Xinhua

Understand?

If so, now learn about the 4th mascot, Mukmuk — a Vancouver Island marmot sidekick considered an honorary member of the mascot team.

I know these mascots are all about marketing potential. Why didn’t they choose the Spirit Bear, the most popular and obvious choice? Must have been a committee compromise.

For comparison, here are the Beijing mascots:

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Friendlies.

The Friendlies consists of five members: BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing, and NiNi. The five mascots incorporate fish, giant panda, fire, Tibetan antelope, and swallow designs respectively, and each also represents one of the five Olympic Rings. When the five names are put together, they form a pun on the phrase ‘Beijing HuanYing Ni’ which means ‘Beijing Welcomes You’.

Kinabaloo

I think the 4 Canadian mascots could take the 5 Friendlies in a cage match. Don’t you?