Cheerleading technical characteristics

Among the many emerging sports, cheerleading is favored by people in many countries around the world because of its unique technical style and passionate performance. It has also evolved from an initial cheering activity to a popular competition among teenagers and a very dynamic part of competitive events. Over time, cheerleading has become a highly structured activity and is sometimes the focus of debate among popular media, entrepreneurs, and educators. The cultural interpretation of the role of cheerleaders is also gradually formed through them. There is some controversy in these cultural interpretations. Cheerleaders are a symbol, and some see cheerleaders as representatives of shallow, blindly enthusiastic supporters and scantily clad people. Some people think that cheerleaders are representatives of popularity, youth, and leadership ability. How did cheerleading come to represent both elements of society’s ridicule and its object of success? An in-depth analysis of the values ??and concepts behind the phenomenon will help people understand cheerleading more comprehensively and promote the overall development of the sport.

1 Historical changes in cheerleading

1.1 The era of male cheerleaders? In 1898, during a football game at the University of Minnesota in the United States, student Johnny Campbell was very excited. Standing in front and leading people in shouting cheering slogans, Johnny Campbell became the first official cheerleader. This shout was recorded in the "ariel" publication published by students at the University of Minnesota. It has a milestone significance in the development of cheerleading and also marks the official birth of cheerleading.

In the 1870s, college students formed teams and formulated rules, and were the organizers of interschool competitions. The competitions strengthened the uniformity of the rules to a certain extent. With the increase in students' interests and the number of college boys, male college students who regard sports as their own pastime have become loyal spectators of college sports. In its early days, cheerleading was an exclusively masculine pastime.

In the 1890s, some colleges and universities began to designate "cheerleaders". They were also called "shouting kings" and "screaming leaders." Johnny Campbell was one of the first designated shouting leaders. Organized cheering has become a way to strengthen audience participation. With the increasingly rigorous organization of sports competitions, it has further strengthened the good interaction between athletes and audiences.

Male college students are recognized social elites. Cheerleading, which originated among male college students, is fully recognized and idealized as an academic and male activity. While cheerleading is further developing It has also become their unique entertainment activity.

1.2 In the initial period of women joining the cheerleading movement, as cheerleading was widely carried out in colleges and universities, its influence gradually expanded. This activity spread to primary and secondary school campuses, and more people participated. , which promoted the in-depth development of cheerleading. At the beginning of the 20th century, educators redefined the sport of cheerleading in order to better regulate student behavior. In the 1920s, women began to join cheerleading, holding props to add to the atmosphere, and incorporating aerobics, gymnastics and other movements into cheering. In the 1950s, cheerleading achieved comprehensive development in primary schools and junior high schools. Entrepreneurs created new industries serving the sport of cheerleading.

1.3 A period when female cheerleaders tended to have a numerical advantage? In the 1960s, teams in the American Football League (NFL) began to organize their own dance cheerleading teams. The NFL's Dallas Cowboys dance cheerleading team debuted in the 1972-1973 season. The cheerleaders' sexy outfits and graceful dance moves made them the center of attention, and they really became famous in the 10th season of 1976. Super Bowl. Other teams in the NFL followed suit, and the sport of cheerleading changed forever, and the image of cheerleaders also changed.

Submission date: 2010-01-05

About the author: Zhang Qingru, Ph.D., research direction: theory and practice of aerobics teaching. changes in the land. The Kings were one of the first teams to introduce the concept of hot dance to the NBA.

Campus cheerleading emphasizes the team spirit of cooperation and collective supremacy, which is conducive to shaping the positive will and quality of the team members and cultivating their unity, cooperation, healthy and progressive spirit. Cheerleading on campus is becoming more and more competitive, with both men and women participating, and its value has generally increased.

3 Characteristics of cheerleading

Cheerleading meets the needs of various roles in society, the market and school backgrounds, and is diversified into campus competitions and careers. The entertainment function of sports. From the birth of cheerleading to its development into a competitive event with international influence, campus cheerleading has been generally recognized by society, and positive evaluations of campus cheerleaders have dominated.

3.1 The explicit characteristics of cheerleading

3.1.1 The dynamic and energetic cheerleading performance image fully embodies a vigorous, healthy and progressive cheerleading movement Therefore, cheerleaders must have a youthful image, a healthy body and a toned body. Male athletes must have obvious muscle lines and a well-proportioned body shape into an inverted triangle. Female athletes must have bright muscle curves, well-proportioned upper and lower limbs, and bright and healthy skin. All cheerleading team members are required to have good facial features, dignified manners, youthful beauty, and the youthful and healthy beauty of contemporary teenagers.

3.1.2 The style prominence of cheerleading performance techniques Technical characteristics refer to the technical style unique to cheerleading. The technical characteristics of cheerleading are different from aerobics and dance. It embodies the unique strength of all body movements through brief acceleration and positioning braking. Appropriate slow movements are allowed, but only Appears as a transitional action. It is required to use the basic hand positions, steps, and jumps of cheerleading and combine it with a variety of dance elements, slogans, etc., and demonstrate the characteristics of the cheerleading movement through changes in a variety of spaces, directions, formations, and rhythms.

3.1.3 The unity and cooperation of cheerleading performance organizations Cheerleading is a collective activity. The International All-Star Cheerleading Association stipulates that there is no gender limit for participants, and the number of participants is 6 to 30. Only when the number of people reaches certain requirements can we arrange more creative, complex and skillful movements and more levels of movements, complete more space transformations and formation changes, and truly reflect the infinite charm of cheerleading. In terms of skills, cheerleading requires the exchange of technology and experience among team members to achieve the implementation of skills and a tacit understanding of cooperation. Cheerleading demonstrates the unity and cooperation of team members in drag, throw and catch, and pyramid combinations. In order to maximize the overall function of the team, it emphasizes mutual encouragement and cooperation among members to achieve team goals.

3.2 The implicit characteristics of cheerleading

3.2.1 Embodying a healthy, happy and positive spirit, cheerleading has gradually developed from an accessory to sports events at the beginning. A competitive event. As an independent sport, there are World Cups, championships, etc. Healthy and happy is the overall impression that cheerleading brings to people. There is boundless enthusiasm and charm in cheerleaders. Both the cheerleaders' external image and their performances will reflect a youthful, beautiful and vigorous atmosphere. This kind of health and happiness comes from the inside out and from the heart. During competitions, cheerleading team members will wear professional clothing and appropriate makeup in accordance with regulations, and their appearance will be neat, generous, healthy and beautiful. In life, cheerleaders will show fresh and fashionable appearance, reflect the healthy and sunny sense of the times, show good style, and lead the new trend of health and vitality. Cheerleading represents a healthy, happy and positive spirit, and shows the society the style of the young generation.

3.2.2 Emphasize the team spirit of full cooperation and collective supremacy. The spirit of collaboration, service spirit and awareness of the overall situation embodies "team spirit". The core of team spirit is collaborative cooperation, the foundation is respect for individual interests and achievements, and the highest level is the cohesion and centripetal force of all members. In cheerleading, there is no safety without close cooperation among the team members when completing a series of actions such as throwing and catching. The most important factor in cheerleading is "safety", and the awareness of "safety" runs through the entire cheerleading movement.

Sociologists believe that the "quarterback" that attracts attention in American football games and the team's spirit of cooperation can reflect American corporate culture, and the rules of the game can fully demonstrate the spirit of "staying forward" The American pioneer spirit is therefore deeply loved by Americans. In a sense, the tacit cooperation between team members is fully demonstrated in the cheerleading sport that originated from rugby games. For example, in the throwing and catching movements of cheerleading, sufficient patience, proper timing, and concentration are the three basic elements that team members must master. Patience: The only way to reduce the chance of sports injuries is to spend time practicing a lot of new techniques, because any technical action cannot be mastered instantly; Timing: The key to the success or failure of a throw and catch depends on the accurate judgment of time by the lifted player and the base. , if the throwing and catching time is too short or too long, it will increase the risk of the action; concentration: every member of the team must maintain a high level of concentration, because throwing and catching requires more concentration than other cheerleading techniques , any other possible interference should be minimized. Cheerleading is the best expression of teamwork. Whether the upper-level players can safely perform difficult movements depends on whether the lower-level protectors have solid skills.

