History
Early Gymanastics
Gymnastics originated in the times of the Greeks as a method of training the military soldiers, keeping the citizenry healthy and conditioning athletes in order to improve strength and flexibility (Bjella). In the Greek city-state of Sparta, men and women were required to be physically fit and physical fitness was even part of a formal education for children (Gymnastics Zone). This involved women being strong enough to bear healthy children and men training for the army. Later, gymnastics was adapted by the Romans after conquering the Greeks and used to train the legions and was turned into a more formal sport in which both men and women competed. The word gymnastics comes from the Greek root “gymno-“ or “gymnos” which means “to exercise naked,” and originated because the original athletes competed in the nude (Bjella). A horse-like, wooden platform, today known as the vault, was created to teach the men to mount and dismount their steeds quickly. However, there was little interest in the competitive aspect of vaulting but rather increased interest as a military drill (Gymnastics Zone). As the Roman Empire decreased, so did the popularity of gymnastics. All would have been lost if not for the Gypsy adoption of gymnastics which was incorporated into dance and performing which brought gymnastics through to the late 18th century (Gymnastics Zone)( Bjella). In addition to the Greek origination of gymnastics, other civilizations also developed their own versions. In Egypt, circus-like acrobatics were performed as well as balancing acts. In Crete, a sport of bull leaping was developed which included doing saltos after being launched from bulls’ horns (Bjella). Even earlier, in China a form of gymnastics called juedixi was performed. This combined dance, music, acrobatics, and wrestling with Chinese art, culture, and sport (Cultural China). The earliest forms of gymnastics were rudimentary saltos, strength training, and dancing that would pale in comparison to the feats accomplished by gymnasts today. Over time, gymnastics became more and more competitive, driving away much of the relaxed styles of training and increasing the intense and challenging programs. The skills became more challenging and people perfected their execution. These roots of gymnastics were the base of the modern development of competitive gymnastics.
Early gymnastics would have been similar to the movements depicted in the video above.
Modern Gymnastics
Gymnastics was carried through the middle ages by performers, dancers, acrobats, and jugglers (Frederick). A book by Archange Tuccaro, called “Trois Dialogues du Exercice de Sauter et Voltiger en ‘air,” was published in the 1599 and is known as the first book on gymnastics. It contains essays on jumping and tumbling exercises, key elements of early gymnastics. Later, in the late 18th century, gymnastics emerged in Germany as part of formal education. This was primarily inspired by the novel, “Émile; ou, de L’éducation,” written by John-Jacques Rousseau (Frederick). Schools known as Philantropinum were opened in which taught contemporary languages and ideas in a unified and secular manner as well as many different outdoor activities including gymnastics. One of the head teachers at the school was Johann Christoph Friedrich Guts Muths, dubbed as the “grandfather” of modern gymnastics. In the year 1793, he wrote “Gymnastics for the Youth,” in which he made two divisions of gymnastics: one practiced for heath and functionality in the real world called “natural gymnastics” and the other purely based on grace and beauty in performance of skills called “artificial gymnastics”(Frederick). The major developer of natural gymnastics was a man named Per Henrik Ling. He used gymnastics exercises for medical benefits. He is credited as the creator of calisthenics, physical therapy and floor exercise, a gymnastics event competed by both males and females (Frederick). Similarly, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, known as the “father of gymnastics,” started the Turnverein movement, which spread gymnastics throughout the world (Ebsco). This movement originated in Germany in the school where Jahn taught athletics (Bjella). Many exercises were developed on a nearby playground and field in the outskirts of Berlin. The pommel horse was used for drills and traditional vaulting and other events, parallel bars, balance beam, horizontal bars, rope climbing, and climbing poles, were also created and used in training. Athletes were enticed into training by Jahn’s apparatus but at the same time, they were taught about German unification and nationalism (Frederick). In addition, Jahn influenced many leaders in gymnastics. This was the beginning of American Gymnastics.
American Gymnastics origins
In the beginning of the 1800s, the word gymnastics included any type of physical activity. The term “light gymnastics” was used to refer to using dumbbells, wands and clubs in exercise. “Heavy gymnastics” was used to refer to the training of men on the larger apparatus. This changed over the course of the 1800s with the introduction of immigrant gymnastics (Bjella). Francis Lieber, Dr.Charles Follen, and Dr.Charles Beck, followers of Jahn, emigrated to the U.S. from Germany and started American gymnastics programs in Massachusetts. Dr.Charles Follen, who was originally hired at Harvard as a German teacher, stared the first collegiate gymnastics team in 1826 and created the college gymnasium (Bjella). Gymnastics had become a fad with its new creation in the U.S. Many secondary schools and colleges were not interested in physically education people in addition to cognitive education, except military schools (Bjella). This caused a decline of gymnastics in the early 1830s, shortly after it had arrived. Gymnastics regained popularity with a large influx of German and other European immigrants in 1848. That year the first American Turners Club was created in Cincinnati (Bjella). By 1850, turner societies, another name for gymnastics clubs, were established, spreading gymnastics through the nation. After the civil war (1861-1865), it began to develop into a competitive sport. At the same time, doctors as well as some educators were encouraging physical education to be taught in schools. In 1865, the first American Sokol was established in St.Louis (Bjella). Sokol was established by Czech and Slovak immigrants. They promoted physical fitness and used the German gymnastics apparatus (Chlanda). Both Turners and Sokol clubs made up the body of gymnastics and spread it throughout the country. In 1869, the YMCA also began to contribute to gymnastics when it opened its first gymnasiums in New York and San Francisco. Also, Swiss American Gymnastics societies were created towards the end of the 19th century. All of these associations helped to create and establish an American gymnastics system which eventually became the United States Gymnastics Federation, now known as USA Gymnastics or USAG.
F.I.G.
In 1881 the Bureau of European Gymnastics, which included Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and France, was created by Nicolas J. Cupérus of Antwerp. He served as president of the organization for 43 years after the creation (FIG). Cupérus’ goal was to create an organized, recreational gymnastics that supported good health and well-being. By 1921 Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Canada, and the USA joined the Bureau which was then renamed the International Gymnastics Federation or FIG. In 1903, the first World Championships were held in Antwerp, but only men competed. Women’s gymnastics had its first World Championship in 1934 (FIG). Due to World War II, the early archives of FIG prior to 1939 were lost. In addition to Men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline were added in 1963 and 1998, respectively. The mission of Cupérus to train, develop, and entertain is still pursued by the federation (FIG). The FIG is currently located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The MOdern Olympics
In 1896, the Olympics were revitalized by Baron Pierre de Frédy de Coubertin, a French educator and historian. The Baron was a strong proponent of physical education in schools. He had studied the ancient Greek Olympic games and became enthralled with the idea. For this reason, he, along with the help of many others, established the International Olympic Committee and the modern Olympic Games (Sports Reference LLC). The first modern Olympics were held in Athens for historical reasons. Gymnastics was one of the events central on the program since it was one of the sports practiced by the Greeks. However, in the first Games only men’s artistic gymnastics was competed. Women’s artistic gymnastics was added in the 1928 Olympics (FIG). Gymnastics has been part of every modern Olympic games and has become one of the most watched sports of the summer Olympics. From 1952 to 1980, the Soviet Union dominated women’s gymnastics. Their team had taken gold at every Olympics until 1984 when Romania conquered. The USA won its first women’s gymnastics team title at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. China won its first in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Olympics continue today with gymnastics as one of the most watched and discussed events. The next summer Olympic games are schedules to be held in Rio.
Now, let's take a closer look at Women's Artistic Gymnastics...