Just picked up Peter Aykroyd's 1987 book International Gymnastics: Sport Art or Science?. Seeing it reminded me that gymnastics is in a constant state of flux and change; its identity has been subject to debate and conflict since the earliest days of competitive gymnastics, well before it existed in the form we recognise today. I want to try to talk about the state of the sport today, how it compares to past models, how it arrived at this point, and what are the questions arising. I make no apologies for publishing the picture comparisons on this page, which were created by Lifje. Some have seemed to find them rather challenging in the past, but they are not airbrushed or altered in any way. Yes, the pictures are purpose selected for the sake of comparison, but they express a truth about the direction the sport has taken over the past few years. They are not so much about Russia versus America as artistry versus athletics. I do not pretend...
I think some movement are more on the circus-act side than gymnastics ones though. But certain moves are breath taking. Thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeletemore specifically, it's probably classified as 'acrobatics.'
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