Rhythmic Gymnastics

I am starting a rhythmic program from the ground-up. This book exceeds every expectation. It reads like a college textbook on human bio-mechanics. In that respect it is probably beyond the average reader in scope and detail. It delves deeply into every aspect of the sport, breaking down the individual movements of the gymnast to putting together routines. It also covers ballet basics which are a primary element of rhythmic. It is unfortunate that this book is no longer in print and USA Gymnastics does not have any materials to replace it. I found that disheartening so finding this book was a blessing. There is no other text like it!In response to a reviewer who have two stars and complained about the pictures not being accurate enough, I replied;"If you are relying on drawn pictures to express basic elements of movement then the book itself is not the issue. It is your lack of exposure and understanding of this discipline. Take some Ballet lessons and watch gymnasts. The hand drawn pictures are there to reinforce concepts, not teach them."

Lots of good info - lots of details and physics based explanations.Would be great for a gymnast or a coach or even a parent.However, the book was published in 1998 - so I think some of the "culture" of gymnastics has changed since then. What I'm referring to specifically is a section in the back that is a checklist of how coaches should pick which young gymnasts show the most promise. Unfortunately this includes selecting the girls with "good faces", the least amount of muscle tone, and certain body/limb ratios, etc.. There is a big section that involves testing your gymnasts - again to see which are most promising. I really don't think this is such a great idea as it can be very discouraging and upsetting to young gymnasts who are still growing, changing, and learning.I found this to be sad and also kind of funny because Alina Kabaeva was rejected by her first coach for being "too ugly" and "fat"! So - maybe it is best to ignore those sections and just use the other technical info!

very detailed book!

I bought this book along with "Teaching Rhythmic Gymnastics:A Developmentally Appropriate Approach" by Heather C. Palmer before starting to coach a new Rhythmic Gymnastics Program. I am most frustrated that several of descriptions of skills do not match up with the diagrams, so I cannot figure out what the move is, how to duplicate it, or how to teach it to others. I suspect that some of the drawings are mathematically and gravitationally incorrect. Also the skipped steps make things confusing if not impossible. I had hoped to find progressions of skills, starting with the basics and then moving up to the harder ones. It seems that everything in this book is meant for elite gymnasts, a split performed in excess of 180 degrees, with one leg up on a gym bench is labelled "poor" flexibility if the athlete's thigh cannot touch the floor. The apparatus section is organized by the type of movement, not the apparatus, so it talks about bounces with all 5 apparatus at once and without progressions. There are physics equations with things like direction of force and rotation. The skill examples seem to assume a contortionist's flexibility. I can't start teaching my class with skills like "forward rolls through the neck and shoulder with consecutive club throws with the feet and hands". I was looking for basic skills first: swings, and circles, small tosses, and maybe a progression to learn mills. These difficult skills would make more sense to me progressing from the simpler skills. Perhaps this book will be more helpful to someone teaching elite level Rhythmic Gymnastics.

This book has a lot of information and the sections make it easy to read. The drawings are helpful in demonstrating many of the elements. One thing that's surprisingly missing from it is specific flexibility development techniques and images; the information on the subject is too general for what I was expecting. For example, It doesn't go into oversplit training, back folding, etc. It seems that this book is meant to supplement other rhythmic technical guides, not be a full and thorough guide.

The knowledge contained in this book should enhance my ability to be a better coach. Very professional material. Sincerely, Dale Archer of DartS Rhythmic Team Dayton Oh.

if you like lots of pictures and visual demos this book will bore you to death. To many words and not enough graphics.

Excellent book, so complete, no other book would would give you the physics behind holding a ball, etc. I recommend to anyone who would like a proper introduction to Rhythmic Gymnastics. It even tells you what vitamins and minerals to take for optimum performance levels. It is a book I refer to constantly, I am a better gymnasts because of it:-)

It's a very useful book, mainly for the coaches. You won't learn much about history of this sport or its best gymnasts, there are also not many photos, but you will be able to organise the class, choose exercises and assess girls' potential and abilities. I read in previous comments about a difficulty to understand the drawings, but it's not actually the case - if you've ever done rhythmic gymnastics you know exactly what you're looking at in those pictures, and they are easy to follow and repeat.

Great scientific explanations for elements.

Getting more detail knowledge about rhythmic gymnastic.Too much text and less pictures though. Simple B/W illustrations like an old sport text book.

thank you very much.. amazing book, really helpful and clear, arrived really quick and is like brand new. Thank you so much. definately recomend it to anyone interested in either teaching rhythmic gymnastics or wanting to learn the sport in detail. THANKS