9 BASIC SKILLS LESSON 7

1. Handstand:

The handstand is arguably the single most important skill and position in the sport of gymnastics. It’s the building block for essential skills on each of the four events. Being able to do a perfect handstand is one skill you should learn to master. The handstand is used in most tumbling skills — walkovers and handsprings. The handstand is important on bars — cast to handstands and giants are in the handstand position. Handsprings on vault pass through the handstand position. One of the keys to nailing the back extension roll in the level 6 floor routine is to hit a perfect handstand in the middle of the roll. You can practice handstands at home by doing Spiderman against the wall. Spiderman against the wall (see a picture explanation at this link) is one of my favorite exercises for improving your gymnastics skills at home. Spiderman against the wall is basically a handstand against the wall, but it’s a way to practice handstands with correct form. To do Spiderman against the wall, stand with your back against a wall in your house. Put your hands on the floor in front of you, and one at a time put your feet on the wall. Walk your hands closer to the wall as you walk your feet up the wall, until your stomach is touching the wall and you are in a handstand position. The tops of your feet should be flat against the wall, with your pointed toes touching the wall (your toenails will be against the wall). Keep your head neutral but look at your hands with your eyes. Hold this for as long as you can before coming down. While you are in the handstand, concentrate on tightening up all your muscles and think about pulling your feet up to the ceiling. This is a great way to practice good form because the wall forces your body to be absolutely straight. Learn more about how to do a handstand.

2. Cast:

Casting is the most basic bar element, and learning how to cast well early on will help you learn so many other skills. Body position in the cast is a hollow body shape. The hollow body shape is similar to the shape you have in a perfect handstand other than the fact that your back is slightly rounded with your stomach pulled towards your spine. You will eventually be casting to handstand, so the higher you can cast with a nice tight body position the better. You want your legs to be together and straight, your stomach pulled in, your back rounded and your eyes looking at the bar. Learn how to do a cast handstand.

3. Splits:

Mastering your side and middle splits will help you execute other skills that use that same shape as well. And your splits are easy to practice at home. The split “shape” is everywhere in gymnastics — split leaps, jumps, switch leaps, in the middle of backwalkovers, etc. The better you can do your splits on the ground, the better you will be able to do them in the middle of a skill. You should be able to do a split on your left leg, your right leg and a middle split with your legs straight and all the way to the ground. If you’re having trouble getting your splits all the way to the floor, learn some tips for increasing your flexibility.

4. Handspring on Vault:

The handspring on vault is the basic skill that all upper level vaults are based off of. It will be hard to succeed at Yurchenkos or twisting vaults if you haven’t figured out the mechanics of the handspring vault. To do a great handspring on vault you need to run fast, jump hard “punch” off the spring board, fly through the air and hit a perfect handstand on top of the vault table, block using your shoulders off the top of the vault and land on your feet. The first basic gymnastics skill is in play here also — the handstand.

5. Back Handspring:

A back handspring is an important gymnastics skill to master because it is the basic skill used in back tumbling on floor and beam. It will be hard for you to connect upper level skills (like layouts, full-twists, back tucks and double backs) to a roundoff back handspring if you can’t do a proper back handspring. The roundoff and the back handspring are both crucial for providing power to whatever comes after it.

6. Round-off:

A roundoff is just as important as a back handspring to master for tumbling on floor. The roundoff gives power just like the back handspring does to the tumbling pass.

7. Turn on 1 Foot:

The turn on 1 foot is a skill that doesn’t go away. It is required in every floor and beam routine gymnastics levels 4-10. So you might as well master this basic gymnastics skill right away.

8. Split Leap:

The split leap is another skill that is required in every floor and beam routine levels 4-10. To have a perfect split leap you want to be able to do your perfect split position in the air as high as you can off the ground. You also want your split to be even — both legs should be the same distance from the ground.

9. Tap Swing on Bars

Tap swings on bars, along with casts, are a building block of bar routines in all gymnastics levels. A tap swing is a swing on bars, but at the back of the swing you should “regrip.” This means you should come off the bar briefly and re-grab. At the back of the bar your body should be in a hollow position, underneath the bar you should move to a slight arch position as you “tap” your feet higher in the front of the bar. This just means that your feet will come forward to create a slight hollow in your body again.

Conditioning in Gymnastics LESSON 6

Gymnastic conditioning exercises are designed to help you strengthen your core, leg and arm muscles in an effort to improve your flexibility and control during a gymnastics routine.

Abs Having core strength is crucial for performing on various gymnastics apparatuses. It’s especially critical on uneven bars, high bar, parallel bars, and pommel horse – where thel egs need to be held up for much of the exercise. 

Here are two exercises that you can easily practice: 

Hollow body hold 

The hollow body hold helps with strengthening your core, which you’ll need especiallyfor the bar events and floor tumbling. 

