Started by Ido Portal, September 23, 2009 · 11 Replies · 3,360 Views
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Check out the last routine mount... The parkour guys didnt invent nothing, I tell you.
I wish gymnastics was this creative nowdays, I would give away all those dangerous and difficult moves of today in return for some diversity and a spark of individualism.
Ido.
I like nowdays gymnastics more.
And judging system was to much subjective! They could gave you a score for courge and that was all subjectively given by judge.
All those moves are not that hard and alot of them are nonsense and they just look good.
Gregor, nobody said they were hard/harder than today's elements.
Yes, nowdays we know who is the best in a more accurate way, I agree, but still, the original name was 'Artistic Gymnastics'.
Objectivity kills art and inspiration.
Ido.
Is there something wrong with looking good? Isn't that part of the scoring?
Men's gymnastics hasn't been artistic since the Russians blew everyone away in the 80's. It's been more of catchup to the russians. It's very stiff and rigid anymore and doesn't seem "alive." My friend noted that it was far more interesting to watch the women's floor than the men's and he'd like women's balance beam if they didn't do so many poses.
That is one of the reasons the sport is dying besides that it is a traditional sport whereas many of the extreme sports have connected more with the younger generations. Much of it is learned on their own through trial and error and this appeals to many who do not have access to the special facilities of many specialized sports.
Men's floor could be done on a tumbling strip really. It's more power tumbling anyways with some presses, circles, and obligatory dance movements and transitions.
Blairbob, I agree with your excellent observations. Too bad, I have so much respect for those athletes.
Ido.
Gentlemen,
You are both right and wrong. Yes, gymnastics today does need more fluidity and artistic expression. Of that there can be no question.
However technically, there is quite simply no comparison between the two time periods. The skills highlighted in the video clip are elementary by todays standards. Gymnastics has made enormous strides in the level of skills being performed since the 80s. For example on high bar a
Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer
Regarding the element of artistic expression in modern sport gymnastics, could it be fair to say that it can now be found more in acrobatic displays in performance arts such as circus and physical theater, or certain acrobatic dance forms? While I have only an outsider's perspective on the recent history of gymnastics, there seems to have been several different points of divurgence since the days of "physical culture" in which gymnastics was more integrated into general physical fitness. Gymnastics was previously viewed as a means of building strength and muscle, along with weighlifting and other forms of strength training. There was also a perfomance art aspect to it, either to display strength or skill, for purely aesthetic purposes. It seems from what I am reading above is that there has been an even greater differentiation of the artistic/performance art aspect from the pure display of strength and skill.
Is this a bad thing? I love to watch gymnastics when it comes on TV, as I am amazed by the athletes and their abilities. There is always a sense of drama because the feats are so difficult that there is always a chance that it won't be done. If the athletes must also express themselves artistically, doesn't this invite more subjective judging? And doesn't it ask too much of the gymnasts, some of whom are great athletes but not great artists? There are many avenues for use gymnastic or acrobatic abilities in an artistic performance setting.
It seems to come down to me to a question of definition. Gymnastics to me include a large body of activities, of which "Artistic Gymnastics," a sport aspect of gymanstics, is a subset. It maybe that the name has become a bit of a misnomer. But there is still considerable displays of art through gymnastic movement, i.e an expressive display. For me, I will never be a competitive gymnast. I am using gymnastic movement and training for building strength and for the pleasure of moving my body through space. I am glad to watch others use it as a means of competition, performance, art, and expression.
Maybe gymnastics could benefit from particular freestyle events, where they are judged based on what the judges think, rather than a rigid scoring system. Not with the intention of expanding on the Olympic formats, but just to reach larger audiences and grow the sport. Getting it on tv is really the problem. Lately, single sports in general have taken a hit, though.
JL said:Maybe gymnastics could benefit from particular freestyle events, where they are judged based on what the judges think, rather than a rigid scoring system. Not with the intention of expanding on the Olympic formats, but just to reach larger audiences and grow the sport. Getting it on tv is really the problem. Lately, single sports in general have taken a hit, though.
So as I'm judge I think all my Slovenian fellow citizens are the best so I will score them highest.....
You can not judge other way as strict objective way.
I know, it is very far from perfect. I was just thinking in terms of promoting the sport as well as the art of it. To give some perspective. I respected gymnastics all my life. A good number of my early childhood friends did, too. However, I never knew the technical aspects of it. I never knew what a planche was until 20 years later. Gymnastics was simply not accessible, and I am from a western family community in the United States. I know some people on here get disgusted by some of the youtube videos with somewhat misleading titles, and exaggerated claims, but from my memory, this is the best it has ever looked for gymnastics making its way into U.S. popular culture in my years. Body weight progressions were simply unheard of in my youth. Between ages 10-14, If you wanted to get strong, go bench press (as well as curls) in your friends garage, or maybe some push ups and situps. High school finally introduced people to squatting and Olympic lifts. In hindsight, the environment sucked for higher levels of physical development outside of football. I would like to see gymnastics find a way to relate to the public better.Gregor said:JL said:Maybe gymnastics could benefit from particular freestyle events, where they are judged based on what the judges think, rather than a rigid scoring system. Not with the intention of expanding on the Olympic formats, but just to reach larger audiences and grow the sport. Getting it on tv is really the problem. Lately, single sports in general have taken a hit, though.So as I'm judge I think all my Slovenian fellow citizens are the best so I will score them highest.....
You can not judge other way as strict objective way.
Blairbob said:Men's gymnastics hasn't been artistic since the Russians blew everyone away in the 80's. It's been more of catchup to the russians. It's very stiff and rigid anymore and doesn't seem "alive." My friend noted that it was far more interesting to watch the women's floor than the men's and he'd like women's balance beam if they didn't do so many poses.That is one of the reasons the sport is dying besides that it is a traditional sport whereas many of the extreme sports have connected more with the younger generations. Much of it is learned on their own through trial and error and this appeals to many who do not have access to the special facilities of many specialized sports.
Men's floor could be done on a tumbling strip really. It's more power tumbling anyways with some presses, circles, and obligatory dance movements and transitions.
If gymnasts were to restart competing for artistery and creativity over technichal ability where would the line be drawn between a gymnast and a breakdancer or a caporiaca?