Basic skills of Gymnastics

Definition of Gymnastics

 Is the system of selected physical exercises that can be performed with &without apparatus in
physical education program
 It is a harmonious system of physical exercises which are scientifically organized methodological
arranged to achieve objectives

Gymnastic is one of the famous competitive sports.

It has three forms of competition in Olympics.

These are;

 Artistic ,
 Rhythmic &
 Trampoline

Participating in gymnastics activities develop; strength, rhythm, balance, flexibility &agility

Historical Background of Gymnastics

The beginning of gymnastics was traced back to about 2600B.C. At this time Chinese developed a few
activities. That is similar to gymnastics; they used it for medical purpose. The actual development of
gymnastic began in Greek &Roman periods of history. The Greek gave great emphasis to gymnastic. The
word ‘’Gymnastics ‘’ means ‘’naked art ‘’&which derives from Greek gymnos. It refers to the body
movements on apparatus &tumbling on mats. During those years some systematically organized exercises
were included in school polices.

The early Romans the physical training program from Greeks. Then they adapted it for military training. In
the early 1800sa form of gymnastic developed in Germany as defined as a set of skills performed both with
&without specific kinds of apparatus. Frederic Ludwig John (1778-1852) known as the father of gymnastics
invented several gymnastic equipments like; Horizontal bars, parallel bars, side horse &vaulting.

The Swedish system, devised by gymnast Pehr-Hinrick &coordination through routines. German &Swedish
immigrants to North –American & other part of the world in 19C helped gymnastic to spread all over the
world. It is believed that gymnastic came to our country by those immigrants.

1
This day gymnastic is included in our curriculum & it also one of the competitive sport

Nature& purpose of gymnastic

Nature of Gymnastic

Gymnastic has three nature, these are;

 A competitive nature
 Therapeutic nature
 Educational nature
Competitive gymnastic

There are three types of competitive gymnastic these are;

 Artistic gymnastic
 Rhythmic gymnastic
 Trampoline gymnastic

Artistic Gymnastic –It become an Olympic sport since 1896. In this gymnastic, Women can compete;

in floor exercise,
vault,
uneven bars &
balance beam

Men can compete;

 in floor exercise,
 vault,
 pommel horse,
 Rings,
 parallel bars &
 horizontal bars

Rhythmic Gymnastics –It become an Olympic sport in 1984. In this gymnastic female gymnasts compete
on a mat using such as

 rope,
 hoop,
 ribbons &
 balls,

2
It help to educate figurativeness of plasticity, elasticity, culture of movability with variety of preparatory
(general & special) &remedial gymnastic.

Trampoline Gymnastic - This gymnastic become an Olympic sport in 2000. In this gymnastic men &
women individually compete by constantly bouncing up & down on a trampoline, while performing summer
salts, twist &other movements.

Therapeutic / Remedial Gymnastic – is a series of selected exercises that help to lessen pain. It has
the aim of bringing back the health & facilitates rehabilitation process of the problems.

Educational Gymnastic –is a program that changes s the master tactics involving strength, flexibility &
conditioning.

Purpose of Gymnastic

The purpose of gymnastic is;

 To test athletes ; strength , flexibility ,balance
 To lessen physical discomfort restore function to disable people
 Develop resting , flexibility , muscular strength , muscular endurance
 To develop self confidence , self discipline , coordination , balance & strength

Safety procedures

In order to prevent / avoid accident follow the following safety procedures.

 Do appropriate warming up activities before starting the exercise

 Before starting practicing , check the place & equipment you are doing on
 Use proper wear
 Avoid interference of others
 Follow appropriate procedure of performing
 Stop performing when you are tired

3
 Classification of Gymnastics
It is based up on their purpose & application of methods gymnastics are relatively classified six types,
these are;
 Basic Gymnastic
 Sport Gymnastic
 Acrobatic Gymnastic
 Rhythmical Gymnastic
 Therapeutic Gymnastic &
 apparatus gymnastic
But in generally we can classify gymnastic in to two categories.
These are;
 Tumbling / simple ) Gymnastic
 Apparatus ( complex ) Gymnastic
Tumbling (simple) Gymnastic; is the art of manipulating the body in feats of skill without the use of
apparatus such as;
 rolls ,
 summer salts ,
 twists ,
 spring ,
 balance on hands &
 manipulation of the body in un usual position
It is the basic skills of tumbling that start from the step.
Apparatus (complex) Gymnastic; is a gymnastic activities that can be performed with the use of apparatus
such as;
 Horizontal bars ,
 parallel bars ,
 uneven bars ,
 vaulting ,
 balance beam ,
 pommel horse ,
It is gymnastics performed using a set of materials / equipment designed for a specific purpose
Basic gymnastics
Successfully solved the different problems of gymnastics & it are the bases of physical education in pre-
school and school ages.