Kinematic analysis of “Russian” circles in gymnastics

The kinematic analysis of the Russian wendeswing technique performance in different types of supporting surfaces was undertaken using the 3D Qualisys motion capture system. A high-level qualified gymnast performed 5 routines of three Russian circles on the floor and same on pommel horse. The average performance time of Russian circle on the floor was about 0.3 s less than the same skill performance time on pommel horse. The phase structure of each circle contained 4 hand steps of 0.3-0.4 s duration each. Russian circles control actions are performed through the arms. On floor there was a change of the shoulder joint angle in the range of 4° to 35°, whereas on pommel horse, the performance showed the shoulder joint angle range of 9° to 40°. In our research, the main difference between Russian circles performed on different apparatus was found in the positions and shifting of hip joints and the sacrum attached markers. On floor, the Russian circle performance showed a shift in the vertical sacrum marker in the range of 19 cm compared with 11 cm on pommel horse. The results indicated that floor circles demand higher rotation speed from the athlete and presumes bigger vertical hips shifting. On pommel horse, Russian circles performance registered a lower range of angular velocity and vertical hip shifting but had greater shoulder joint angle.