The History And Origin Of Gymnastics

By Joshua Nelson


Gymnastic exercises require a high level of control, flexibility, balance, and strength to be performed. The global regulation and standardization of the sport is done by an international regulatory body called FIG. Other smaller regulatory bodies in individual countries are often affiliated to FIG. The need for the existence of FIG is to regulate events in international competitions which are held yearly in different countries in the world. Olympic Games involve a lot of competitions and gymnastics is among the best sports included.

The name gymnastic has its root from the Greek language. The Greek word translates to naked in the English language. Another form of the word translates to training while naked in English. The reason for adopting this word was because people in the ancient world practiced without cloths. The first instance of using the word was in the 1570s. Its use and adoption has grown and expanded ever since.

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, there was a lot of standardization in male and female Olympic apparatus and events. There was global consensus on grading structures and formats to be used. During that time, the Soviet astonished the world with its outstanding performances and set a precedent that exists even today. Publicizing and initiation of the modern age in this sport was done through television a lot.

Today, gymnastic has reached a very high level of quality in both male and female events. It is a sport that attracts global interest and admiration with excellent gymnasts on all continents. The traditional system for scoring point was changed to a new system in 2006.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment