Level 5 Floor for Intermediates

Since SMGC does not compete level 4's, I have the intermediate classes work on elements from the level 5 routine; that way, if any of them make it to team, they'll have a sort of "head start". In terms of the dance elements being progressive, moving from basic to something more advanced, I don't see it. It's silly that prior to the second tumbling pass, what differentiates 5 from 6 is a flexed toe in 5 and a pointed toe in 6. That's just....pointless; other than to confuse transitioners, who end up jumbling parts from 5 with parts from 6.

I wonder how often a level 6 gymnast doesn't realize she has kept a level 5 interpretation in her routine, goes unnoticed and uncorrected by the coaches, and then makes its way before tired judges who, after watching a hundred routines, fails to catch the error.

Anyway, most of our intermediates only train once or twice a week, in two hour classes. They don't always get to practice routines; but some really get into it.

I thought I'd put some videos up of the routines; that way, we can spend more time polishing in class and less time memorizing.

Hopefully, they will also get a "feel" for the performance aspect, and see how different gymnasts and different gyms interpret the same routine differently.

The following video is of Michele Wunderlich during practice, April 4th:


This is a video I took of my friend's daughter, Nika (who I taught her first backhandspring to):



The routine scored a 9.1 or 9.2.

Here is a 9.6 routine at the So. Cal State Championships, by another Nica. Outstanding dive roll!

The following is of one of my adult clients. Mari only recently began working on the level 5 floor routine and her background in dance and movement shows through in this partial clip:




Here is her first time doing a round off backhandspring without a spotter present, on the floor. November 24th:



I encourage all of my intermediates to run "level 5 gymnastics" through the search function on YouTube. You can learn quite a bit from observation and study. In my day, I didn't have such access at my fingertips. I had to monitor the tv guide for any gymnastics on Wide World of Sports or other sports programs, and set the VCR. Now you are no longer limited by only watching elite level gymnastics on tv; but through the internet, we are able to peek in on home video training sessions of anything from high level gymnastics to awful low quality gymnastics.

(You're a Wonder) Wunder Woman

Michele Wunderlich is one of the funniest kids I know. Here she is in some of her glory:




The only thing funnier are the words that come out of her mouth.

The growls that she does toward the end of the video while on bars is because she was having a horrible time on her glide kips. Yuri had her start growling to put some "gambatte" heart and energetic aggression into how she was kipping. It helped, and she started making them.

Gymnastics Gold Diggers (A Summer Camp video)

I only had a 30 second clip of this song, so it's looped; probably, much to your annoyance. I made a game of getting the girls to keep their legs together by putting the dollar between their knees and their ankles.

"Lauren and Surely..."