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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.

Gymnastic as a term has its source in the Greek language. Corresponding English translation means naked. It could also mean dancing naked in some sense. A word with such a meaning was adopted because gymnasts from ancient times practiced while naked. In 1570s is when the terms first appeared. It has continued to be adopted globally from the time it was coined.

Ancient Greece is the origin of gymnastic. It was originally invented for military training. When getting ready for battle, soldiers could train in various gymnastic exercises. It was believed that soldiers gained better skills and knowledge necessary for fighting from these exercises. This practice was later dropped when militaries modernized although some aspects may still be identified in some forms of military training.

Modern gymnastic was born in Germany by three pioneer educators. These pioneers were responsible for the creation of exercises for young men and boys on apparatus they designed. It is these exercises that resulted in the birth of the modern variety of gymnastic. In France, educative gymnastic was introduced by someone named Don Franscisco Ondeano. On the other hand, the use of rings, high bars, and parallel bars in international competitions was promoted by Jahn, one of the three German pioneers of modern gymnastic.

The establishment of the FIG happened in 1881 in Liege. The popularity of men gymnastic had risen to a point that it could be included in modern Olympic Games of 1896. From the first time men gymnastic was introduced into Olympic Games all the way to the early 1950s, the exercises changed a lot on both national and international level.

What seemed normal back in the day would be very strange to the audiences of today. Some among the exercises participants took part in include high jumping, horizontal ladder, running, rope climbing, and floor calisthenics. Women started to take part in gymnastic events in the 1920s. The first Olympic competitions in which women participated were very primitive. The only events included were track and field and synchronized calisthenics. This Olympic Games occurred 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, the perfection and quality of both female and male events is very high. Many people in the world find the sport interesting and all continents have some of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen. Since competitive gymnastic began, the system for scoring has never changed until in 2006 when a new one came into use.




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