Both
Tsukahara and
Kasamatsu vaults were invented by men competing on the lengthwise vault, and as such a 1/2 turn entry was
not even possible as the distinguishing attribute. Both were entred with a quarter turn.
I suppose it
could have been the case that once these vaults were adapted into WAG this turn entry became the distinguishing factor
Direct 1/2-on was possible on the lengthwise horse, just far more difficult and not given more credit for handsprings (whereas Yurchenko 1/2-on’s were rated higher, in whichever code that started), so it’s understandable why men performed Tsuk as direct 1/4-on, with another 1/4 while blocking, instead of a true 1/2-on like most women were doing.
Either way it’s still 1/2 turn for the Tsuk and 1/4 for the Kas. The first Tsuk vault had no extra turn in the air after the 1/2 block, whereas the first Kas vault happened to add 3/4 turn in the air after the 1/4 block. When people did add twists to the Tsuk entry, both twist directions were used, not one in particular:
Hiroshi Kajiyama in 1976 competed Tsuk 1/1, twisting same direction in entry and the air. Also note the Kas entry was competed by some people with a flight phase of just 1/4 turn -
1979 Euros - we shouldn’t be referring to “Kas” as an inherent full twisting vault (particularly since it doesn’t actually have a full turn in the air), rather a type of entry.
1/4-on was possible for WAG with the sideways horse, what Zamo and Chuso did in 2000 should be classified as Kas, they don’t get backwards on the horse, the block is sideways. In 2004 on the new table Zamo got more backwards on the entry than she did in 2000 with the horse!
The distinction really is the salto direction.
- Tsuks have back saltos.
- Kasamatus have side saltos or even front saltos, depending on the technique.
That’s what I said: Sideways off the table vs Backwards. Those directions are a result of how much turn happened before flight phase. 1/4 turn inherently means sideways, whereas pushing off backwards after jumping forwards at the table inherently means there was 1/2 turn happening.
With a Kas it’s impossible to do a direct 1/2-on entry, that would be a Tsuk. It’s possible to do less than 1/2 directly onto the vault for a Tsuk, but there’s still 1/2 happening before flight phase. That’s why these vaults should be defined as 1/4-on and 1/2-on.
I don’t expect many people to do a direct 1/2-on Tsuk if the code is changed, but the code should reward the difference. People who don’t do a true 1/2 onto the table for a Tsuk would already be benefitting from the higher start value, so they would be fine eating a deduction for imperfect block…or they would learn to do a complete 1/2-on, and that would be great to see.
If you do a left sidespring entry and twist left, a Kasamatsu is more effective for you.
It’s “more effective” because Kas family is rated the same as Tsuk, despite the Tsuk being more difficult, hence why nobody bothers doing a same-direction Tsuk anymore. If a 1/2-on + full twist off was rated higher than Kas, then some people who struggle with doing more twist in flight phase could compete a Tsuk 1/1, instead of only doing a Kas version of that vault or bad attempt at a Kas with more rotation.
My entries and natural twisting direction in the air are both counterclockwise (left). I can do either a Kas or Tsuk if I choose to, the difference is where the twist is happening, and how much is happening, not which direction:
When I jump with a 1/4 left twist onto the table and continue twisting another 1/4 to the left while blocking, I’m facing backwards coming off the table. A Tsuk. Any additional twist I do in the air is also going to be to the left, unless I’m screwing around in the pit and purposefully trying to reverse direction (won’t be able to rotate nearly as much that way).
If I jump onto the table with a 1/4 left twist and don’t continue twisting immediately, I’m vaulting sideways off the table, a Kas. My next 1/4 twist to the left in the air on this Kas has me facing forwards rather than backwards. It’s the same twist direction as my Tsuk, but because the twist is now happening in a different plane, the body faces a different direction.
If you do a left sidespring and twist right, you do a Tsuk, no getting around it.
Not accurate. It’s possible do a left 1/4-on, stay in sideways position coming off the table, then twist 1/4 to the right (creating a backwards landing rather than forward). That vault should not be classified as a Tsuk just because it reverses direction. It’s a Kas, because it came sideways off the table, and it has a totally different mechanic than a Tsuk entry into a fully backwards salto, or a Tsuk with 1/2 air turn to land forwards.
Kas entry also can be cheated and should be deducted:
- Gabriel Burtanete initiates a counterclockwise turn onto the table, but it’s less than 1/4, so when flipping in the air it results in coming up “past sideways” already on the other side and not needing to do a full 1/4 + 1/4 turn to reach the forwards position.
After Classic you were talking about Asher Hong’s Double Kas vault possibly being downgraded; same thing there. It’s also possible to reverse twist direction during a Kas entry to achieve the cheat. 1/8 left turn onto the board followed by immediate 1/8 right turn while pushing off = forwards.
