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.

January Questions and Comments

Please post here :) I would love topic requests if you have them, and if you want any posts written about specific skills that seem to be common among readers then I'll be happy to get something up for ya, but I need your input first. Thanks!

Happy New Year, everybody!

USAG World Championship Highlights

Great video! Here are some of the highlights of the 2010 Worlds for the US men's and women's teams.

Home Gym Equipment for Gymnasts

It's a common debate in the "gymnastics world" whether or not parents should establish a home gym and allow their kids to practice their sport at home. One the one hand, having a floor beam and a single bar in the basement or rec room allows gymnasts extra practice time and serves as a fun activity to do at home. On the other hand, there are some safety issues involved when practicing without a coach and without proper landing mats. These are a few factors to take into consideration when deciding whether a home gym is a good idea for you or your kids. Another thing to think about is how often the gym equipment will actually be used, and whether the use will be worth the cost. This stuff can get pretty pricey, so for most people, the decision to buy home gym equipment is not one they make on a whim.

Other considerations:

• Amount of available floor space, and type of flooring. Mats and roll-up beams can slide on wooden floors. If you don't have a lot of space but still want a beam at home, you can consider buying a 4", 6", or 8" beam rather than a 10" or 12" beam, but your gymnast might not be able to perform a full routine on a shorter balance beam.
• Ceiling height. Often a gymnast on a floor beam will hit the ceiling just doing a simple jump. If you have an open area with higher ceilings that is carpeted, that will be the best place for your home gym. Medium height and high beams are available online, though I don't generally recommend those anyway because of safety, but floor beams will fit best in the average house.
• Size of equipment and available storage. Most floor mats will fold up nicely to be stored in a closet, and you can do the same with roll-up beams. Solid beams, bars, or pommel trainers will be more difficult to find storage space for. You can do like I used to and hide the beam behind the couch when company comes, but sometimes there is no real great solution to this dilemma.
• Can you make do without? A mat is a mat, but a line of tape on the floor can serve as a floor beam and do what it's meant to do with absolutely no cost. No harm in getting a little creative!
• Is it too much of a good thing? Some parents think the gymnastics should stay in the gym; time at home is family time and it reminds the gymnast that their sport is not their whole life. I tend to agree with this to an extent. One piece of gym equipment is fun to play on at home, but gym life, school life, and home life sometimes need to be separated. I don't advise parents to try to coach their kids at home - although they love gymnastics, they are under a lot of pressure and stress at the gym, and home needs to be a sanctuary.
• Supervision. Any gymnastics at home should be supervised at all times, and the gymnast shouldn't be doing anything they aren't absolutely confident in doing without a spot.

If you do decide to purchase some equipment for home, I would recommend both a mat and a floor beam. I am hesitant to recommend anything further for safety reasons. A lot of parents want to get their kids a single kip bar, but with a lack of safety equipment and with the bar not being bolted to the ground, anything above level 4 skills becomes pretty dangerous. The bar is not sturdy enough to hold very much weight, nor much swinging movement.

Here are some of the most reputable sites to get quality gym equipment for home.

American Gymnast
http://www.american-gymnast.com/shop/Home-Use-Equipment-C12.aspx

This site has your basic 1.5"-2" floor mats, kip bars, floor and low beams, pommel trainers, etc. They also have "hand, hand, foot, foot" cartwheel mats for the littles. This is a very reputable company. I haven't used any of their home products personally but I would assume this is as close as you could get to a beam that has the same width, texture, and squishiness as a regulation beam.

The Beam Store
http://www.thebeamstore.com/

The Beam Store has bars, floor beams, raised beams with metal legs, and mats. For the boys they do have some mini parallel bars or parallets. The thing I really love about this site is that it is SO safety-conscious. It has a lot of beam/mat combos, which is great. Their beams also have a wide and long foundation under them, making them a whole lot safer (granted, more expensive) than a stand-alone kip bar. I have an 8-inch beam from this site. It feels a little wider than a regulation beam just because the foam and the suede they cover it with is a little thicker, but it serves its purpose. Most of the beams come in assorted colors, as well, which can be cute.

