| Dr. Gerald George |
"Like mountain waters rushing to the sea, all gymnastics movements flow through evolving patterns of motion..." he importance of form (body shape) should be patently obvious to all professionals associated with judged sports. Yet more often than not, specific interpretations of correct body shape are incomplete, inaccurate, or both. Rarely does this concept go beyond aspects such as locked elbows and knees, pointed toes, legs held together, deep pikes, wide straddles, and the like. Asymmetrical cervical, thoracic, and lumbar curvatures, improper pelvic girdle alignment, and poor arm-trunk or leg-trunk angles are some of the typical body-shape deviations that slip by seemingly undetected. Relying on such compensatory techniques makes true mastery of elite-level skills an improbable task. As elite performers strive to achieve ever-higher levels of difficulty and technical excellence, careful examination of the hidden components that optimize execution becomes essential. Under appropriate conditions of training and practice, the human body can be thought of as a quasi-rigid structure. This structure consists of an articulated system of levers which circle about one another in a properly coordinated sequence to achieve a desired outcome. However in the performance of a gymnastics routine, the gymnast is required to shape her body such that it literally unfolds into skilled movement patterns, flowing effortlessly one into the other. And because gymnastics elements are mostly ballistic in nature, it stands to reason that the "shapes" assumed in order to achieve a skill's objective should not consist of a series of jagged angles formed by rigid, straight lines, but rather shapes expressed by "dynamically curved lines." These shapes should not only be symmetrical in form but should also be developed using specific sequential flow patterns. "It is the symmetry in basic patterns, the posture of the movement so to speak, that opens the door to achieving technical excellence." ..continued in Championship Gymnastics: Biomechanical Techniques for Shaping Winners - Mastery of Body Shape
- Fundamental Concepts of Body Shaping
- Flexion and Extension
- The Kinetic Chain Sequence
- Breaking the Kinetic Chain
"Look about and you will see that all of nature follows natural sequential patterns of motion." |