JOINT KINEMATIC VARIABILITY IN THE AERIAL AND LANDING PHASES OF BACKWARD ROTATING DISMOUNTS FROM BEAM

Abstract

This study aimed to develop insight into the joint kinematic variability in backward rotating dismounts from beam. Two-dimensional lower-body coordinate data were obtained for ten backward piked (BP) and tucked (BT) dismounts performed by four gymnasts (N = 80 trials). The within-gymnast coefficient of variation (CV%) in the joint angle profiles was lower in the aerial-landing phase transition than the remaining dismount element. The CV% was consistently larger in the initial joint configurations of the BP aerial and landing phases than the more basic BT skill. Initial ankle and hip joint landing configurations produced the largest CV% difference between skills (ankle: 9.4 %, hip: 9.4 %). The development of complex dismounts from beam requires a pre-programmed control strategy allowing joint kinematic modulations at the onset of aerial and landing phases.