Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The History And Practice Of Gymnastics

By Joshua Nelson


Gymnastic exercises refer to the performance of exercises that require flexibility, strength, control, and balance. These performances are under the regulation of the FIG, which is an international body with global powers. Besides the FIG, each country in which gymnastics is practiced has its own governing body that regulates the sport. State regulatory bodies have affiliations to the FIG.

The name gymnastic has its root from the Greek language. The Greek word translates to naked in the English language. Another form of the word translates to training while naked in English. The reason for adopting this word was because people in the ancient world practiced without cloths. The first instance of using the word was in the 1570s. Its use and adoption has grown and expanded ever since.

Ancient Greece is the origin of gymnastic. It was originally invented for military training. When getting ready for battle, soldiers could train in various gymnastic exercises. It was believed that soldiers gained better skills and knowledge necessary for fighting from these exercises. This practice was later dropped when militaries modernized although some aspects may still be identified in some forms of military training.

Modern gymnastic was born in Germany by three pioneer educators. These pioneers were responsible for the creation of exercises for young men and boys on apparatus they designed. It is these exercises that resulted in the birth of the modern variety of gymnastic. In France, educative gymnastic was introduced by someone named Don Franscisco Ondeano. On the other hand, the use of rings, high bars, and parallel bars in international competitions was promoted by Jahn, one of the three German pioneers of modern gymnastic.

The establishment of the FIG happened in 1881 in Liege. The popularity of men gymnastic had risen to a point that it could be included in modern Olympic Games of 1896. From the first time men gymnastic was introduced into Olympic Games all the way to the early 1950s, the exercises changed a lot on both national and international level.

Events that old audiences found normal would surprise many modern ones a lot. Some of the old events competitors took part in include running, rope climbing, floor calisthenics, horizontal ladders, and high jumping. Women were introduced in competitive gymnastic later on in 1920s. Primitivity seemed to dominate the initial events held in 1928. The only events participants competed in are synchronized calisthenics and track and field activities. The 1928 Olympic Games happened in Amsterdam.

Standardization of both women and men Olympic events and apparatus had already been done by 1954. There was global consensus on grading structures and formats. The Soviet surprised the world by high caliber of performance and set a precedent that persists even today. The modern age of this field was initiated and publicized by the newly invented television.

Today, both male and female gymnastic events have attained the peak of perfection and quality. It is a sport that the whole world finds interest in with several excellent gymnasts originating from all continents. Since 2006, the traditional scoring system was changed to adopt a new system.




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