Pommel horse and Ascent of Mont Ventoux: Difference between pages

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[[Image:Ventoux Nordseite Schnee unterhalb des Gipfels.jpg|Thumb|right|200px|Mount Ventoux]]

The '''pommel horse''' is an [[artistic gymnastics]] apparatus. It is only used by [[male]] [[gymnast]]s. Originally made of a [[metal]] frame with a [[wood]]en body and a [[leather]] cover, today the frame may contain plastic or composite materials, the body is made of [[plastic]] and may be covered with synthetic materials.

'''Birth of Alpinism''' is the start of the concept of modern day mountain climbing for the sport.<ref>[http://www.koreaontherocks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=445 History of First Ascents]</ref><ref>[http://www.localescapes.com/marketing/pages/Mountaineering-History-4511.html Mountaineering History]</ref><ref>[http://www.lottery-news.net/dust6984-mountaineer_accessories.html Mountaineer Definitions and Statistics]</ref><ref>Petrarch's letter dated April 26, 1336, had been declared as the [http://www.sbg.ac.at/ges/people/rohr/nsk2002.htm beginning of alpinism].Man and nature in the Middle Ages - Lecture at Novosibirsk State University 2002

== Dimensions ==

Christian ROHR, University of Salzburg, Austria; page 3.</ref> [[Francesco Petrarch]] is regarded as the "Father of Alpinism"<ref>[http://s24.realgolfonline.org/rockclimbingalabama/mountain-climbing.html Mountain Climbing News]</ref><ref>[http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:DKGUnhmFpY4J:www.sjr.mb.ca/ms/banner/2006/6jh/mc/history.htm+Mountain+Climbing+History+%22Father+of+Alpinism%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us Mountain Climbing History]</ref><ref>Location of a village where there is a [http://www.theluberon.com/fontaine.htm Petrarch Museum and Monument] identifying that April 26, 1336, is known as the ''" birth of alpinism and Petrarch its father. "''</ref>because of his ascent of Mont Ventoux.<ref>"Petrarch at the Peak of Fame" by Lyell Asher describes [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0030-8129%28199310%29108%3A5%3C1050%3APATPOF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage "the first recorded Alpinist."] and April 26, 1336 as a "most notorious date on the calender of his impieties."</ref><ref>[http://www.mounteverest.net/story/HappybirthdayPetrarchTheGrandfatherofAlpinismJul202004.shtml Petrarch: The Grandfather of Alpinism]</ref> This is a 6,200-foot peak near Petrarch's home in [[Carpentras]], France. A century later, a chapel dedicated to the [[Christian cross|Holy Cross]] was built on the top of the mountain. Today there is a steep road to the top of [[Mount Ventoux]] that is sometimes painfully incorporated into the [[Tour de France]]. Petrarch then was about 30 years of age.<ref>[http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/timeline.html Timeline of Petrarch's life.]</ref> In a letter dated April 26 of that year by the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch to Francesco Dionigi of Borgo San Sepolcro,<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/Mountaineering The famous letter that Petrarch composed on the evening of that day.]</ref> a close friend of Petrarch's who was an [[Augustinian]] [[monk]], he gives his account of the ascent.<ref>[http://www.couloirmag.com/articles/dynamic_articlepg.php?articleID=129 account of ascent of Mont Ventoux]</ref> This letter reads in part:<blockquote>"Today, I ascended the highest mountain in this region, which, not without cause, they call the Windy Peak. Nothing but the desire to see its conspicuous height was the reason for this undertaking."<ref>The Ascent of Mount Ventoux, a letter to Dionisio da Borgo San Sepolcro [http://history.hanover.edu/texts/petrarch/pet17.html - Familiar Letters]</ref>

Measures of the apparatus are published by the [[FIG]] in the ''Apparatus Norms'' brochure.

</blockquote>

In''The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy'' [[Jacob Burkhardt]] describes Petrarch's ascent as the first time mountain climbing had been undertaken just for the sport of it.<ref>Burkhardt, Jacob. ''[http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/hy309/docs/burckhardt/burckhardt.html The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy]'', translated by Middlemore.</ref>

* Height 115 [[Metre#SI multiples|cm]], including about 20 cm landing [[Mat (gymnastics)]]

<br />

* Length 160 cm

<br />

* Width 35 cm

''Famous First Facts: International Edition'' credits the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch for writing of the first account of mountain climbing of importance,<blockquote>

