19 Men’s Gymnastics Rings Moves That You Should Know

Tutorials / By

Men’s Gymnastics Rings Moves are challenging skills that require immense upper-body strength, technique, and control. Mastering the basic and advanced skills on the rings is a significant achievement for any gymnast. The rings are competed only by male gymnasts in the Artistic discipline but female athletes can also benefit from incorporating Rings into their strength and conditioning routines.

In this article, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive list of basic and advanced still ring moves along with their descriptions.

Basic Still Ring Skills

To give this event the correct name – still rings – gives a big clue to the technique needed. That is that the rings should stay as still as possible when being used. This is difficult as the rings are suspended by several meters of cable, or if you are using a set of gymnastics rings at home, they will still have a length of straps. The following skills are considered the basics and lay the building blocks of more advanced skills later on.

Support Hold

The support hold is a basic still ring skill that involves holding your body in an upright position with straight arms and your body parallel to the ground. It is one of the most fundamental skills on the rings and is required for more complex skills.

gymnastics rings support shape

Handstand

The handstand is a fundamental gymnastics skill that involves balancing your body upside down with your arms straight and your hands on the ground. On the still rings, the handstand is performed with the rings close to the body, and maintaining balance requires a significant amount of strength and control.

handstand on gymnastics rings

Muscle Up

The muscle up is a foundational still ring skill that involves transitioning from a hanging position to a support position on the rings. This skill requires a combination of strength, technique, and momentum. It’s a great skill to practice at home if you have a set of rings.

Basic Swing

The basic swing is a skill that involves swinging your body back and forth on the still rings while maintaining control and proper body position.

Kip

The kip is a basic swinging skill that involves the gymnast using their legs to generate momentum and transition from a hanging position to a support position on the rings. This skill is an essential foundation for many of the more advanced skills.

German Hang

The German hang is a still ring skill that involves hanging upside down with your arms wrapped around the rings. This skill requires significant shoulder and arm strength.

Hanging in Tuck

Hanging in tuck is a skill that involves hanging from the still rings in a tucked position with your knees up to your chest. This skill is essential for many advanced still ring skills.

Pike and Straddle Shapes

The pike and straddle shapes are fundamental body positions in gymnastics that are used in still ring skills. The pike shape involves bending at the hips and keeping your legs straight, while the straddle shape involves opening your legs wide apart.

Advanced Rings Skills

The following advanced ring skills require a high level of strength conditioning before they can be mastered. These skills are more challenging than the basic skills and often take years of training to master.

Some may say you can use hacks or tricks to get these skills BUT the reality is you will not be able to master the rings without the correct techniques and progressions.

Back Lever

The back lever is a static hold in which the gymnast is hanging upside down with arms straight, body horizontal and facing upwards. The gymnast must engage their back muscles to keep their body in a straight line and hold the position for a set amount of time.

Back Uprise

The back uprise is a skill that involves the gymnast transitioning from a hanging position to a support position on the rings, without using their legs to assist them. This skill requires a lot of upper-body strength and technique.

Dislocate

The dislocate is a skill where the gymnast swings forward and then performs a backward roll while keeping the rings close to their body. The dislocate requires a great deal of strength, control, and timing to execute properly.

Front Uprise

The front uprise is similar to the back uprise but instead, the gymnast transitions from a hanging position to a support position facing forward. This skill requires strong shoulder and chest muscles.

Iron Cross

The iron cross is an iconic gymnastics skill that involves the gymnast holding their body horizontally while suspended on the rings, with arms extended out to the side in a cross shape. This skill requires incredible upper body strength and control, as well as flexibility in the shoulders and chest.

Delchev

The Delchev is a release move in which the gymnast swings backward and releases the rings, performs a 360-degree turn, and then catches the rings again. This skill requires a lot of power and technique to execute properly.

Flyaway

The flyaway is a dismount skill where the gymnast releases the rings and performs a backflip in the air before landing on the ground. This skill requires excellent technique and spatial awareness.

Back Giant

The back giant is a swinging skill where the gymnast performs a backward swing and then transitions to a forward swing, without their body touching the rings. This skill requires a lot of strength and technique.

Front Giant

The front giant is similar to the back giant but performed in the opposite direction, where the gymnast transitions from a forward swing to a backward swing. This skill requires a great deal of control and timing.

Azarian

The Azarian is a skill that involves the gymnast swinging forward and then performing a half-turn while keeping the rings close to their body. This skill requires a lot of strength and timing to execute properly.

Planche

The planche is a static hold where the gymnast is holding their body parallel to the ground with their arms extended, but without their feet touching the ground. This skill requires incredible upper body strength and core stability, as well as flexibility in the wrists and shoulders.

Maltese Cross

The Maltese Cross is a skill where the gymnast holds their body horizontally on the rings with arms extended out to the side in a cross shape, but with their palms facing downwards. This skill is considered one of the most difficult skills in gymnastics, requiring immense strength, control, and flexibility.

gymnastics rings cross

Nakayama

The Nakayama is a swinging skill that involves the gymnast performing a forward giant swing and then releasing the rings and performing a half turn before re-catching the rings. This skill requires a lot of strength, control, and timing to execute properly.

FAQs

What are the rings in gymnastics called?

Gymnastics Rings are called Still Rings as they remain fairly static compared to Flying Rings found in Trapeze. There is some movement of the rings but male gymnasts have to use enormous upper body strength to keep the Rings under control.

Why don’t female gymnasts do rings?

The Rings require high levels of upper body strength, especially around the shoulders, arms and core. Typically this suits male gymnasts and traditionally female artistic gymnasts have been expected to produce more elegant and artistic routines. However, who knows if in the future these traditions will shift!

Can you do dips on gymnastic rings?

Yes, you can do dips on gymnastics rings by lowering yourself from a support position (rings by your hips). You should squeeze the rings into your body as they will try and push away from each other. Doing dips on the rings will improve the strength in your upper body and core.