History of Gymnastics

In the modern era, gymnastics is an artistic sport. Historically, it's been used to train militaries in China, India, Greece and Rome as well as being a competitive sport. The disciplines involved have changed too, involving everything from swimming and rope climbing to tumbling. Gymnastics is a sport that links the ancient and modern Olympics together and is practiced competitively the world over.

Origin

Gymnastics is among the oldest sports. While it survives into the present in its Greek form, the people of Asia and the Middle East practiced a form of gymnastics. At its core, gymnastics involves running, jumping and tumbling, activities not restricted to the Greeks alone. The first recorded evidence of gymnastics comes from ancient Egypt. During the time of the Pharaohs, acrobats would perform for the nobility. Gymnastics also had its military uses and as early as 800 B.C. it was used as a part of military training in Greece, the Middle East and China.

Greek Gymnastics

In ancient Greece, the gymnasium was central to a man's life. Philosophy dictated that the mind and body must be exercised equally, so the gymnasium was home not only to physical exercise, but to discussions of the arts, music and philosophy. Unlike today's gymnastics, in ancient Greece the sport was performed naked (as were nearly all other Greek sports). The word gymnastics comes from the Greek word "gymnos" which means naked.

The First Olympics

Though it's now a worldwide event, the Olympic Games originated in Greece in the year 776 B.C. While the first Olympics only had foot races, over time gymnastics was added to the schedule of events. As a sport, it was meant to represent a combination of physical exercise and routines and didn't always resemble gymnastics as it's now practiced. Other sports that were lumped into the category of "gymnastics" were: wrestling, jumping, swimming, throwing and weightlifting.

Roman Gymnastics

Like so many other things, the Romans took gymnastics into their own culture when they conquered Greece and made their own. Like the Greeks, Chinese and Persians before them, the Romans realized the importance of using gymnastics to train their armies. The use of gymnastics helped to improve the overall strength, balance and flexibility of the soldiers. The Romans are also responsible for adding the pommel horse to gymnastic practice. It was a part of the cavalry training, allowing soldiers to practice getting on and off a horse quickly and with ease.

Modern Gymnastics

Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the practice of gymnastics faded into obscurity. Gymnastics as we know it has only been practiced since the 1800's. In its new incarnation, gymnastics is more artistic and of all its disciplines, the only part that holds true to its ancient origins is tumbling. The International Gymnastics Federation was formed in 1881 and from there gymnastics became an international competition. The Olympic Games were started up again in 1896 and gymnastics was a part of that competition and every one since.

References

• USA Gymnastics: History of the Sport of Gymnastics
• College Sports Scholarships: Brief Historical Account of the History of Gymnastics
• Gymnastics Zone: Gymnastics History