* Height of the pommels 12 cm

"In April 1336 'to see what so great an elevation had to ofer,' he climbed the peak of Mount Ventoux in Provence, France, which is 6,203 feet high (1,909 meters). In a letter to the Augustinian monk Dionisio da Borgo San Sep, he later wrote: 'I stood like one dazed, I beheld the clouds under our feet, and what I had read of Athos and Olympus seemed less incredible as I witnessed the same things from a mountain less famous.'<ref>Famous First Facts International, H.W. Wilson, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8242-0958-3, page 414, item 5726.</ref></blockquote>

* Distance between the pommels 40 cm to 45 cm (adjustable)

[[Morris Bishop]]'s book, ''Petrarch and His World'', has a long chapter titled "The Ascent of Mont Ventoux" on the ascent Petrarch made to the top of Mont Ventoux. He says in this chapter, <Blockquote>

== Exercise ==

"There is no clear record that anyone ever climbed a mountain for pleasure or mere curiosity from the time of King Philip of Macedonia to that of Petrarch. True, there is the case of King Peter of Aragon in the thirteenth century, who is said to have climbed Mount Canigou in the Pyrenees only to see what was on the summit. There he found a lake with monstrous hovering dragon, darkening the face of heaven with his breath. I think we may rule this out. We may rule out also the Alpine hermits, who sought their high retreats only to escape the world; and even Empedocles, who climbed Mount Etna in order to throw himself in the crater. Of course there were hunters, pursuing game to the upper fast-nesses, and shepherds seeking stray sheep or goats. However, Petrarch remains the first recorded Alpinist, the first to climb a mountain because it is there....Probably by design, for Petrarch had a great sense of anniversaries, he planned the ascent for April 26, 1336, exactly ten years from the day he and Gherardo had left Bologna." '' <ref> ''Petrarch and His World.'' by Morris Bishop; Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana University Press 1963, page 104. </ref> </blockquote>

A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work. Single leg skills are generally found in the form of scissors, an element often done on the pommels. Double leg work however, is the main staple of this event. The gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise depending on preference) and performs such skills on all parts of the apparatus. To make the exercise more challenging, gymnasts will often include variations on a typical circling skill by turning (moores and spindles) or by straddling their legs (Flares). Routines end when the gymnast performs a dismount, either by swinging his body over the horse or going through a handstand and hopping off. The pommel horse, its gymnastic elements, and various rules are all regulated by the [[Code of Points (artistic gymnastics)|Code of Points]].

The sport of mountaineering began in the Alps and is the reason for the term ''alpinist'' - meaning mountain climber.<ref> New Standard Encyclopedia, Standard Educational Corporation 1992 (Chicago), Volume 9 page M-592a.</ref>

Pommel horse is considered by many to be the most difficult of the six men's gymnastics events. While it is well noted that all events require a certain build of muscle and technique, pommel horse tends to favor technique over muscle. This is due to the fact that horse routines are done from the shoulders in a leaning motion and that no moves except the [[handstand]] need to be held unlike other events. Therefore, stress induced in one's arms is reduced meaning less muscle is needed in this event than events like still [[Rings (gymnastics)]] or [[parallel bars]].

[[Garrett Mattingly]], a professor of European history at Columbia University, writes of Petrarch's ascent on Mount Ventoux in his book ''Renaissance Profiles'' (co-author [[John H. Plumb]]) and refers to him as being the Father of Alpinism.<ref>''Renaisssance Profiles'' by Garrett Mattingly, pages 1-17, New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-131162-6.</ref>

== Form ==

As with all events in the [[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique]] guidelines, form is crucial to any successful routine. For pommel horse form consists of keeping one's feet pointed and legs straight during all tricks. Furthermore, it is important to keep your legs together during all tricks, [[Image:Schuhmann cavallo atene 1896.jpg|right|200px]]exceptions beings scissors, single legged tricks, and flares, to minimize deductions. Moreover, good form aids in trick execution in that loose limbs and flailing extremities hinder the cohesive momentum of one's body and the risk of touching one's feet on the horse resulting in deductions.

In a University of Illinois paper of 1995 presented at the Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference reference is made of [[Petrarch]] undertaking his climb of [[Mount Ventoux]] in April of 1336 after his reading of Livy's account of how Philip of Macedon climbed Mount Hermus and refers to Morris Bishop calling Petrarch as being "the first modern mountain-climber."<ref>[http://members.tripod.com/~kimmel/Petrarch.html Petrarch: Books and the Life of the Mind]</ref>

In an online article called "What is Mountaineering" they mention Petrarch as being known as the Father of Alpinism.<ref>[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mountaineering.htm What is Mountaineering?]</ref> In another article of December 2006 Quadrant Magazine says,<blockquote>

Form in artistic gymnastics on all events, is also considered important due to the injuries bad form may cause. This injuries on pommel horse may range from broken wrists due to placing to much weight on one arm or extensive forearm splints.

