gymnastics- history

Fundamental skills that engage different parts of the body and activate large muscle groups, such as leaning, swinging, supporting, balancing, climbing, running and jumping, have been exploited since prehistoric times (consciously and unconsciously) in the context of of human interaction with the environment. As analyzed in the relevant section below, these innate skills are fundamental elements of gymnastics (GW) and are developed and perfected in an appropriately structured GW teaching/training environment, at the developmentally appropriate age periods.The roots of EG can be traced to various sporting, religious, acrobatic and military activities of the ancient civilizations of China, India, Persia, Japan and especially Greece. It is possible that the Chinese were the first to develop motor skills referring to gymnastics. There are reports that two systems of training were implemented in China for military and medical purposes. The ancient Greeks and other ancient peoples, such as the Swedes and Danes, practiced acrobatic skills with or without instruments and with animals as a means of exercise, entertainment and religious events (Kaimakamis, 2003).In Minoan Crete of the 2nd millennium BC, the coming of spring and the rebirth of nature were celebrated every year. In these celebrations, the bullfights had a special place. It was a sport in which bull riders (acrobat-athletes, male and female) performed with great skill and precision, elaborate jumps, rolls and vertical inverted supports (reminiscent of horse jumping), on the back of a freely moving bull in a fenced area. Similar skills to those performed in bullfights are mentioned many centuries later in Egypt (3rd century BC), where frescoes depict representations of acrobatics on elephants.Later (around the 11th-10th century BC), according to historical data dance skills are performed accompanied by music, acrobatics and balances on stretched ropes and wooden bars (ancient Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, Incas, Mayans, Aztecs , Etruscans). These skills refer to the skills of the modern EG' on the ground and on the balance beam .In Europe during the Middle Ages and modern times, acrobatic skills on taut ropes reminiscent of single-joint swings and skills on a wooden horse model with an emphasis on martial readiness and social prominence are reported.

Of particular interest is exercise with PE skills, such as dependence, climbing, support and balance for medical purposes. Also, an important role in the development of EG during this period was played by the use of the gymnastic table and the gymnastic horse to perform support skills, displacements, leg swings and jumps. During the Enlightenment, the development of physical education and organized gymnastics in school education began (Johann, Basedow, Johann Guts Muths, Gerhard Vieth, Johann Pestalozzi) and emphasis was placed on the development of climbing, swinging, balance skills, practice on various instruments and on a wooden horse effigy (Horlacher, 2017; Kaimakamis, 2003; Mouratidis, 1990).The German Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852), who in 1811 started the German gymnastics movement, is considered the founder of EG. The central purpose of engaging in gymnastics was national, ideological-political, and related to the development of strong, courageous young men ready for war, while not taking into account the humanitarian and spiritual cultivation of young people. The terminology patriotic gymnastics is also characteristic. Jahn invented and established the parallel bars, rings, pommel horse, pommel horse, pommel horse, and balance beam and was the first to develop and use gymnastics terminology. Jahn's fitness movement had a great development and led to the establishment of many fitness centers.However, Jahn took no action so that the system of gymnastics he developed was adopted and gymnastics was included in school education (perhaps the social system was not ready to accept such a thing). School physical education (PE) and PE Adolf Spiess (1810-1858), is considered the founder of school PE for boys and girls in Switzerland and Germany. He trained in the Pestalozzi system and adopted elements of the methods of Guts Muths and Jahn. Spiess's view of gymnastics was that it should not be only physical training, but training the body and mind as a single whole.He argued that gymnastics has the same value as theoretical lessons because it develops children's spirit, as well as their discipline and responsibility. Spiess has a prominent place in the field of PE, because he developed very important PE teaching materials (eg, his book "The Science of Exercise") in compulsory education, initially for schools in Switzerland, but after returning of in Germany and for German schools. Spiess organized and grouped the gymnastic exercises to be applicable to school sports, yet emphasizing perfect technical execution and complete physical control.Swedish system of gymnastics The founder of the Swedish system of gymnastics was Per Henrik Ling (1676-1839). Ling after studying the ancient Greek culture and learning about the FA system of Germany, created the Swedish system largely based on the archaic model. In 1813 he founded the central gymnasium institute in Stockholm with the central purpose of training gymnasium teachers for the needs of military and school education. Gymnastics consisted of four categories: pedagogical, military, medical and aesthetic. All movements had to be performed with proper technique and under the guidance of a teacher.

