March Questions and Comments

Please post here.

PS Can you believe it's March already?! :)

Level 5 Uneven Bars Requirements

Check The World of Gymnastics, a great site which helped me compile some of this information, for more requirements. The site provides this type of information for a lot of different routines over multiple levels.

In a level 5 uneven bar routine, judges will look for fluid connections, good body position, and attention to detail from the gymnast throughout both the low bar and high bar sections of the routine. The following is a list of individual requirements for the level 5 bar routine. If any of these requirements are missing, deductions will be taken.



Glide Kip
The glide kip can be performed in either a straddle or a pike position and with or without the use of a springboard, depending on the gymnasts' and coaches' preferences. If the gymnast chooses to perform a straddle glide kip, her feet must come together at the end of the glide. For both types of kips, the gymnast must leave the ground or springboard off of two feet at the same time and must lead with her feet in the glide. Gymnast must not bend elbows during the kip and must end in front support. The glide kip connects into a front hip circle.

Front Hip Circle
Gymnast must maintain straight, tight hollow body position all the way around the bar, with head neutral and arms straight. Must end in front support. Failure to maintain hip or upper thigh contact with the bar will result in up to a 0.20 deduction.

Cast, Squat on
First cast must be directly connected out of the front hip circle. Gymnast must show a straight line from shoulders to feet, a tight hollow body without any arch in the back, and must reach a 45 degree angle (or horizontal to the bar). The gymnast should control her body as she brings her hips back to the bar. The second cast for the squat on follows the same requirements as the first cast - although the gymnast is squatting or piking on, she must still reach 45 degrees and can only raise her hips when she is performing the squat or pike on. Both feet must land between the gymnasts hands at the same time.

Jump to High BarThe gymnast should show a tight body, no leg separation, and pointed toes during the jump, which directly connects to the Long Hang Kip.

Long Hang KipGymnast should swing to near horizontal before beginning the kip and must maintain straight arms throughout, ending again in a front support position.

Cast, Back Hip Circle
Gymnast must connect the cast right out of the long hang kip. The same requirements apply to this cast as to the low bar casts. Gymnast must maintain a straight, tight body position throughout the back hip circle and, as with the front hip circle, must maintain hip or upper thigh contact with the bar throughout.

Underswing
Gymnast must show a smooth transition from the back hip circle to the underswing. Must show hip or thigh contact throughout with the same straight hollow body position.

First Back SwingOn the back swing, the gymnast's hips must rise to at least 30 degrees below the high bar. Must maintain a straight line from shoulders to hips.

First Tap Swing
Gymnast must show "tapping" motion - that is, she must show a slight, tight arch throughout her body with feet behind her at the bottom of the swing, then raise the feet again in front, finding the tight hollow body position. Feet must reach to at least the height of the high bar at the top of the swing.

Second Back SwingSame basic motion as the first back swing with the same body position requirements, but on the second back swing the gymnast's hips must reach to 15 degrees below the height of the high bar or higher.

Half Turn DismountGymnast must reach a height of at least 45 degrees below the high bar. Must show a complete 180 degree turn before re-grasping the bar. The gymnast must re-grasp before letting go of the bar. Of course with any dismount, the judges will be looking for a controlled landing.

Long-Hang Kip

The long-hang kip is a bit different from a glide kip performed on the low bar. Though the two skills require similar upper-body strength, the timing is quite different, as is the swing. In general, this is a skill that takes a lot of practice and repetition before the gymnast figures out what the correct swing feels like and transfers that swing into her muscle memory. As with the free hip circle, I can offer a few tips and tricks, but practice is what is going to get the skill to click.

This skill begins with a jump to high bar. If your jump isn't solid, the long-hang kip will be more difficult. You do not want to jump in such a way that your back is severely arched when your hands hit the high bar. In order to have a smooth swing into your kip, you should reach the high bar with a tight, straight body. Depending on your height and the bar setting, you may benefit from reaching the bar in a slight, tight hollow rather than a straight, stretched body. Either of these options is great as long as there is no huge arch to interfere with the natural motion of the swing.

As you reach the high bar and begin your swing, you want to try to keep your feet behind you. A pretty common mistake is bringing your feet up too high on the upswing. When the upswing is too high, it's difficult to continue that momentum as you bring your ankles to the bar and begin to kip up. Swinging too high will work against you by bringing your momentum straight down, rather than back and up. You want to control your swing by keeping your feet behind you at the beginning of the swing.

However, this doesn't mean you should ignore the tap. You still need to perform a slight tap as you would with a normal tap swing. Keeping your feet behind you before the tap will just help to control your height and speed.

