Through the Eyes of a Gymnast
Through the Eyes of a Gymnast
Through the Eyes of a Gymnast
Ever wish ordinary people could understand what it's like to be a gymnast? To work the long hours, fight through the pain, battle the internal struggles? Even further, ever wish your friends could feel what it's like to DO gymnastics? Things that to us, are second nature...but to them, are completely CRAZY?
Well, thanks to my iPhone and the wonderful thing that is duct tape, those non-gymnast friends of yours are going to appreciate you on a whole new level.
This is gymnastics, through my eyes.
Some of you may have been able to tell what I was doing, but just for clarification: the first pass was a round off, back handspring, double pike. The second was a round off, back handspring, full twisting double back. The third clip was just 4 giants to a flyaway, and the fourth was a cast, swing half turn, giant, giant, full twisting double layout.
Seeing this really gets me thinking about the lightning fast rate at which we have to think and act. I mean, the double pike pass is literally 3 seconds - so one second per skill on average. In ONE second, we have to think about what we have to do to EVERY part of our body, and then apply it - jump high, open hips, open shoulders, head in, grab legs, straighten legs, point toes, pull two rotations, spot the landing, open up, land on feet. And what if something goes wrong, as things sometimes do? We're talking milliseconds to make an educated decision on how to position our body so that we land (relatively) safely.
This could also open up loads of possibilities for the world of coaching. For example, I can tell from watching this that I twisted a little too early on my full in back out. Watching a skill done correctly from this point of view could really help kids with visual cues and timing. And mental blocks! Got a kid who won't go for a fly away? Have her watch one from 1st person over, and over, and over again. Psychological training. I also just learned that yes, I do hold my breath while tumbling. I should definitely make more of these. I would have done more today, but I started hearing things like "is that duct tape?" and "why does she have her phone strapped to her stomach..." from the cheerleaders doing open gym. Not to mention the moms on the balcony staring at me. I probably looked a little stupid, but hey, I think the result is pretty cool. If there's any skill in particular you'd want to see through a gymnast's eyes, let me know. And if this doesn't make your friends respect you even a little bit more than they already do...well, they can kiss my grips!
Well, thanks to my iPhone and the wonderful thing that is duct tape, those non-gymnast friends of yours are going to appreciate you on a whole new level.
This is gymnastics, through my eyes.
Some of you may have been able to tell what I was doing, but just for clarification: the first pass was a round off, back handspring, double pike. The second was a round off, back handspring, full twisting double back. The third clip was just 4 giants to a flyaway, and the fourth was a cast, swing half turn, giant, giant, full twisting double layout.
Seeing this really gets me thinking about the lightning fast rate at which we have to think and act. I mean, the double pike pass is literally 3 seconds - so one second per skill on average. In ONE second, we have to think about what we have to do to EVERY part of our body, and then apply it - jump high, open hips, open shoulders, head in, grab legs, straighten legs, point toes, pull two rotations, spot the landing, open up, land on feet. And what if something goes wrong, as things sometimes do? We're talking milliseconds to make an educated decision on how to position our body so that we land (relatively) safely.
This could also open up loads of possibilities for the world of coaching. For example, I can tell from watching this that I twisted a little too early on my full in back out. Watching a skill done correctly from this point of view could really help kids with visual cues and timing. And mental blocks! Got a kid who won't go for a fly away? Have her watch one from 1st person over, and over, and over again. Psychological training. I also just learned that yes, I do hold my breath while tumbling. I should definitely make more of these. I would have done more today, but I started hearing things like "is that duct tape?" and "why does she have her phone strapped to her stomach..." from the cheerleaders doing open gym. Not to mention the moms on the balcony staring at me. I probably looked a little stupid, but hey, I think the result is pretty cool. If there's any skill in particular you'd want to see through a gymnast's eyes, let me know. And if this doesn't make your friends respect you even a little bit more than they already do...well, they can kiss my grips!