"One small episode in late medieval history is often singled out for special mention by historians, especially those with an interest in environmental history. This concerns the ascent of Mt Ventoux in France by Petrarch in 1336. [[Kenneth Clark]], the noted art historian, supposes that Petrarch "was, as everybody knows, the first to climb a mountain for its own sake, and to enjoy the view from the top" (Landscape into Art, 1949). Many other historians quote this same event as providing the earliest example of the new humanistic, Renaissance spirit where nature was enjoyed for its own sake. I have come across this assertion in several history books and commentaries on the man-in-nature question." <ref>Quadrant article [http://quadrant.org.au/php/issue_view.php?issue_id=82 "Petrarch and the Mountain"]by B.J. Coman, December 2006 - Volume L Number 12.</ref></blockquote>

Bruce MacLennan identifies in his article '"Some Remarks of Hillman on Renaissance Neoplatonism and Archetypal Psychology" the rediscovery of soul and its paradoxical nature in Petrarch's descent from Mont Ventoux:<ref>[http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/Classes/US310/On-Hillman.html Renaissance Neoplatonism and Archetypal Psychology]</ref>

== Judging and Routine Construction ==

<blockquote>[[James Hillman]], one of the founders of modern [[archetypal psychology]], which is a further development of Jung's ideas, has written about the roots of archetypal psychology in Renaissance Neoplatonism. He makes the argument that what enabled the Renaissance was not (as is commonly supposed) the rediscovery of humanity or nature, but the rediscovery of soul and its paradoxical nature, for while it is in us, we are also in it. That is, the imaginative world of the soul has an objective existence independent of our individual egos. He identifies Petrarch's descent from Mont Ventoux as the turning point because, as you will recall, it was there that he consulted Augustine's Confessions at random and, from what he read, realized that the world inside is just as large and real (just as given) as the world outside. In that passage Augustine described his imagination as "a large and boundless chamber," both a power of his and a part of his nature, yet beyond his comprehension. "Therefore is the mind too strait to contain itself." </blockquote>

A historian might put the ascent of Mount Ventoux by Petrarch and his comrades as a symbolic act marking the beginning of the new humanistic "Renaissance" spirit.<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/petrarch-ventoux.html Medieval Sourcebook: Petrarch: The Ascent of Mount Ventoux]</ref> The ascent of Mount Ventoux in the spring of 1336 by Petrarch correlates directly with [[humanism]], personal growth and [[self-knowledge]]. The event of the birth of alpinism is associated with [[Discovery (observation)|discovery]] and [[Enlightenment (concept)|enlightenment]].<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/super2/petrarch/humanism.html Humanisn] as it relates to Petrarch's climb of Mount Ventoux.</ref> [[Pope Innocent III]] in his classic non-humanistic work ''Misery of the Human Condition'' asked the same question of why people climb mountains. He came up with the same answer as Petrarch: "the need to see the vista." This event of Petrarch's ascent to the top of Mount Ventoux just to see the view of the landscape is in the cultural history of Europe

<ref>[http://www.landscape-europe.net/ELCAI_projectreport_book_amended.pdf European Landscape Character Areas], Final Project Report Project: FP5 EU Accompanying Measure Contract: ELCAI-EVK2-CT-2002-80021, page 12.</ref> regarded iconographically as "the beginning of a conscious perception of landscape."<ref>''The Mental Component of the Earth System'' by W. Luchr and R. K. Pachauri, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 14412 Potsdam, Germany,

The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi 110003, India; Chapter toward end of book (page 359) in the APPENDIX: four stories as food for thought, the second story called "Petrarca and von Humboldt: Poet and Scientist."</ref>

Petrarch is known for being the father of Italian Renaissance humanism. In the Renaissance, Greek ideals were taken up when in 1336 Petrarch wrote of philosophical concepts found in the birth of alpinism which he expressed in his letter of April 26 ''The Ascent of Mount Ventoux'' : <blockquote> "Yes, the life which we call blessed is to be sought for on a high eminence, and strait is the way that leads to it. Many, also, are the hills that lie between, and we must ascend, by a glorious stairway, from strength to strength. At the top is at once the end of our struggles and the goal for which we are bound. All wish to reach this goal, but, as Ovid says, ‘To wish is little; we must long with the utmost eagerness to gain our end.’” Niccolò Machiavelli perceived plainly that the struggle against necessity required that an individual have excellence and freedom as primary life purposes."</blockquote>