3.2.3 Highlight the competitive spirit of enterprising and tenacious struggle. In cheerleading, many different gestures represent unity, strength, victory, self-confidence, and courage. The spirit of struggle and enterprising is also reflected in various slogans and slogans of different styles. These elements representing the spirit of struggle and enterprising encourage the team members to fight tenaciously and become more courageous as they fight. Cheerleading can cultivate the spirit of hard work and aggressiveness of the cheerleading team members. At the same time, their spirit will also inspire every team member in the sports competition to not be afraid of difficulties, move forward courageously, and ultimately win the game.

3.2.4 Cultivate comprehensive personal abilities and improve leadership skills. The English name of cheerleading team members is cheerleader, which literally translates as "cheering leader". They cheer in front of the audience, arouse the audience's enthusiasm, and win Be respected by the audience and lead them to become the leader and conductor of the team. It can be said that cheerleaders are natural leaders and conductors. 83% of cheerleaders in American schools maintain a leadership position in the school organization and become the main student cadres of the school. In the early days of cheerleading, cheerleaders were responsible for leading the crowd outside the arena. Being a brave "cheerleader" is one of the most valuable experiences in a student's college life. As a professional or public life title, it is second only to the role of football quarterback. This honor is synonymous with being a hero in college athletics and a leader among other students. Cheer leaders are charismatic, tall leaders who are chosen for their good reputation, character, and demonstrated leadership abilities. Football quarterbacks and cheerleaders are both symbols of leadership in college life, which will also help translate into later career success. Many companies in the United States are happy to hire employees with cheerleading experience because they understand customer psychology, are good at using body language, and have the courage to stick to goals and meet challenges. Many celebrities in today's American society, such as former President George W. Bush and Hollywood movie star Sandra Bullock, have had the experience of participating in cheerleading.

Cheerleading has high requirements on the image of team members and has a positive impact on the cultivation of their will and quality. Cheerleading, which embodies dynamics, youth, passion and fashion, can not only shape athletes' positive will and quality, but also cultivate their spirit of unity, cooperation, health and progress. Cheerleading has greatly enriched the development of campus sports and cultural activities, and cultivated their collective concepts and team spirit of unity and cooperation while exercising. Campus cheerleading has been fully recognized by society and parents. Cheerleading team members have also become stars in schools and competitions, and have become a symbol of "youth, popularity, and leadership ability."

4 Conclusions and Suggestions

4.1 Conclusion? 1) The development of cheerleading has gone through the "period of male cheerleaders" and "the initial period of women joining cheerleading" and "the period when female cheerleaders tend to have a numerical advantage". The membership structure has experienced a change from "all cheerleaders are men" to "more than 90% are women". Cheerleading is a product of the combination of leisure culture and sports culture in modern society. It was created to meet the social needs of modern people for participation, leisure, aesthetics, joy, and expression.

2) In the historical changes of cheerleading, the gender, culture, and expressions of the members have changed to varying degrees. The changes in the popular cultural status of cheerleading also affect the people who rely on it. values.

3) The characteristics of cheerleading are divided into explicit and implicit characteristics. The explicit characteristics include three aspects: "the dynamic vitality of the cheerleading performance image", "the style prominence of the cheerleading performance technology", and "the unity and cooperation of the cheerleading performance organization"; the implicit characteristics are " It embodies the healthy, happy and positive spirit", "emphasizes the team spirit of full cooperation and collective supremacy", "highlights the competitive spirit of struggle and enterprising and tenacious struggle" and "cultivates comprehensive personal ability and improves leadership ability".

4.2 Suggestions Cheerleading has evolved from its original cheering activity into a popular competition among teenagers and a very dynamic part of competitive events. Cheerleading performances in professional sports events provide cheerleaders with a platform to showcase themselves; campus cheerleading has gradually developed from an initial activity of cheering for football to a competitive event, which is participated by both men and women and is increasingly competitive. , the value generally increases. The field of cheerleading sports culture construction is a comprehensive, diverse, mutually influencing and intersecting problem body, which requires the combination of macro and micro, comprehensive and subdivided, in-depth and far-sighted, theoretical exploration and practical progress. , in which theory plays a crucial role. It requires us to carefully cultivate a keen sense of life practice amidst the requirements and responsibilities given by the times, actively cultivate a problem awareness of theoretical prospects, and take concrete actions in real life to promote the inheritance of cheerleading sports culture. and development.