Japanese Men's Rhythmic

[Denn]

Adapted from the comments:

1. There's 3 scores — composition/artistry, difficulty, and execution.
2. The hardest 3 acro and hardest 3 non-acro count for difficulty. A → 0.1, B → 0.2, C → 0.3, D difficulty → 0.5, E difficulty → 0.7. Elements go up a rank if all 5 gymnasts do it at the same time.
3. Other elements count for composition and artistry. This is something I have called for MANY times, as people here will remember — it's wonderful to see it used in a sport that values artistry like this one does.
4. There's other bonuses, too

0:33 — (Five at once) I-leg balance → C difficulty 0.3 (Non-acrobatic ①)
0:47 — (Five at once) Pike jump to forward bend → B difficulty 0.2 — COUNTS FOR ARTISTRY
0:55 — (Five at once) Shimbi handstand → D difficulty 0.5 (Non-acrobatic ②)
1:07 — 1st tumbling pass → E difficulty 0.7 + bonus 0.2 (Acrobatic ①)
1:35 — (Five at once) 2nd tumbling pass → E difficulty 0.7 + bonus 0.5 (Acrobatic ②)
1:47 — (Five at once) Star-shape jump → A difficulty 0.1 — COUNTS FOR ARTISTRY
2:21 — (Five at once) Supine front-back split → C difficulty 0.3 (Non-acrobatic ③)
2:30 — 3rd tumbling pass (cross skill) → E difficulty 0.7 + bonus 0.3 (Acrobatic ③)

 

[Sasha]

Thanks for sharing. Those synchronised layout fulls were SO satisfying!

Does this sport exist only in Japan?

 

[Denn]

Thanks for sharing. Those synchronised layout fulls were SO satisfying!

Does this sport exist only in Japan?

I don't know, but I can say that I personally have never seen it anywhere else. Which I find striking because it seems so cool.

 

[MaryClare]

Thanks for sharing. Those synchronised layout fulls were SO satisfying!

Does this sport exist only in Japan?

No. Spain and Russia’s national federations have both recognised men’s RG for quite some time. I don’t know when Spain first did, but Russia has since 2009. Irina Viner was federation president at the time and she organised for a group from Japan to tour Russia, sponsored by Gazprom. Individual is more popular than team event here. Artem Sokolov is the top gymnast currently. There was a feature in the federation magazine earlier this year, covering the national championships.

 

[Denn]

Are there teams like that, though? If so, any videos?

 

[MaryClare]

Are there teams like that, though? If so, any videos?

I edited my post to show the magazine feature. There are teams, but only 2 contested the national championship. Tatarstan beat Krasnoyarsk Krai. The individual event is far more popular. I’ll try to find some videos on VK, I remember seeing a couple earlier this year. It is definitely different in style to japans RG men, since a lot of influence here comes from men’s traditional folk dance, Cossack and others, where use of hand apparatus is common.

The numbers are small, although provision is increasing. Karelia launched a men’s RG program earlier this year. But it sort of competes directly with Men’s acro 4s for the same sort of gymnasts

 

[Denn]

That was going to be my next question, actually. Thank you — if you find videos, I will really be excited to check them out (and maybe others will too!)

 

[OnoNoKomachi]

The Japanese Rhythmic doesn't follow the FIG rules. I think the Spanish version does.
The Spanish uniforms look a lot like the women's rhythmic uniforms. I think those would be a hard sell in the US!

 

[KristyJ]

I spent a lot of the summer watching older gymnastics videos chronologically from the earliest I could find (I am up to 1960 now), and it really feels like in a different timeline Japanese Rhythmic could've been the way the sport evolved. Turn of the 20th century and into the 1940s there were a lot of group displays and more use of hand apparatus and variety of movement based on fitness as well as acrobatics, and even into the 50s it felt like there were more dance elements competed at the high level. I even decided to pick up a pair of clubs to try some of the apparatus fitness (I am a complete clutz with them, maybe I need to ask MaryClare for help, lol).

 

[Bob]

Ive always been a massive fan of the Japanese college mens routines. Sort of a cross between Rhythmic, Acro and team gym. Perfect Precision. Weirdly none have come up on youtube recently Ill have to look if it's still a thing.

oooh like this

 

[irichluck21]

The Spanish uniforms look a lot like the women's rhythmic uniforms. I think those would be a hard sell in the US!

With certain gymnasts not comfortable in the current MAG uniforms, Men's RG would be a hard sell in the US for sure.
Especially given the underlining homophobia in gymnastics.

 

[MaryClare]

IIRC the Spanish gymnastics federation don’t use a men’s RG code like Russia and Japan do. They have a men’s category under the women’s RG code. So it’s not really the same thing. Actual mens RG isn’t anymore “feminine” than men’s acro 4 and if anything, men’s RG outfits are less showy and blinged out than men’s acro attire. Honestly I’ve seen men’s 4s walk out onto the floor looking like nesting dolls of Liberace and go on to give an entirely masculine performance