WAG Funny things only gymnasts do

[mobeans]

I've caught my DD doing back walkovers while in stores - she does it when she thinks I'm not looking

She broke her arm when she was 5 in gymnastics (go figure) and I also caught her then WITH HER CAST ON trying to do walkovers and cartwheels.

She said her back hurt today so to play it safe I made her rest w/ ice for a bit. Once it was time for the ice to come off she proceeded to contort herself, basically bending in half....

What am I to do?!?!

 

[GymRat]

Hotel hallways are absolutely irresistible.

 

[Natalia]

I love the public reaction to tiny little girls doing the most amazing things.

We're surrounded by forests,and many parks offer "Acrobranche"which is acrobratics in the trees.
I took a bunch of little 9 year old gymnasts to celebrate DDs B-day.

The same day some military guys came for training....

It was hilarious to see the 9 year olds giving advice and setting the exemple to these 20 year old wannabe Rambos.

To get an idea start at 3 : 00 min

 

[cbifoja]

Ledges become beams.

You can cast handstand on just about anything.

Marines underestimate you because you are a little girl....until you do more pull ups than the grown men that are trying to show off.

You obsess about "bumps" in your hair even though your ponytail holder will be halfway down your back by the time you finish your second event.

Hallways aren't passageways....they're challenges to see if you can walk the entire length on your hands.

You have hands like a lumberjack but your hair glitters like a fairy.

An open field must be littered with as many handsprings as you can get in.

People expect you to perform on command when they find out you can do the oh-so-amazing BHS.

Grown ups are amazed that you don't melt into a puddle of tears every time you get a bang or a bump. And when you explain the concept of splitting the beam, they look at you in horror.

Your parents are terrified that they will have to take you to an unfamiliar doctor who might think they abuse you given all of the scars, bumps, and bruises!

 

[Mom2Chickadee]

My DD is still fairly new to gymnastics (5 1/2 years old) so she's still practicing her cartwheels and handstands in the yard, like most 5 year olds, and her normal position for watching TV is upside down on the sofa or in her "pretzel" position. I think the funniest gymnastics move out of the gym so far was when she went into full middle splits during ringette (similar to hockey) practice in full hockey gear on the ice. The look of pain on her ringette coach's face was priceless.

 

[gracyomalley]

mushroom circle contests on the red balls outside of target...now adding flares and spindles....walking on hands though every store/hotel hallway, standing back tuck contests on any piece of close to even grass...DSs spend most time in a support position if 2 items of furniture are any where close to shaped/positioned like P-bars - and I've got 3 of them doing this....sibling bonding!

 

[oplei]

handstands while buying shoes because you need to see how they feel in the air and land.

 

[kandkfunk]

People expect you to perform on command when they find out you can do the oh-so-amazing BHS.

Except they ask if you can 'Flip'. And then the gymnast needs clarification...do you mean a BHS, a tuck or a layout (backward or forward), or do you mean a whip, by chance? It's funny to watch people's eyes cross when these questions are presented.

 

[Haismom]

Hip circles on any railing, especially at amusement parks... The beach handstands, have to get those pictures... Also when stopping for school clothes the all important cartwheel test, can she move in the new pants to get into her split and her cartwheel...

 

[ivyagogo]

I can't walk next to a curb. I have to walk on it and do full turns. Always.

 

[esor]

There are so many things in here I can relate to!

All of this also reminded me of one other thing my DD did. We were at an outdoor shopping area, and my DD decided it would be good to run to the next store we were going to. And in true gymnast fashion, she tripped on the concrete. The world for me went into slow motion because of how fast she was going, and I just knew she was going to have major road rash. But low and behold, as she started to fly through the air, she ended up tucking andthe ground and ended rolling out of it into a standing position. This all happened while two ladies were walking by her who were just slack jawed at the harmless outcome. I wanted to clap, but knew that would push my daughter over the edge. She ended up with a minor scrape on her forhead, and a few tears just because it scared her.

It was then that I knew gymnastics had an extremely practical side: a natural instinct on how to fall with minimal injuries compared to the average population.

 

[BachFlyer]

Esor, too funny! Hopefully she can laugh at it now. I wish they'd learn how to stop tripping in the first place, though...

You made me think of how my DD came home with a HUGE beam burn on her thigh from a missed layout step out on beam, and a few weeks later when I asked about it, she punched herself in the (still very bruised) leg and said, "I think I'm good!". When she broke a finger, also very black and blue and really swollen, she forgot to mention it for three hours after practice and then said very casually "oh, I just hurt myself a little today." I always detect a slight smile and gleam in her eye, almost imperceptible, when she gets a minor bruise or a rip, too - I know she's proud of it! LOL!

 

[ladybird]

Handprints all over the wood floor, footprints all over the coffee table.

 

[Muddlethru]

Daughter is 12 now so is more cognizant of who may be looking at her. So no more quirky moves in public. However, I've never awaken her for school to find her in a normal sleeping position. Her legs seem to be always in a split, one leg above her head, etc., And the only way I know for certain she is asleep is when she starts jerking or twitching.

 

[teksquad]

These are all great! My daughter is 13, and doesn't necessarily tumble everywhere, but the mental toughness that gymnastics fosters seems to follow her into every day life. For example, when she discovers that she has a loose tooth, and it's getting close to lunchtime, she'll have no trouble just yanking that tooth out right when she decides to, so she can enjoy her lunch without the dangling thing in her way. It amazes me. (-:

 

[myliljunebugs]

Do you suppose tough kids choose gymnastics or gymnastics make tough kids? Or a little of both? DD broke her arm when she was 3 (and 5 and 8...LOL) and didn't cry even then. But gymnastics didn't start until 7.5. Thank heavens for being tough though, I think she is going to need it!

All this stuff hits home here too! We were in the waiting room the other day and there she was, doing a handstand instead of on her feet silly girl. It's pretty rare to find her actually walking anywhere anymore.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

having to wear shorts under her school skirt because she knows she will be upside down most of break (I have now bought her a skort), Trying to straddle press every bollard in Asda's (Walmart) Car Park. Doing homework with one leg tucked behind her head.

 

[dynamicduo]

And the only way I know for certain she is asleep is when she starts jerking or twitching.

OMG- this is SOOO my daughters!! I usually have to sleep with one of them in a hotel before a meet, and I can barely get any sleep because of all the jerking and twitching!! I swear they do gymnastics in their sleep, complete with flailing arms and legs!!

 

[Flossyduck]

My dd only wears culottes for school Margo - for that reason!

Best memory - for the Queens jubilee there was a beacon being lit in a nearby park/play area so we went along. There was a bit of milling about, music and drinks and so on and after a while the kids went off to play. When I went to fetch them, as the beacon was about to be lit, I found my daughter doing chin ups on this high metal bar on the play area - surrounding by a circle of other kids, of various ages including quite a few teenagers, and a few parents, all with their mouths open and some clapping. She was 7.

Hotel corridors are used for 'corridor practice' - as though giving it a name somehow makes it obligatory!

We have footprints on our ceiling in the sitting room! My dd was using the arm of the sofa to practice straddle press handstand beam mount. I don't often get time to go in my sitting room (wonder why) so took me a little while to find out.

My daughter can also organise a handstand competition anywhere and usually does!

 

[MBJ974]

I could not believe my eyes when I saw that my girls had recruited some other gymnasts that were at the local pool to do "circuit training" with them. Sit-ups with their legs on the pool deck and bodies in the water, splits on the bottom of the deep end, tuck jumps in the water, handstand holds, and a turn on the diving board