There are five element groups (or skill categories) into which all pommel horse skills are categorized. For pommel horse:

==Notes and References==

'''I. Single leg swings and scissors<br />'''

{{reflist}}

==External Links==

- '''Scissors''' consist of a swinging motion of one's back leg, in reference to the horse and motion of swing, to around a height of 1-3 feet above the horse. Once attaining this height in a swing a scissor is accomplished by simply bring ones front leg behind the horse and switching the back leg to the front. Scissors may consist of a variety of twists and turns during the scissors motion. Also, scissors can be used to travel from one area of the horse to another.

* ''Fleeting Moments: Nature and Culture in American History'' By Gunther Paul Barth, [http://books.google.com/books?id=Z0EKPTCUO1QC&pg=PR13&lpg=PR13&dq=april+26+1336+petrarch+fleeting+moments&source=web&ots=yQq1x834nR&sig=US7ZOjeMRP5A3s-VuCvwbiDUNds a book] describing Petrarch's ascent of Mont Ventoux related to man-in-nature and religion.

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9F03E2DC153EF935A35755C0A96F958260 New York Times] 2006 article by Richard B. Woodward describing Petrarch in various histories as the first mountaineer and as a pioneer of sightseeing.

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9F03E2DC153EF935A35755C0A96F958260 New York Times] 1999 article by Michael Kimmelman in "environmental writing" talks about the significance of Petrarch's ascent in 1336.

* Article talking about Petrarch's ascent of Mount Ventoux as the potential intellectual precursor of [http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Petrarch.html Columbus crossing the Atlantic].

* Petrarch's ascent has done much to shape and form historic and contemporary interest in the [http://clarionjournal.typepad.com/clarion_journal_of_spirit/2006/06/the_ascent_of_m.html role of mountaineering and quests].

* Article of Petrarch's ascent of Mont Ventoux [http://www.warmwell.com/04sep11jenkins.html influencing mountaineering] to this day and its metaphorical significance.

* Article explaining Petrarch was the first person on April 26, 1336, to climb a mountain [http://www.onlib.org/website/reading/fearless_reader/Petrarch.htm just because it was there.]

*Petrarch was the first self-consciously literate educated person to climb a mountain just for [http://blogs.salon.com/0002296/2006/05/21.html the vista.]

* Article explaining that Petrarch with his brother went past a shepard [http://utopianturtletop.blogspot.com/2004/02/sightseeing-weather-and-lyric.html on the ascent.]

*Article analyzing the letter dated April 26, 1336, and [http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=289 philosophical significance.]

==Bibliography==

- '''Single leg swings''' include leg cuts and any cut down version of double leg swing tricks like stock-ins, front-ins, stock-outs, front-outs, and etc... Leg cuts are transitioning moves used during routines to position gymnasts to do scissors and maintain routine direction. To do a leg cut one must kick one leg behind or to the front of the horse on any section of the horse.

*''The Renaissance philosophy of man'', translation selections by [[Ernst Cassirer]]; [[Paul Oskar Kristeller]]; [[John Herman Randall]], University of Chicago Press, 1956 (OCLC: 71231567), 1971

*Petrarch ''Letter to Francesco Dionigi de'Roberti, 26 April 1336'' (The Ascent of Mount Ventoux). Translated by Hans Nachod in ''The Renaissance Philosophy of Man'', ed. Ernst Cassirer et al., pages 36-46. Chicago: [[University of Chicago]], 1948. ISBN 0-226-09604-1

*''Encyclopedia of World Biography'', 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998; ""Francesco Petrarca" - extensive article on his life with parts pertaining to his ascent of Mont Ventoux.

*Petrarca, Francesco, and John DePol. [Ad Dyonisium de Burgo Sancti Sepulcri ... de curis propriis. English] The ascent of Mount Ventoux: a letter from Petrarch. New York: Petrarch Press, 1989. 11 p., [1] leaf of plates. PQ4519.V44P413 1989

*Petrarca, Francesco. (Ad Dyonisium de Burgo Sancti Sepulcri ... de curis propriis. Italian & Latin) ''Francisci Petrarchae Ascensus Montis Ventosi.'' &, ''Une ascension au mont Ventoux.'' Editiones Officinae Bodoni. Verona: Officina Bodoni, 1965; 83 p. PQ4519.V44P416 1965

'''II. Circles and flairs (with and without spindles and handstands)<br />'''

*Petrarca, Francesco. (Ad Dyonisium de Burgo Sancti Sepulcri ... de curis propriis. Italian & Latin) ''La lettera del Ventoso: Familiarium rerum libri'' IV, 1: testo a fronte. Di monte in monte, 1. Verbania: Tarara, 1996. 75 p. PQ4519.V44P416 1996

- '''Circles''' consist of rhythmic leaning motion of the wrists in reference to a elliptical motion of the body on top of the horse. Circles may be performed on the pommels themselves, the surface of the horse, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, circles may be used in method to travel from one section of the horse to another through the use of moving ones hands while maintaining the original elliptical motion. [[Image:Alberto Braglia.jpg|left|250px]]

*Petrarca, Francesco, and Rodney John Lokaj. (''Familiarum rerum libri.'' IV, 1. English & Latin] ''Petrarch's Ascent of Mount Ventoux: the Familiaris'' IV, I: new commented edition. Scriptores latini, 23. Roma: Edizioni dell'Ateneo, 2006. 213 p.PQ4490.E2313 2005

*Petrarca. ''Wege der Forschung,'' Bd. 353. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, [Abt. Verlag], 1976. 463 p.PQ4504.P4

- '''Flares''' in theory are very similar to circles, except the positioning of one's legs. In circles a gymnast should generally try to keep his/her legs together, whereas during flares they are apart and raised above one's body plane in the elliptical motion.

*Petrarch. ''Modern critical views.'' New York: Chelsea House, 1989. 175 p. PQ4505.P4 1989

*Cassirer, Ernst, ed, Paul Oskar Kristeller, joint ed., and John Herman Randall, joint ed.. ''The Renaissance philosophy of man.'' University of Chicago Press (1948), 404 p. B775.C32

- '''Spindles''' are shifts of motion in one's body direction during a circles and flairs. This entails doing a circle or flair and then changing your hand's place on the horse in the appropriate manner to swing the rest of circle or flair over the top of the pommels or ends instead of the sides of the horse.

*Cassirer, Ernst, ed, Paul Oskar Kristeller, ed., and John Herman Randall, joint edition. ''The Renaissance philosophy of man.'' Selections in translation. Phoenix, AZ., books, P1. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, (1967, c1948) 405 p.B780.M3C37 1967

'''III. Side- and cross-support travels<br />'''

- '''Side- and cross-support travels''' consist of double legged swings like stock-ins, front-ins, stock-outs, front-outs, russians, and etc... in an effort to move a gymnast to one side or section of the horse to another. Most of these move consist of having one's legs on the same side of the horse and placing their hand (right or left depending on the gymnasts routine direction) and swinging their body over and around the pommel(s). This also includes scissors in traveling motion over one or both pommels.

- '''Russians''' are the transition of both hand to one pommel in a double legged cross support travel and then to the other pommel until a gymnast has returned to his starting position. If a gymnast is half way back to his starting position then this is called a Moore.

'''IV. Kehrswings / Wendeswings / Flops and combined elements<br />'''

[[Category:Mountaineering]]

- '''Combined element''' tricks are normally a rapid connection of horse skill described above normally followed by a circle or russian in any fraction thereof. Tricks of this caliber include the the Wu, Tong Fei, Roth, Kroll, Sherlock, Wendeswings, Kehrswings, and etc... which are normally named after the first gymnast who first introduced and executed the move.

[[Category:Climbing]]

[[Category:Letters]]

'''V. Dismounts<br />'''

- '''Dismounts''' off the pommel horse apparatus are somewhat limited to one of three moves: a jump off, loop off, and handstand.

'''1.''' A jump off is the simplest dismount in that it is simply a hop off the horse after a gymnast last trick on the pommel horse apparatus.

'''2.''' A loop off is a swinging move over and off the horse after completing the last trick in a routine.

'''3.''' A handstand can be performed by swinging one leg above your raised shoulders after the last performed trick. By swinging just one leg above your raised shoulders momentum carries the other one up until it is besides the other leg. To dismount out of the handstand one must spin their body in the air to be parrallel to the pommels on the horse and land the handstand.

- The most important aspect of a dismount is to stick it, which means to land firmly on both feet without moving, with your hands raised directly above your head. Also, if you do not stick the dismount the more foot movements taken to steady oneself will also incur more deductions against your routine.

== Trivia ==

*A gym teacher on The Simpsons is called Mrs. Pommelhorse

== Reference ==

== External links ==

*[http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/index2.jsp?menu=RULES The 2006 ''Code of Points'']

*[http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/cache/html/4909-116-10001.html Apparatus description at the FIG website]

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