After the tap, you should swing up so that your body reaches a nice, stretched hollow. This is the point at which you want to raise your ankles to the bar and begin to kip. From this point forward, the kip is much like a regular glide kip. The same motions apply - the "pull up your pants" motion with the legs, a slight wrist shift, and ending in a front support. Of course, if you are connecting a cast out of your long-hang kip, you will need to finish with your feet in front of the bar and your shoulders leaning over as well.

These are just some basic tips. A lot of it, as I said, is just figuring out the timing that works for you. Happy kipping!

Clear Hip Circle on Bars

A clear hip circle (or free hip circle - I will use the two interchangeably as most coaches do) is a level 6 USAG uneven bars skill that is a variation of the level 5 back hip circle. I find this skill to be quite mechanical; there are a lot of specific things to keep in mind in attempting this skill as far as body position and timing go. Gymnasts need to be very aware of their form as well as their position on the bar and in the air in order to figure out the precise timing necessary for this move. Much of the most helpful instruction for free hips comes from timing drills that help the gymnast get the feel for when to open their shoulder angle and shift their wrists. Another main component of the skill is upper body strength.

While most of the progress with this skill will come from repetition and drills, there are a few tips gymnasts can keep in mind to make the skill go more smoothly. These are also tips that coaches should keep in mind in correcting form.

• A strong cast - at least to horizontal - is highly recommended before the gymnast even begins to attempt this skill with or without a spot, especially if the goal is a clear hip to horizontal or higher. Without the momentum that comes from a high, tight cast, it is nearly impossible to complete this move successfully. Muscling it around is possible but likely will be accompanied by an arched back and other form mistakes, and the gymnast will probably just barely clear the bar.
• As the gymnast begins to come down from the cast, she needs to maintain a controlled hollow body position with stomach muscles tight.
• Instead of bringing the hips back to the bar as the gymnast would with a back hip circle, she needs to drop her hips below the bar. The bar and hands should be about in line with the gymnast's mid-thigh. When first beginning the skill, it's okay to drop the hips only an inch or so below the bar, but as the gymnast progresses with both strength and timing, she will find it beneficial to drop a little lower below the bar. During this point in the skill, it is also essential that the gymnast leans back with her shoulders. The timing as far as when to lean the shoulders back has to do with how high the clear hip is intended to be - for example, if the gymnast wants to do a clear hip to handstand, she should begin leaning back with her shoulders as she passes through horizontal coming down from her cast. If the gymnast does not intend to free hip too high, she can wait a little longer before dropping her shoulders back and beginning the circling motion.
  
• While the gymnast is circling the bar, she needs to maintain the hollow body position. A slight pike is okay, but ideally the gymnast's body should make a hollow line. The main point to remember is not to arch at this point in the skill, as that will make it impossible to push up and off the bar. Likely an arched back will turn the free hip circle into a regular back hip circle with bad form, and the hips will come back to the bar, which of course is not the goal. Another point to remember as the gymnast begins to circle the bar is to keep the head position neutral.
  
• As the gymnast comes around the bar, she needs to begin to open her shoulder angle and simultaneously shift her wrists. As she does this, she will push down with her hands into the bar and push her feet up towards the ceiling and back, clearing the bar and landing with her feet on the floor. Or, if the gymnast is performing a free hip to handstand, she can return her hips to the bar and finish in front support.

Skills and Topic Requests

Hey guys, sorry I've been a bit absent on the blog lately. School tends to take over my life. I'm hoping a few of you will comment on this post and list one skill on each event that you're learning right now or struggling with. If you have other topic requests, please let me know that as well! And parents, if there are skills you'd like to know more about or if you have specific questions, also feel free to join in! I'm hoping to get some new posts up soon based on your feedback. :)

Carly Patterson Biography

Carly Patterson Bio

DOB: February 4, 1988 
Country Represented: USA 
Coach: Evgeny Marchenko
Best Event: Carly is uniformly known as a great, consistent beam worker, but what always separated her from other gymnasts is the fact that she never really had a week event; she was disciplined in her form on all four events, which allowed her to win and All-Around gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, as well as at the US Senior Nationals.
Best Known For: Her performance at the 2004 Olympic Games! She is recognized mainly for her All-Around gold, which she won with a score of 38.387, but she also earned herself a silver on beam as well as a silver in the team competition.

Currently: After the 2004 Olympics, it was discovered that Carly had a few bulging disks in her back, and for that reason she retired from gymnastics entirely. Since then, she has pursued a music career, but she will always be remembered for her gymnastics career, as she is now a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Interesting Fact: Carly has a full-length music album called "Back to the Beginning," which has been released on iTunes along with a few single tracks. Prior to releasing her album, she was on a show called Celebrity Duets, produced by Simon Cowell, where she had the opportunity to sing with multiple famous musicians. Not the best singer in the world, but at least the fame she gained from the Athens Olympics gave her the chance to try out something new. Here is a video of a song called "Here I am," which was featured on the show Make it or Break it.

