However, that evidence and experience over the past 40 years and more specifically the past three years, has thoroughly convinced me that not only were the Greeks on the right path technically, but that they helped put me on the right path. Most of what I have to support my argument is based on empirical evidence. It also surprises me that others have not pushed discus technique in this direction, given the wealth of technological resources at our disposal, including biomechanics and computer graphics. Why it took me nearly 40 years to figure out that the Greeks were pretty close tech-nically regarding the discus throw is beyond me, especially considering that much of my undergraduate and graduate work was in art and art history. The most accurate Roman copy of the Greek original, Myron's Discobolus circa 450-460 BC, ".is today considered a rather inefficient way to throw the discus." While the refer-ence in Wikipedia was clearly intended to underscore the limited rotation of the body in throwing the discus at the ancient games compared to modern discus technique, I beg to differ with the use of the word 'inefficient' and hope the words that follow will act as devil's advocate to get coaches thinking differently about the event technically, to give them a greater appreciation of the artistic essence of discus throwing, maybe even expand their technical creativity or, at the very least, open up discus throwing to more concerted biomechanical analysis. Ancient may be the better word to describe twist in the context of this article. Old may not be quite the right word in the above title. Please send us your comments.Originally Published in: Techniques Magazine This exhibit is a subset of materials from the Perseus Project database and is copyrighted. To read more about these topics, see Further Resources. ![]() Jump weights also doubled as weight lifting equipment during training. Side A: diskos bag and halteres above wrestlers The halteres were held in front of the athlete during his ascent, and forcibly thrust behind his back and dropped during his descent to help propel his body further. Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of Harvard University Art MuseumsĪthletes used lead or stone jump weights ( halteres) shaped like telephone receivers to increase the length of their jump. Side B: youth with javelin, from the waist up It had a thong for a hurler's fingers attached to its center of gravity, which increased the precision and distance of a javelin's flight. The javelin was a man-high length of wood, with either a sharpened end or an attached metal point. With permission of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Sizes varied, since the boys' division was not expected to throw the same weight as the mens'.įrom Caskey & Beazley, plate XXXVII. The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying saucer. ![]() The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength. Photograph courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston This was a 5-event combination of discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling.Īristotle describes a young man's ultimate physical beauty: "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength.This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful." (Aristotle, Rhetoric 1361b) Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |