Sunday, June 5, 2016

A Brief History About Gymnastics

By Joshua Nelson


Gymnastic exercises are performed with a high level of flexibility, control, balance, and strength. An international organization, FIG, is responsible regulating and standardizing performance of the sport on a global scale. Even with the existence of FIG, individual states have their own regulatory organizations within them which are affiliated to FIG. International regulation is necessary because of international games held annually. Gymnastics is one of the best sports in Olympics.

The Greek language is the source of the term gymnastic. The corresponding Greek word means naked when translated into English. The word could also mean dancing naked in Greek. Ancient gymnasts practiced naked, hence the origin of the name. The term first appeared and started to be used in the 1570s. It has grown in use and prevalence worldwide since its coining.

Gymnastic originated in Ancient Greece. Its invention was for military training. As part of preparations for war, soldiers trained in different gymnastic exercises. The skills and knowledge could assist soldiers in fighting according a common belief at the time. Inclusion into military training was dropped later. Some aspects of training in the military may however still be based on some gymnastic exercises even today.

The birth of modern gymnastic took place in the state of Germany by the work of three pioneers. This happened following the creation of exercises for boys and young men to be performed on apparatus designed by the pioneers. These exercises were later to lead to the gymnastic industry as it is known today. Educative gymnastic in France was introduced by Don Franscisco Ondeano. Today, international competitions include the use of high bars, parallel bars, and rings, a phenomenon that was promoted a lot by one of the German pioneers named Jahn.

The FIG got established in 1881 in Liege. By 1896, the high level of popularity of men gymnastic made to be included in Olympic Games. There was a lot of changing in male events from when they were first included in Olympic games until the 1950s on both national and international levels.

Most modern audiences would find events that were considered normal back then to be very strange. Participants participated in many events including running, high jumping, rope climbing, floor calisthenics, and horizontal ladder. Participation of women in gymnastic events began in the 1920s. The initial events were filled with primitivity. The events only encompassed track and field activities and synchronized calisthenics. This Olympic Games took place in Amsterdam in 1928.

By 1954, female and male Olympic apparatus and events had already undergone standardization. Formats and grading structures had already been agreed upon on a global scale. Around that time, the spectacle performance of Soviet gymnasts took the world by surprise and set a precedent that continues to date. The television played a major role in initiating and publicizing the modern age in this field.

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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