Gym Supply
http://www.gymsupply.com/

This site has more than just home gym equipment. They've got some institutional equipment, grips, gifts, apparel, etc., but they also have the basic beams, mats, and bars. They have some strength training equipment that could be used for anybody wanting to work out at home, not just gymnasts. They also carry all of the Nastia Liukin products! In her line, there is a pirouette bar which is great for home use as well as a 9" beginner beam (and it's pink!).

Hollie Vise Biography

The gymnast of the month for December is Hollie Vise! Today, the 6th, is Hollie's birthday, so I thought it appropriate to choose her for the monthly bio. (And also I'd like to give a special December birthday shout-out to gymnasticsluver!)

DOB: December 6, 1987
Country Represented: USA
Coach: Evgeny Marchenko, a Russian acrobat
Best Event: Based on her gold medal at the 2003 World Championships, she was best on uneven bars, but she was also considered to be a great beam worker.
Best Known For: She competed in the 2003 World Championships, bringing home a gold on bars as well as the gold for the team competition. She competed at the 2004 Olympic Trials but was not chosen to be a part of the final Olympic team, as they needed vault specialists and she was best on beam/bars. She is also well-known for her signature mount pose on beam (pictured).
Currently: Hollie studies at the University of Oklahoma and competes with their gymnastics team.
Interesting Fact: Her grandfather is Burton Gilliam, a fairly well-known actor who has appeared in 17 films and many different television programs.

December Questions and Comments

Please post here!

Level 5 Floor Requirements

The World of Gymnastics is a great site that helped me compile some of this information. I encourage you to check out the site! Its author provides requirements for routines of various levels.

The USAG competitive program scores gymnasts out of a possible 10.0 in each event. Gymnasts are responsible for performing all the required skills within their routines for any given level. Each skill, then, has requirements of its own (i.e. - handstands must be held for a certain amount of time, split leaps must meet a degree requirement, bent legs and flexed feet will be deducted in a back handspring, etc.) Needless to say, keeping track of all the requirements and deductions is nearly impossible for gymnasts, parents, and sometimes even coaches, so I thought it would be helpful to compile all the main information into one place, beginning with the most important requirements for a level 5 floor routine.

The first thing to know is that the gymnast will be deducted for performing out of time with the music, stepping out of bounds, falling on a skill, or lacking fluidity. They will also be deducted slightly if their undergarments show from underneath their leotard. They will NOT be deducted for failing to smile, failing to make eye contact with the judges, etc., but many years of competitive gymnastics experience tells me that those things do make a big difference in overall appeal.



Straddle jump. Split must be at least 120 degrees. A .2 maximum deduction will be taken if the gymnast fails to straddle wide enough. Another .1 can be taken if the gymnast does not bring her feet back together upon landing. Judges will look for straight legs and pointed toes.

Dive roll. Gymnast must maintain a hollow body position (not arched, not piked). Up to .2 points will be taken for body position mistakes, and .2 will be taken if the gymnast does not show flight before her hands hit the floor. Judges will look to see that the gymnast springs off her toes and controls her landing. Hands cannot hit the floor more than once on this move. If the gymnast fails to control the landing and falls back onto her hands, .3 can be taken from her score.

Front handspring. Gymnast must block with her shoulders (for the parents out there, that means they have to "spring" off their hands with straight arms using a shoulder push, rather than bending their arms and pushing up that way). This is worth .2 points. If the gymnast fails to block at all and limbers over, .6 will be taken. A front limber is NOT the same thing as a front handspring, and the skill will be considered incomplete if a limber is performed in its place. Hands must land at the same time side-by-side, and the same goes for the feet. The gymnast must rebound immediately out of the handspring with arms tight by ears. Judges will look for nice tight body position with straight legs and pointed toes. The gymnast also must begin the skill with a hurdle.

Split leap. Leap must reach a minimum of a 120 degree leg separation. This is worth .2. Front leg bent on the take-off will be .1 deduction. Again, judges will look for tight, straight legs and pointed toes.

Split (on ground). Must be a full, 180 degree split. .2 deduction if the gymnast fails to sit all the way down in her split.

