Instructor: Mr.

Michael Jeff Ibay Leong, LPT

SPECIAL CLASS
Physical Education 1:
FUNDAMENTALS OF GYMNASTICS

Gymnastics- is a sport that requires balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination and endurance. The
movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest
and abdominal muscle groups. Alertness, precision, daring, self-confidence and self-discipline are mental
traits that can also be developed through gymnastics. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient
Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills.

 9 BASIC GYMNASTICS SKILLS

1. Handstand:
The handstand is arguably the single most important skill and position in the sport of gymnastics. It’s the
building block for essential skills on each of the four events. Being able to do a perfect handstand is one
skill you should learn to master. The handstand is used in most tumbling skills — walkovers and
handsprings. The handstand is important on bars — cast to handstands and giants are in the handstand
position. Handsprings on vault pass through the handstand position.

2. Cast:
Casting is the most basic bar element, and learning how to cast well early on will help you learn so many
other skills. Body position in the cast is a hollow body shape. The hollow body shape is similar to the
shape you have in a perfect handstand other than the fact that your back is slightly rounded with your
stomach pulled towards your spine.

3. Splits:
Mastering your side and middle splits will help you execute other skills that use that same shape as well.
And your splits are easy to practice at home. The split “shape” is everywhere in gymnastics — split leaps,
jumps, switch leaps, in the middle of back walkovers, etc.

4. Handspring on Vault:
The handspring on vault is the basic skill that all upper level vaults are based off. It will be hard to succeed
at Yurchenko’s or twisting vaults if you haven’t figured out the mechanics of the handspring vault. To do
a great handspring on vault you need to run fast, jump hard “punch” off the spring board, fly and hit a
perfect handstand on top of the vault table, block using your shoulders off the top of the vault and land
on your feet.

5. Back Handspring:
A back handspring is an important gymnastics skill to master because it is the basic skill used in back
tumbling on floor and beam. It will be hard for you to connect upper level skills (like layouts, full-twists,
back tucks and double backs) to a roundoff back handspring if you can’t do a proper back handspring.
The roundoff and the back handspring are both crucial for providing power to whatever comes after it.

6. Round-off:
A roundoff is just as important as a back handspring to master for tumbling on floor. The roundoff gives
power just like the back handspring does to the tumbling pass.

7. Turn on 1 Foot:
The turn on 1 foot is a skill that doesn’t go away. It is required in every floor and beam routine gymnastics
levels 4-10. So you might as well master this basic gymnastics skill right away.

8. Split Leap:
The split leap is another skill that is required in every floor and beam routine levels 4-10. To have a perfect
split leap you want to be able to do your perfect split position in the air as high as you can off the ground. You
also want your split to be even — both legs should be the same distance from the ground.
9. Tap Swing on Bars
Tap swings on bars, along with casts, are a building block of bar routines in all gymnastics levels. A tap swing
is a swing on bars, but at the back of the swing you should “regrip.” This means you should come off the bar
briefly and re-grab. At the back of the bar your body should be in a hollow position, underneath the bar you
should move to a slight arch position as you “tap” your feet higher in the front of the bar. This just means that
your feet will come forward to create a slight hollow in your body again.