Ling advocated the therapeutic and corrective value of exercise activities for biological performance and health maintenance and emphasized uprightness and harmonious development of all body parts and correct breathing. He emphasized the value of personalizing exercise, the need to investigate the effects of exercise activities on the According to Ling, this system of exercise could be applied in groups with orders or individually with the use of appropriate instruments and had significant advantages, both pedagogically and in the motor domain, compared to the previous mainstream training. Ling invented many portable and fixed instruments to implement the fitness system he developed, such as barbells, plinth, exercise benches and balance beam, horizontal and vertical ropes and climbing poles. These became known as Swedish gymnastics instruments.human body, and the application of the sciences of anatomy and physiology to exercise.

After his death the medical gymnastics he introduced were heavily criticized and gradually modernized. The gymnastic systems of Guts Muths, Ludwig Jahn and Pestalozzi were then promoted in Europe, beginning around the 1820s. Indicatively, Maclaren supporting Jahn's system, introduced to England gymnastic activities for military training. Clias promoted in England, Switzerland and France the system of Guts Muths, Ludwig Jahn.Amoros, who is considered the first to use gymnastic equipment for training purposes, applied Pestalozzi's methods in France. Nachtegall, who organized in Denmark the first recorded school for the training of teachers and gymnasts, the institute of military gymnastics. Spread of EG in America The pioneers of EG in America were the Germans Charles Beck, Charles Follen and Francis Lieber, who were supporters of Jahn's system.They established in the 1820s gymnasiums modeled after Jahn at many universities in many states. The arrival of thousands of German economic immigrants in America gave a great impetus to the development of gymnastics and led to the establishment of the first groups ("Turnvereins"), associations and federations of gymnastics. These physical education agencies were for several years the only advocates of scientific PE in public school education. The American John Neal was the first to establish a public gym and with his publications he helped establish gymnastics in America.

Additionally, the founding of the Young Men's Christian Association in 1850 was also an important factor in the development of gymnastics in America. In 1865, the American Gymnastic Association was founded for the purpose of training gym teachers. Spread of EG in Russia Jan's gymnastics movement spread slowly in Russia as well, where many clubs were founded. It quickly became very popular and became a compulsory course in military schools.Many German and later Russian gymnastics clubs were founded and organized annual sports and cultural events, following German standards

In 1883, the Russian Gymnastics Federation was founded. After the October Revolution of 1917, the now Soviet gymnastics rejected the western standards of gymnastics and followed a different direction, which resulted in the very great success of winning 9 gold medals in the Olympic games in 1952 (Kaimakamis, 2003).The FIG was founded in 1881 and very soon experienced great development, to the extent that EG was one of the sports included in the Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. Only free programs were presented in six events namely, single beam, double beam, pommel horse, rings, vault and rope climbing. The most medals were won by the German athletes, while the Greeks Ioannis Mitropoulos and Nikolaos Andriakopoulos also won medals in hoops and rope climbing respectively.

From then until the early 1950s, national and international events alternated between team synchronized floor calisthenics, rope climbing, high jump, running and horizontal ladder. During the 1920s, women's competitions were organized, in 1928 women took part in Olympic games for the first time, and in 1952 in the Olympic games, women were allowed to comAfter 1954 the Olympic games took the modern standard form for men and women.

I. Fokianos (1845-1896) is considered the founder of EG in Greece. The sport spread after the establishment of the modern Greek state with the establishment of the German system in FA. Othonas brings this gymnasium system and EG to Greece. The first Greek gymnasium operated in Nafplio (1834) and was equipped with single-balance, double-balance, exercise horses, etc.,pete individually in the 4 women's events for the first time.

Competitive gymnastics began to be cultivated in Greece shortly before 1890 with the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896. After an interruption due to the Balkan wars, the rapid development of gymnastics began in 1968. In 1997, the Hellenic Gymnastics Federation (HEG) was founded. . In 1971, the first pan-Hellenic men's and women's games were organized in Thessaloniki, and in the same year Greece participated in the Balkan Games. In 1987 the country participates in the EG world championship with the women's team and in 1988 in the Olympic Games in Seoul. Explosive growth and international recognition began in the 1990s,initially with the successes of Ioannis Melissanidis at the 1991 European Junior Championships and the 1994 World Championships. However, the first top success for the Greek EG was the gold medal winning by Ioannis Melissanidis in the floor exercise in Atlanta in 1996. In 1998 the Ioannis Melissanidis and Demosthenes andrakos conqueror 1996