1. Sit on the floor in a ball, knees tucked to your chest. 

2. Lift your arms so that they cover your ears. 

3. At the same time, extend your legs until your feet are 0.1 to 0.2 metres off the ground. 

4. Lean back slowly, pressing the small of your back into the floor. 

5. Hold in this position for 20 seconds.

V-ups 

1. Lie flat on the floor with your arms and legs extended. 

2. Simultaneously lift your arms and legs, touching your toes over the midsection of your body to form a “V” shape. 

3. Extend your arms and legs back to the floor, and repeat.

Lower back As you work on your core muscles, you will want to strengthen your lower back to ensure that both sides of your body are equally strong.

Arch-ups 

1. Lie on your stomach with your arms above your head, and your legs straight. 

2. Lift your arms and legs so that your stomach is the only part of your body on the floor. 

3. Lower your arms and legs to the ground before repeating.

Arms 

In gymnastics, most events require a lot of arm strength.

Push-ups 

1. Assume a face-down position on the floor, with your feet together and your weight on your chest. 

2. Raise yourself using your arms, with your weight supported by your hands and the balls of your feet. Repeat.

Legs 

Building strength in the legs can lead to explosive tumbling and vaulting. It also helps in the balance and execution of other gymnastics skills.

Calf raises 

1. Stand on a mat with your heels hanging off the edge. 

2. Quickly rise onto your toes as high as you can, extending all the way through the feet. 

3. Make sure your feet stay pressed together, and remain straight. 

4. Slowly lower back down until your heels are off the edge again, then repeat.

BASIC SHAPE IN GYMNASTICS LESSON 5

     There are some basic shapes and body positions that get repeated over and over in gymnastics skills. Learning and then mastering the shapes is one great way to practice and improve your gymnastics at home.

I’m going to go over each of the shapes, why it’s important and some skills which require you to do  it.

1. Tuck: You see the tuck shape on each of the events. As beginner gymnasts you do tuck jumps, and then tuck jumps with a turn on both floor and beam. As you advance, you will learn a front tuck. On bars, you will use the tuck shape as you advance to do flyaways, and then twisting or double tuck flyaways. On vault, as an advanced gymnast you will learn tuck tsuks, and other flipping vaults.

2. Straddle: A straddle jump is a jump that you will do as a beginner gymnast, it’s in the level 4routine, all the way to an advanced gymnast.  As you advance in gymnastics, you will learn straddle jump 1/2 turns, and full turns, as well as straddle jumps on beam. You can also see the straddle shape in different skills, like a straddle press handstand, or straddling up to acast handstand on bars.

3. Pike: You see the pike shape on each of the events, just like the tuck. You will learn pike jumps on both floor and beam. And as you advance on floor, you will learn a back pike and front pike, after you learn the tuck versions. On bars, you can see the pike shape in many different skills, including a kip. There are many different flipping vaults that use the pike shape.

4. Split: The split shape shows up constantly on floor and beam in gymnastics! A split on floor is a key part of flexibility as a gymnast. Starting with level 1, a split jump is required in each of the compulsory levels on either floor or beam. After learning split jumps, gymnasts learn split leaps, and then switch leaps.

5. Straight Stand: The straight stand, or straight body position is EVERYWHERE in gymnastics. This is the most important position to master. As a gymnast, you need to be able to stand with your bottom squeezed, hips tucked under, core tight and with your arms straight and by your ears.

6. Handstand: A handstand is basically a straight body position upside-down. A handstand is another position that is everywhere in gymnastics. On both floor and beam, you can do regular handstands, and press handstands. On vault, you can do front handsprings, which has a handstand on the vault table in the middle of the skill. And on bars, you can do cast handstands.

7. Lunge: A lunge is how you finish most acro skills on floor and beam. You will land in a lunge out of a handstand, cartwheel, front walkover, back walkover and more. It’s important in a lunge for your back leg to be straight with your front leg bent, and to squeeze your bottom and core. You want your arms straight and right by your ears.

8. Arch: In gymnastics, it’s important to learn how to control the muscles in your body and to learn these basic shapes. One of the basic shapes you need to learn how to control is an arch. A tight arch shows up in many skills, and the act of switching from an arch to a hollow gives your body power. One skill where your body needs to go from an arch to a hollow is a back handspring. While you are upside-down in the back handspring, you will be in an arch when your feet are behind your head. As you pull your legs over your head to snap down out of the handspring, your body will move into a hollow.

9. Hollow: The opposite of the arch shape is the hollow shape. In the hollow shape, you want your bottom and core squeezed and your legs squeezed together while they are slightly in front of you. You can feel the hollow shape when you do the boats conditioning exercise on the ground.

10. Bridge: A bridge is another basic gymnastics shape. When you are in a bridge you want to be pushing your body forward to stretch through your shoulders. A basic skill where you use a bridge is in a bridge kickover.

Obviously there are more gymnastics shapes, but these are the most basic. Practicing doing these shapes with good form is a great way to improve your gymnastics.

