History Tuesday: Uneven Bars

As far back as 1830 the French teacher Amoros wrote of “uneven” or Asymetrical” bars in his Manuel d’education physique et morale. But back then the women and the men did not participate together and women did not own the bar until long after this period. Wommen’s gymnastics was very similar to men’s gymnastics. As…

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So glad to help

Last year was the 4th year that Gymfinity’s gymnastics team and Tumble and Trampoline team (5th for them) attended the St. Jude Benefit meet held in Peoria Illinois. The meet was a huge production with the overall goal of helping the St. Jude Children’s Hospital and St. Jude programs. Every year they had testimonials from…

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History Tuesday: High Bar

Last of my History lesson Tuesdays featuring men’s gymnastics. This one on my favorite events to watch but least favorite to do.  I never competed High bar as a gymnast except one time in college when my team competed in Michigan at a meet held during a snow storm. The opposing team had only a…

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History Tuesday: Balance Beam

Balance beam is an apparatus as old as 261 years. Johan Cristoph GutsMuth (1759-1839) actually dedicated a chapter in his book Gymnastics for Youth and you can bet that the event was around before he was published. GutsMuth described the beam as a rounded pine tree trunk about 64 feet long. Founder of Gymnastics Fredrich…

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The race is not always to the swiftest

I saw this video, its short and it’s very inspirational.  Watch her run, especially at the end. Her strides are so beautiful and in context even more so. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM5A1K6TxxM] Heather Dorniden trained hard and had one outcome in mind. Her definition of victory included only one possible end. Despite her fall she never gave up.…

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Did you win today?

I had a gymnast, let’s call him Nick. (this is way back when I coached boys). Nick was the kind of kid would take on challenges only if he knew he could win.  He was young and had all kinds of talent, I used to say “dude you got talent falling off of you, pick…

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Negative space

I am getting deep here, and maybe a little uncomfortable in talking beyond what most would feel is my area of “expertise”. Bear with me. I am a frequent insomniac, not the up all night kind, but the kind that wakes at 3:30 and falls back asleep at 6:00. That area of wakeful un-productiveness has…

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Where did Gymnastics come from?

  No one really knows when gymnastics started. There are cave drawings that date back thousands of years that depict tumblers and athletes performing what appears to be floor exercises. As recorded history tells, in the beginning (ancient Greece) the gymnasts of the time were actually wrestling. The combatants would perform dynamic exercises before engaging…

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