Competiti on dragged a little with th e various sessio ns and all th e warmups and length y judges co nfere nces but was co ndu c ted to be nefit the competitor and not the audience.
Observations of the Japanese Gymnast's Optional Exercises 1910
Na kayama
Phata by Wilkinson
After the pl ay in g of the natio nal a nthem , the atmosphere and attitude of the meet was cas ua l immediate competiting gy mnasts marched to a nd rel ax ing. The judges did not have a s pecific . their events. Men 's a nd wome n's co mpetition uniform but were in dark jackets. A number of were conducted together with coordination in their former great gym nasts j udged - Ono , the changing of groups. The gy mnasi um was a Kubota, T sukawak l, Tsurumi , Mitsukuri , five-minute walk from the dormitory. Co m- Kono. Th e closed system was used. pulso ry competition began at I :30 a nd ended at There we re three obvious injuries to the 6p.m. men: Three events condu cted at one time (six I. Fujimori s pra ined a n a nkle by la nd ing gy mnasts at each eve nt). Group A ( 13 gy m- low on a round-off flip flop , double back sa it o. nas ts = 4 or 5 at each event) rotated for the first 2. Watanabe hurt a wrist by overspinning a three events. Then Group B worked the three piked arch full twisting fl yaway. events. Group A then returned to wo rk the 3. Ohara (Hugs roommate) broke a leg and rema ining three events , fo llowed by Gro up B. serio usl y inju red a knee on la nding a Ya maVery small audience. sh ita ha lf twist va ult. The outcome of the compulsories deterThe Japanese Gymnastics Association premin ed whethe r you were in the first or second • sen ted Steve Hug and myself with a tie clasp group for optionals. The first group that worked sign ifying the competition as their token of pl aced 13 through 26 in the compulsories and welcome. began optionals a t 9 :30 a.m. By 10:30 there Conclusion was a capacity a udience, comprising numerous The Ja panese profi c ie nc y arises from the school gro up s. Thirteen through 16 started at fact that th ei r tota l effo rt and energies a re difloor ex, then side horse, then rings. Seventeen rected toward the Olympic Games a nd World through 2 1 started at side horse , then rings , C hampionships - indi cated by th ei r rules , prothe n floor ex. Twenty-two-26 started at rings , gra m a nd dedication (hard susta in ed training, then floor ex, then side horse. trim bodies, proper perso na l care , di sconcern Group two started at 10:30, with 1-4 working or at least acceptance of working unde r adverse fl oor ex, side horse and rings ; 5-8 work ing side conditions - co ld morning exercises , unheathorse, rings floor ex, a nd 9-12 working rings , ed gy ms , no belts). floor ex, si de horse. The J apanese have improved optio'na ls The meet ended at 2:30 p.m. markedly from Mexico. Floor ex - more diffiThere was a five-minute wa rmup between cult tumbling (especia ll y di s mounts). Side the ro tat ions at the start of each event. Also, horse - more difficu lt y, improved swing. the gy mn asts warmed up between pelformers , Rillgs - more straight a rm shooters, one fro nt as he finished hi s exercise while th e judges sa ito wi th I \-2 twists. Va ulting - wo rking for were recording their scores. higher difficulty . Parallel bars - previous Most gy mn as ts had a helper (a fellow tea m- sto ps we re eliminated so that they don 't exmate not in the tryo uts). ceed three , two back upri ses front som i catch. Res ult s we re duplicated and availab le about High bar - more immediate pirou ettes , stolder a ha lf hour after the meet. Mr. Kond o made shoot hop cha nges. sure th at I rece ived a copy of the results. Mats hard for hori zont al bar a nd vaulting All the gy mnas ts we re well groo med. The lan dings.
by A . Grossfeld The J apa nese require two "C" parts in th eir opti ona l routines and value th e Ya mas hita vault at 9.4 a nd Ya mas hit a with \-2 twi st at 9.6 - for the a ll-aro und . FLOOR EXE RC IS E: Mounts - Only Nakaya ma did not have a running start. Most used a round-off, flip-flop , full tw so mi , flip-flop . About four or fiv e used a double twi st for a mount (Kenmotsu does a flip-flop out of hi s doub twist). Fujimori began with a fr so mi , ha nd spring, fr som i, then round-off flip-flop DO UBLE BAC K. however , he hurt hi s ankle on a lo w la nding. A ll used a one-leg scale usuall y before the dis mount. A ll used a straight arm press to a handsta nd by pl ac ing their ha nd s on th e floor with bent arms , then pushing up to straight arms with bent hips a nd continuing press to handsta nd. This makes the press looks less stagnant. Dismoullts - Most used a round-off fl ipflop full. A bout four gy mnasts used a roundoff flip-fl op pike shoot full. Tsukshara used a doubl e full dismount. In genera l, their routines seem a bit stagna nt in spots, although they move wi th rh ythm in to the press. Tumbling for difficult y and a strong finish. (No full twi sting dive roll s yet.)
SIDE H ORSE: Their work is free r a nd more exte nded (st raighte r) than ever. Three routines are listed to give an idea of th eir bette r routines. K enmotsu (9 .5) - Bac k Czech, tra vel , front around to center (like Russ ia n Czech on one pom mel), one circle, back Czech travel out , immediate loop (schwabenfla nke) , back stockli in, one circle, Czech , \-2 circle, 3 front scissors, one bac k scissor, I \-2 circles, Czech immediate front o ut , one c ircle, loop, wa lka round Ru ss ian we nde (moore) off. Nakayama (9.3 5) - One c ircle , Bail ey in (Moore, back moore , travel on one pommel), immediate travel o ut , loop , bac k stock Ii in , one c ircle , Ba ile y, one circle , Russian we nde (Moore) , 2 back sc issors , 2 front scissors , one circle , travel out , loop, walk-around (Chaquini an), loop off. Ohara (9.45) - Bac k Czech to ce nter, immediate kekhre out, \-2 circle, front in Russia n wende to ce nte r, one circle , back stockli o ut , one circle, 1\-2 Ru ss ia n wende to back stock Ii in , one circle, kehre out , kehre in, 2 front scissors , front cut to 2 bac k scissors , one circle, back stockli out, \-2 circle, Ru ssia n wende off. RI NGS: Many did straight arm shoot s. A few did straight arm back upri se handstand s. A number of their gy mnasts did not fulfill the hold require ment (rea ll y), however, the ir top gy mnasts eas il y did so. Two used back lever to c ro ss (Nakayama and Ohara) , Hayata does straight arm back upri se to planch. Kenmotsu does a high inlocate to a front so mi with 1\-2 twists (very well) di s mo unt. LONG HORSE VAULT: T wo different va ult s were ave raged (for the a ll-aro und). I ca nnot reca ll a croup vault. Seven diff. vaults were used : Yamashita, with \-2 turn , hand sp ring , with full turn , with 1\-2 turn , handspring into 21