Gymnastics247

Today, the black soccer cleat or the football boot, is a staple when playing the game. However, the soccer cleats that we know today hasn’t always been like that. The soccer cleat has evolved from a pair of boots that King Henry the VIII of England wore. From there, the pair of boots evolved to the cleats that even average people can now wear. If you’re interested in knowing how they evolved over time, here’s a brief history:

Tudor Period of England

The predecessor of soccer cleats came from a pair of leather boots made by Cornelius Johnson for King Henry VIII. It’s important to take note that there is no record at all as to whether King Henry VIII was an enthusiastic soccer player or not. However, his handmade boots served as the inspiration for modern day soccer shoes. In the next 300 years, the game of soccer became really popular and shoemakers started making modifications to further fit the game (such as including nails at the bottom).

1860s-1890s

Eventually, the English Football Association implemented a rule in 1863 banning nails or iron plates in games because of safety reasons. In 1880, leather studs were used instead. The official use of leather studs in games only became recognized when the English Football Association implemented it in the rulebook during 1891. These are the direct ancestors of the modern soccer cleats.

1900s-1960s

Soccer cleats evolved during the 1900s, specifically the 1920s. The changes were made by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler during the year 1924 in Germany. They formed the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory and created the Adi, which is the first pair that they created. This was the early predecessor of Adidas, as we know today. Internal conflicts lead to the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory closing down. Rudolf then branched out and created the brand Puma.

1970s-Present

1970s was a time when soccer cleats received the most professional endorsements. Many companies created more cleats to fit more competition needs. Companies such as Hummel and Everton came out with their own cleats following the World Cup.

In the 1980s, football boots were made with more emphasis on flexibility and trying to find the lightest soccer cleats. This was to allow the players to have better control and speed on the field. This was popularized by player Craig Johnston who was looking for the ideal boots to have a good “feel” of the field and the ball. In 1990s, the Adidas Predator was created based on this idea.

Eventually, Nike joined the market and got a huge share of the soccer cleats market. Though Nike specialized in creating running shoes, they innovated their existing running shoes to fit soccer. One of the most popular Nike cleats was Nike Tiempo, which was what Brazil players wore in the World Cup of 1994.

Today, soccer cleats have evolved, possessing all kinds of innovative features such as extra grip, softer padding, and others. What started out as a pair of black boots from King Henry VIII became a staple in one of the most popular games in Europe. Today, you need these cleats if you’re going to streak down the field and score a goal.… Read more..

The sport of Gymnastics dates far beyond the Ancient Olympic Games. Acrobats entertained Egyptian nobility about 7,000 years ago and, judging by ancient frescoes, acrobats vaulted over the backs of bulls on the island of Crete when the Minoan civilization flourished, beginning about 2,700 BC. The Chinese some 2000 years before Ancient Olympic Games practised ritual mass Gymnastic exercises as part of the art of “Wushu”.
The term “gymnastics” derives from the Greek word for naked “gymnos”. In ancient Greece, male athletes trained and competed in the nude. Physical training took place in the palestra, a square, walled, open-air area equipped with changing rooms and baths. Activities included running, jumping, weightlifting, throwing, wrestling, and swimming, all classified as gymnastics.
The Romans followed the Greek example, to a point. The gymnasium was basically a training place for the Roman legions. The wooden horse was a Roman innovation, used to train soldiers to mount and dismount quickly. However, the Romans had little interest in sport for sport’s sake, and the Greek practice of nude exercise was viewed with distaste, as leading to the vice of homosexuality.
With the fall of Rome and the spread of Christianity through Europe, the knowledge that exercise leads to physical fitness seems to have been lost, along with the ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body. Acrobatics survived, though. During Medieval times, traveling minstrel shows included songs, stories, and tumbling.
Modern gymnastics began with the work of Johann Friedrich GutsMuths (1759-1839) from Germany, who developed a complete program of exercises designed to improve balance and suppleness as well as muscular strength. His follower – a gymnastics teacher Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852) believed, that turnen was an old Teutonic word that meant doing gymnastics, and he adopted it in place of Gymnastik. A gymnast was a Turner, a gymnastics organization a Turnverein, a gymnasium a Turnplatz, and a gymnastics festival a Turnfest. Jahn developed three types of apparatus that are still used in gymnastics: the high bar, parallel bars, and rings. He also created the forerunner of the balance beam, in form of a long pine log suspended on supports. But his influence went far beyond mere apparatus and teaching techniques.
Another of GutsMuths’ disciples was Franz Nachtegall, who founded a private gymnasium in Copenhagen in 1799. The Crown Prince of Denmark felt that gymnastics would be useful for military training. He created the Military Gymnastic Institute in 1804 and appointed Nachtegall its director. Per Henrik Ling of Sweden (1766-1839) studied at Nachtegall’s gymnasium for five years and brought the ideas he learned back to his native country. Jahn’s system of exercise and use of apparatus had focused mainly on developing muscular strength. Ling, who was also a fencing master, was more interested in the harmonious development of the body. He focused on movements leading to esthetically pleasing body positions. Where Jahn’s gymnasts often did exercises while holding dumbbells, Ling emphasized free exercises. Because he worked primarily with the military at the royal institute, Ling’s classes were highly regimented. Students followed the leader in a series of movements that had to be performed in sequence and in unison, ending in the specified body position. However, Ling’s followers placed more emphasis on self-expression through an individual’s movement, bringing gymnastics somewhat closer to dance.
Gymnastics spread through Europe primarily as physical training for the military. In France, Francisco Amoros founded the Ecole de Joinville for military training in 1852. Amoros espoused a system of gymnastics that included work on apparatus, calisthenics, and singing. Phokion Heinrich Clias (1782-1854) became a gymnastics instructor in Switzerland and worked with the Swiss Army early in the 19th century. Archibald MacLaren opened a private gymnasium in Oxford in 1858.
Starting with the military, gymnastics trickled down, so to speak. Civilian federations were formed in several European countries. The German Gymnastics Club was the first, in 1860. The Prague Gymnastic Association, later renamed Prague Sokol was founded by Miroslav Tyrs and Jindrich Fugner on February 16th, 1862 as the first physical education organization in the Austro – Hungarian empire at a time of political freedom in the 1860´s. Eight other units were founded in Bohemia and Moravia in the same year. The leader Miroslav Tyrs invented gymnastic exercises and terminology (The Basis of Gymnastics). In 1869, the Gymnastic Society of Czech Women and Girls was founded. Other federations were established in Belgium in 1865, Poland in 1867, Holland in 1868, France in 1873, and Russia in 1883. Pyotr Lesgaft, the founder of the Russian gymnastics movement, worked with the Imperial Army beginning in 1874. He felt that Jahn’s gymnastics, as promulgated by the Turners, was too dependent on equipment. Lesgaft’s methods, like Ling’s, emphasized movement. England’s Amateur Gymnastic and Fencing Association was founded in 1888.
The European Gymnastics Federation FEG (Fédération … Read more..