Sports Acrobatics

Acrobatic Gymnastics

Sports acrobatics, or acrobatic gymnastics, was first introduced as a sport by the Soviet Union in the 1930s. There are five categories in acrobatic gymnastics: men’s pair, women’s pair, mixed pair, men’s group, and women’s group. There used to be a sixth and seventh category of tumbling for men and women, but they were removed in the 1999 World Championships. There are still groups that perform acrobatic tumbling today. Sports acrobatics is actually the original name for the sport that is now called acrobatic gymnastics.

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is considered a performing art that is practiced as a sport. Balance, agility, and coordination are considered the skills of the acrobatic trade. There is a lot of overlap with dance and diving because of the full body movements involved in acrobatics. Acrobatics is thought to be the origination of many different sports, including gymnastics. There is documentation of acrobats as far back as around 2000 BC. All the way to 19th century circus acts of tight-rope walkers and trapeze artists. These were the beginnings of more modern acts that show such use of strength, balance, agility and coordination. Acrobats have inspired many adventurous people to innovate their own sport or hobby. The martial arts have developed their own styles where great feats of coordination and agility are necessary to pull of crazy stunts. One such artist is the actor Jackie Chan who does his own stunts that include amazing feats of agility integrated with some comedy. Some fighter pilots took to the daring moves achieved by their ground counterparts and have evolved dog-fighting into a worthy art. These feats have challenged acrobats to do new daring stunts. Human pyramids and towers are common even among amateurs with no experience in acrobatics.

Acrobatic supplies

Much of the equipment used in sports acrobatics is similar to that of gymnastics. Performers usually desire non restrictive clothing and will look at dance or gymnastics attire as a source for apparel. It would be good to search the local sports store or dance supply store for various props or clothing to fit the acrobatic gymnastics needs. Online stores will also fit the bill quite nicely. An inventive acrobat could piece together a proper costume with his or her partner to fit their act. A do-it-yourself person can also order parts and do some mix and match work. Finding the right top and pants to fuse together into a one-piece suit or finding just the right accessories is important to a performing artist.