Coaches This should be required viewing for all coaches (re: twisting direction)

[Geoffrey Taucer]

YouTube - What Direction Am I Twisting? - George Hery
[youtube]1gXTRUFHbR8[/youtube]

I have argued this for HOURS with some coaches.

Please please please do yourself and your athletes a favor and watch this video. And watch the whole thing, not just the first half!

 

[gymnut1]

I had already watched it. I understand the roundoff bit right foot means left twist. A coach showed it to me the same way as the video with a half turn comparison. Can you explain what he was saying about baranis and not doing them in isolation or something. I didn't quite understand that. I feel I need to get my brain round this.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Actually, what he said (and I agree with this) is that you SHOULD isolate baranis from roundoffs.

The reason is that 80% of athletes twist the opposite direction on their roundoffs as they do on everything else (ie left-foot roundoff and left twist OR right-foot roundoff and right twist).

What this means is that if you learn a barani as a roundoff in the air, there's an 80% chance you're learning to twist your barani in the wrong direction. Which means that when you try to do a 1/1, you'll end up trying to switch directions. HUGE HEADACHE!

In my opinion, the best way to learn a front 1/2 without confusing it with a roundoff is to learn it as pike-open-half. This forces a delayed twist, which should help to prevent confusion.

The place where this concept becomes the most crucial is vault, specifically with twisting tsuks and kazamatsus.

A gymnast who continues in the same direction (ie left roundoff and right twist) is doing a 1/2 on 1/1 off, or a 1/4 on 5/4 off. This is similar to a 1/2 in 1/1 out on trampoline. The most similar sequence on floor would be roundoff back 1/1.

A gymnast who switches directions, however, is doing a completely different skill which should be taught as such. A gymnast who switches directions will be doing a 1/4 on 3/4 off, which has more in common with a double front 1/2 out. The most similar sequence on floor would be tinsica front 1/2.