The Beat Swing and Mechanical Descriptors of Three Horizontal Bar Release-Regrasp Skills

Abstract

Gymnasts must include a variety of release-regrasp skills in their routines to be competitive. This study quantified selected projectile determinants and investigated whether or not there were temporal differences, kinematic differences, or both between the beat swings of three commonly performed release-regrasp skills. Ten Giengers, three Jaegers, and nine Tkatchovs as performed by 15 competitors at the 1989 Canadian National Gymnastic Championships were filmed and examined. Significant correlations were found between the flight height of the center of mass and a judge’s scores for Giengers and for angle of takeoff for Giengers and Tkatchovs. Speed of release was negatively correlated to a judge’s scores for Tkatchovs. Differences between the performances of the release from an overgrip giant and one-arm giant were found to be significant for Tkatchovs and Giengers. The beat swing that occurred through the bottom of the preliminary giants was primarily due to movement about the hip joints. The Tkatchov demonstrated substantial shoulder movement in the giant swing leading up to the release. The beat swing action started earliest in the Tkatchov and latest in the Jaeger.