History of gymnastics and several forms of gymnastics
Gymnastics had its origin
in Greece and physical fitness was given a high level of importance.
Gymnasiums and wrestling clubs were common in ancient Greek and so was
gymnastics. This is a sport which evolved from the horse mounting and
dismounting techniques and other techniques of physical maneuvers which
finally shaped up modern gymnastics. The rise of the Roman empire saw a
transformation of gymnastics into military training. In the Roman
empire, military training was of prime importance. Gymnastics began to
be used as tools for imparting advanced military training to the
soldiers. The relatively modern concepts of gymnastics based on parallel
bars, horizontal bars, and vaulting horses were framed in the middle of
the eighteenth century. In the year 1881, the International Federation
of Gymnastics was formed in the city of Liege. This was the first
authorized body of Gymnastics and this gave way to the modern Olympic
foundation and other related bodies.
Gymnastics can be divided
into several forms and the basic division is in between men’s and
women’s gymnastics. Men’s and women’s gymnastics differ from each other.
In general, men compete on high bars, parallel bars, vaults, still
rings, Pommel horse and floor exercises. Women compete on separate set
of equipments like uneven bars, beams and floor.
The vault is a two staged
act where the artists sprint 25 meters down to a springboard and then
land on it on the pressure of the hands. Then the artist is supposed to
make another landing beyond the spring board. It should be a two footed
landing though.
Uneven bars are another
form of artistic gymnastics; artistic gymnastics involves movements
which may be circular, uneven or translational. Uneven bars are
constructed with the sole purpose of accommodating round, uneven or
translational movements within the bars or over each one of them. The
balance beam is a spectacular display of choreographed movements along
the stretch of a padded beam. It usually lasts for 60 to 80 seconds and
involves tremendous amounts of coordination and dedication. This is
perhaps the most spectacular display in any form of gymnastics.
The floor is often used as
the platform for display of acrobatic skills. The display includes
jumps, dance movements, leaps and swirls- all of which would leave the
audience mesmerized. The floors are thoroughly padded so that the
artists do not have any problem in performing the acts. The display
lasts for a period of 80 seconds approximately and it also includes a
track music which is played while the act is performed.
Pommel horses and floor
exercises are the two most common events which are part of men’s
gymnastics. Pommel horse is a vertical bar which is padded properly. It
has got two hand stands for support. Any performance on the pommel horse
is based on the legs. The legs are turned and twisted in various motions
each of which is targeted to generate a particular movement. Often the
performer increases his challenges by making variations in the skills
displayed.
This makes things even more
complicated and more enjoyable to watch. Final step of this act is the
dismounting of the athlete from the horse. This is an ancient form of
gymnastics and had its origins in the Greek and Roman Empires. Still
rings and vaults are other forms of gymnastics which are predominantly
performed by men. Still rings are circular structures in the form of
rings which are used to perform various acts of acrobatics. These acts
are mainly based on jumps and maneuvers through the circular rings. The
judges present in the stadium determine the winners by judging each and
every artist’s performance thoroughly. |
