The Magyar travel is named after the famous Hungarian gymnast Zoltan Magyar. He is a two-time Olympic champion and a three-time world champion on the pommel horse event. The Magyar travel is one of his original skills, another one of his named skills is the full spindle. There are two modifications, the skill can be done with pommel circles included, or the travel can be done by skipping the pommel circles. The skill starts with front loops. When the circle is clockwise the right hand is moving forward first, and vice versa for counterclockwise circles. The gymnast should do 2-3 loops, moving forward until they approach the first pommel. The right-hand steps up on the pommel, in rear support, then the left-hand reaches the pommel and the gymnast performs the entire pommel circle. In the rear support, the right-hand step down between the pommels, on the saddle. In rear support, the left-hand approaches the saddle and concludes the saddle circle. The second pommel circle is identical to the first one. The skill finishes with a step down to the leather where the gymnast should perform back loops. There are several topics which the gymnast should focus on:
The circle during the Magyar should be extended very well. It will give the gymnast enough height to not touch the horse and the handles;
Faster circles make it easier to raise the body than slower circles;
Prior to the pommel circle, the hands should be placed close enough to the pommel, so that it’s easier to step onto the handles;
The loops should be even, not skewed. When the placement of the hands is uneven, the second hand is far from the pommel. This makes it more difficult to approach the pommel and a perform circle on it;
When the gymnast is younger, it’s considerably easier to perform the Magyar without pommel circles.
There are many variations of loops on pommel horse. Loops can be performed in the front, side, back, middle of the horse, longitudinally, transversally, with and without pommels. Despite the variety of the loops, there are universal rules which every gymnast should follow:
The body should be completely extended, with the chest open at the ¼ and ¾ circle positions;
¼ is important because the circle starts from this position. The performance of this part of the circle will have an effect on the rest of the skill.
¾ is important because at this point the hands will switch their positions and the gymnast should generate continuity of the circle;
The circle is a skill, in which all the body muscles should be squeezed, particularly the gluteus muscles, because it helps to maintain the straight body position;
The gymnast should emphasize on ¼ pushing the horse in order to give the move direction. They should also emphasize on opening their hips and chest while performing front loops and forward travels (Magyar skills);
The gymnast should emphasize on ¾ pushing the horse in order to give the move direction. They should also emphasize on open the hips and chest while performing back loops and travels backward (Sivado skills);
The placement of the hands should be even, with an eventual slight counter turn at ¼ in order to prevent the hips from overturning;
Having a fast execution of the loops will raise the body higher over the horse, and help the gymnast to perform the skill easier;
The gymnast should keep the shoulders erect and the hips straight in order to remain straight and extended.
The circle could be performed from standing without pommels, or in a sequence as half of a Magyar. The circle in the middle of the horse should be faster than the regular loops.
Circles on one pommel decrease the width of the shoulders, this is why the pommel circles are more difficult to perform. Learning of the skill could begin with a bucket. Holding the pommel could be in mixed grip, overgrip, or undergrip. The most common technique is to perform the circle in mixed grip, but overgrip is technically more correct.
When the gymnast gets more familiar with all the different types of horse circles, the next step should be to perform a Magyar on a pommelless horse. The gymnast should follow all the technical requirements concerning the correct execution of the circle. During the travel, the body should be in a frontal position with the hands in an even placement.
The Magyar could be performed with small foam blocks or some sort of false pommels. The gymnast should begin with small blocks, and then raise the block height until they are equivalent to the pommels. This drill serves the purpose of learning the Magyar without doing pommel circles.
The gymnast may use a small cheese mat to assist them with learning to raise their body onto the pommel. This helps with the travel as the gymnast will be able to take small steps when compared to the pommel obstacle.
Integral part of gymnastics coaching process are skill drills. They help gymnasts to learn easier and technically correct. With GYM DRILL PRO you will find variety of ideas for the most the basic gymnastics skills. There are plenty of images with skill drill progressions. It is intended to support explicitly the qualified coaches in their daily coaching business. DO NOT practice without the guidance of proper professionals.