STUNTS ( Gymnastics ) LESSON 4

helpful.I.)High Kick – Stand with the right arm

TYPES OF GYMNASTICS STUNTS LESSON 3

Beam Stunts
A routine on the balance beam begins with a mount, which can incorporate a running flip for more advanced gymnasts. When scoring the routine, judges look for at least two flight elements, so you should include moves such as twists and flips, if possible. Keep in mind that your jumps can reach 3 to 4 feet from the beam. You need to complete all of your rotations during these stunts.

Floor Stunts
While beginners complete tricks such as the forward roll, more advanced gymnasts attempt extremely difficulty tumbling routines during the floor exercise. These maneuvers include handsprings, flips and twists, which you must do in combination with one another and land on your feet. The handspring holds particular importance because it helps you to gain speed as you move toward the more difficult elements of your routine.



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Types of Gymnastics Stunts
Jeremi Davidson - Updated June 13, 2017
During every gymnastics meet, competitors participate in many events, with each apparatus allowing them to complete different stunts. Gymnasts can incorporate moves such as flips and twists into nearly any event, while other moves, especially those on the vault and bars, remain event specific. All gymnasts should start slowly and take their time before moving up to more advanced stunts because of the risk of injury involved in the sport.



Beam Stunts
A routine on the balance beam begins with a mount, which can incorporate a running flip for more advanced gymnasts. When scoring the routine, judges look for at least two flight elements, so you should include moves such as twists and flips, if possible. Keep in mind that your jumps can reach 3 to 4 feet from the beam. You need to complete all of your rotations during these stunts.

Floor Stunts
While beginners complete tricks such as the forward roll, more advanced gymnasts attempt extremely difficulty tumbling routines during the floor exercise. These maneuvers include handsprings, flips and twists, which you must do in combination with one another and land on your feet. The handspring holds particular importance because it helps you to gain speed as you move toward the more difficult elements of your routine.


Vault Stunts
Beginners on the vault simply try to somersault from the apparatus and land on their feet. You might then move to a handspring until you have mastered that stunt. Once you become better at the vault, you can incorporate moves with multiple twists and flips, which have a high degree of difficulty. You must keep your body in a straight position while in the air and land your jump without taking steps forward or backward. Rule changes have made it illegal for gymnasts to cartwheel into their vault, as that maneuver provided an injury risk.

Bar Stunts
Men and women have different bar-based events, so the moves that each sex does can vary. Women compete on the uneven bars, making it possible for them to transition between the bars with release moves. Judges watch these transitions carefully, as they involve gymnasts releasing one bar and catching themselves on another bar. The horizontal bar, in which the men compete, allows competitors to swing around the bars in a circular motion. This motion allows the men to build up enough speed to complete larger release moves and, eventually, a dismount.

BASIC GYMNASTICS POSITION LESSON 2

GYMNASTICS LESSON 1

GYMNASTICS


Exercises developing or displaying physical agility and coordination. The modern sport of gymnastics typically involves exercises on uneven bars, balance beam, floor, and vaulting horse (for women), and horizontal and parallel bars, rings, floor, and pommel horse (for men).

Brief history of Gymnastics

The early recorded activities in gymnastics were some exercises stunts and tumbling resembling gymnastics.

The early civilization, climbing, hanging in a rope, swinging, balancing on the stone and log flipping and turning were among their common activities.

KUNG FU OR MEDICAL GYMNASTICS
    -Chinese exercises
NAKED ART - greek
YOGA- india
BALANANG- egyptian
MONSTIG AND DEMONSTIG- romans


 In acient greece, three distinct program of gymnastic exercises was developed

• For military training
• Parts of the conditioning
• Regimens of the athletes.

JOHANN BASEDOW(1723-1790)
He produce the first gymnastics in school curriculum.
First modern writer and teacher of organized gymnastics.

 JOHANN GUTHS MUTHS(1759-1839)
 Great grandfather of gymnastics
He wrote gymnastics for youth
The first book of modern gymnastics in 1793.



FRIEDRICH LUDWIG JAHN(1778-1852)
-Also a father of gymnastics
He started the turverein

PERH LING (1776-1839)
-swedish invented the stall bars and the vaulting box or swedish box.

ADOLF SPIESS(1810-1858)
-introduce marching and exercises perform with music.



DR. DUDLEY SARGENT
He was the first american contributor of gymnastic because he was instrumental in including gymnastics in the school curriculum.

DERICTOR CANDIDO BARTOLOME  and
MRS. FRANCISCA  AQUINO

- Started gymnastics in the philippines at the University of the Philippines.



TYPES OF GYMNASTICS

1.Artistic gymnastics
 exercises that perform heavy equipments

Examples:
 -Balance beam
 - Horizontal bars
 -Parallel bars
 - Vaulting
 - Side horse

2. RYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
Exercise perform with light apparatus.

EXAMPLE:
RIBBON
BALL
HOOP
ROPE