February Questions and Comments

You know what to do! :) I'll also be taking topic requests in the comments section, as usual, so let me know if there is anything specific you'd like to see coming up on the blog.

Blind Gymnast

Someone shared this on the Chalk Bucket a while back... Thought it was worth sharing on here! Pretty incredible.

Handspring Vault

A few general tips for a killer handspring vault.

• The first and probably most obvious tip is to never underestimate the importance of your sprint down the vault runway. The run is a huge factor in determining the power and turnover speed of your vault. It is important that you're comfortable with the distance at which you begin your sprint in order to avoid what coaches like to call "stutter stepping" as you near the springboard. The best way to find the take-off, stride, and distance that work best for you is simply by trial and error. Always use the tape measure to check your distance before you vault! Once you find your distance, your run should be very consistent. You should be taking the same number of steps every time, taking off with the same leg, and therefore having very few issues when it comes time for the hurdle. We've all had those days when we get stuck at the end of the vault runway hurdling with the wrong leg. To avoid this issue as best you can, befriend the tape measure and find the sprint that works for you.

• The second tip is to get a powerful hurdle. Newton's Laws tell us that the amount of force we inflict on the springboard during our hurdle is equal to the amount of force the springboard will give us in return. The more you pound the springboard, the more spring it will give you to complete your vault. So be powerful with the hurdle and don't hold back - use a full arm circle to help you get the momentum you need. Another common mistake that happens during the hurdle is that the gymnast leans too far forward with their hips towards the vault table. We don't want to jump into the table, we want to spring up and over it, so leaning into it is not going to help. Hitting the springboard with your feet in front of your hips in a hollow is going to give you the necessary height.

• This one is really important, and I'm sure you've heard it before: it's all about the heel drive when it comes to handspring vaults. A heel drive is just what it sounds like - you need to drive your heels upwards to eventually find the vertical position and get over the table. The tricky part is that you need to drive your heels while maintaining good body position. You don't want to just arch your body and flop over the vault. The heels need to be the driving force for your whole entire body, which should remain tight and, for the most part, very straight. This requires a fair amount of core strength but is essential to a good vault.

• This next tip is all about angles (by that I mean the angle your body makes with the vault table). While ideal contact angle depends on the speed and power of the gymnast, the important thing for all gymnasts to remember about angles is that you should always be off the table before your body hits the vertical position. You want the "pop" or the "shoulder block" to happen before you hit the 90 degree mark. In other words, you don't want your contact with the vault to happen so late that you are blocking off the vault after you have hit the vertical position and are angled towards the landing mat. Your shoulder block should happen as quickly and as powerfully as possible so that it is almost as if you barely touched the vault at all.

• Another note on the shoulder block is that it should require absolutely no elbow bend. In fact, the entire purpose of the block is to get power off the vault table without having to use your arms to push. Not only is an elbow bend incorrect, but it'll also slow you way down and surely cause you to flop over with an arched back onto the landing mat, rather than with all your muscles squeezed as they should be.

• Of course, during the initial moment of contact as well as the whole shoulder block phase and continuing through the second flying phase, you should have a tight, straight body position. You should be stretched out, but with no yucky loose arching. If there's one thing judges cringe at seeing on vault, I think it would be an arched body. Arching over on a vault is a little bit like cheating on a test; it allows you to complete the vault using minimal strength and effort and without really having to block at all. However, it's completely incorrect and not very pleasing to the eye.

• As your feet finally start to hit the landing mat, bend your knees and extend your arms out in front of you to absorb the shock of the landing and to help you find the balance to stick it!

He Kexin Biography

DOB: Her birthday is listed as January 1, 1992, though the age controversy that arose at the Beijing Olympics has caused a lot of people to believe that she was born in 1994. Some records arose that indicated she was not old enough to compete in 2008, but the issue was eventually claimed to have been a simple error in transferring records when she switched teams. The passport obtained by the Chinese Federation claimed that she was born in '92, and the age investigation was eventually dismissed, though a lot of people still have strong opinions on the issue.
Country Represented: China
Coach: Huang Yubin
Best Event: Bars, judging by the practically unmatched difficulty level of her UB routines and her somewhat controversial gold medal in the event at the Beijing Olympics. Bars is her event specialty.
Best Known For: Probably her Olympic gold on bars, as well as the Chinese team gold medal. As far as bars go, I think she's definitely recognized for her difficult connections and release moves (at Worlds she competed a great Li Ya release which she connects with a Jaeger - her routine in team finals earned her a 16.333, though she had an unfortunate fall during event finals).



Currently: She is still competing and definitely plans on returning for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Interesting Fact: He Kexin scored a 16.800 at the Cottbus Cup. It was only her second international meet, and her score was good enough to be deemed the highest uneven bars score earned at an international competition under the current Code of Points.