Back extension roll. Gymnast should not place hands on the floor before rolling backwards. This can be up to a .3 deduction. A backward roll to stand should not be substituted for the back extension roll. Much like with the handspring/limber situation, a backward roll in this case is considered an element change and will be a .6 deduction. Gymnast must pass through vertical (i.e. hit the handstand position) - a .3 deduction can be taken for failing to do this. Hands must be placed on the floor in unison. Gymnast should not bend arms and push up - this skill requires straight arms, opening the shoulder angle and pushing into the ground with the hands for the upwards momentum. Judges will look at body position in the vertical just like they would for a normal handstand (so arching, leg separation, head out, bent legs, and other similar mistakes will be worth a deduction).

Full turn. Gymnast must be in releve (high toe) with the other foot in coupe position at the ankle. Must turn a full 360 degrees. If the gymnast fails to do these things the deduction can be up to .4 points. Judges will look for a controlled landing.

Back walkover. Leg separation in the walkover must be at least 150 degrees. Failure to split to 150 will cause a deduction up to .2 depending on how far from the required angle the gymnast is. Hands must land in unison. Legs must continually kick over, so the gymnast should not let their front leg drop after lifting it as they go into the walkover.

Round off, two back handsprings. Judges will look for a big hurdle with this skill. The round off must pass through vertical (.3 deduction for failing to do so). Feet must land at the same time. Judges will look to see that the gymnast snaps the feet down and together, preparing for the back handspring. The gymnast should then continue into the back handspring with no hesitation. The gymnast should be in constant acceleration during this tumbling pass, which is worth .2. Gymnast must not squat too low or undercut the handsprings. Must rebound directly out of the 2nd handspring (worth .1). Judges will look for nice, stretched body position, straight legs with no separation, and a controlled landing.

These are the main skills and deductions to focus on. There are little things here and there that I didn't list - mostly dance elements like the hitch kick, the waltz step, and that type of thing. Hope this helps.

2010 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships

A couple weeks belated, here is a quick recap of the 2010 World Championships.

Russia brought in the gold for women's Team Championships, with the US coming in close second. Following the US for third, fourth, and fifth place were the women's teams from China, Romania, and Japan. China brought home the gold in the men's Team Championships, followed by Japan, Germany, USA in fourth, and France.

Some of the highlights for the US women's team were performances by Rebecca Bross and Bridget Sloan, who came in 3rd and 4th place, respectively, in Event Finals on UB. Bross also placed 2nd on beam. Alicia Sacramone took first in VT. There were a lot of other great performances and high placements that I haven't listed, so I encourage you to watch some of the footage if you missed it in October!

Rebecca Bross placed 3rd in AA Finals, despite a fall on her last event, and in 13th was Alexandra Raisman, who, in my opinion, has received too little attention. This is Ally's first year as a senior, and we've been able to see some great improvements from her in consistency so far. She's one to watch in the future.

Outside of the US team, one of the biggest highlights of this meet was Lauren Mitchell's first place floor final, making her the first Australian woman to ever win a gold medal at Worlds! She showcased some interesting choreography and solid tumbling in that routine.

Beth Tweddle of Great Britain also had a phenomenal performance on UB, earning her the first place position. Besides a few missed verticals on the cast-handstands, it was an amazing routine with some incredibly difficult connections.

Lots of interviews can be accessed through the USAG website, as well as some routine videos, if you're interested in learning more about the meet! Check them out!

Opinion Section:
The Good - He Kexin had an excellent UB routine in team finals. Tons of difficult connections. She scored a 16.133. Unfortunately, she took a fall on that routine in event finals, but her awesome performance in team finals makes up for it.
The Bad - The men's high bar scoring controversy between Zhang and Zonderland. Zonderland gave an INCREDIBLE performance with tons of big connections. Zhang gave a cleaner routine with better pirouettes, hitting most all of his handstands, but with a step on the landing. Obviously, the audience was generally in favor of the "big routine" by Zonderland (not to mention the fact that he is from the Netherlands), so there was a lot of booing when Zhang scored higher. Honestly, I would've loved to have seen Zonderland win, but I trust the judges in this case.
The Ugly - Beth Tweddle's floor choreography. She is an awesome gymnast and a powerful tumbler on FX, but the awful choreo just brings her down every time. There were a few OK choroe moments, and a few others where she just looked like an ape. It was kind of ridiculous.