Butterfly

## Description

The butterfly is a gymnastics rings strength element.

It is unclear which pattern corresponds exactly to a "butterfly", whether it could be pulling from hang to iron cross or L-sit or support position with straight arms, so we will assume these three movements are all butterflies. We will also include the movement Li Xiaoshuang in this article.

The movement is described as so: *"Vertical pull up to cross or L-cross (2 s.)."*, or to L-sit depending on the variation. The most common mistakes in this movement are bending the arms (usually to give explosivity at the beginning of the movement) or piking the hips.

## Technique

There are two main techniques that can be used for this movement, quite similar to the iron cross: using anterior or posterior strength.

### Anterior technique

This one is the most common among gymnasts. The movement performed is pretty much a straight arms Entrada de Angel. To respect the cannons of the skill and dislocate with minimal body movement, you need tremendous shoulder mobility added to the strength needed. The different phases of the movement are:

* from dead hang, pull explosively to the sides until you can modify your shoulder position.
* Dislocate your shoulders using the momentum given while still pushing to not lose the speed.
* End the movement to the cross position with a half ROM low cross press.

This technique is usually regarded as the easiest for gymnasts because it uses anterior strength and generally ends up to an anterior cross. It also has carry-over to the Balandin movements.

### Posterior technique

This technique is more suited for people with poor shoulder mobility and an exceptionally strong back. You pull directly to cross, with the arms slightly in front of you, still trying to minimize hip angle and body misaligment. The end position is usually a posterior cross.

This technique is way more rare and often performed by posterior-dominant athletes such as Manuel Caruso or Onizuka. It is also way more prone to form errors such as bending the arms (due to the elbow alignment in straight arm posterior skills). It is however a good way of training for the Tulloch 2.

## History

The first butterfly ever performed was done by in

Edward Gunny performed what is considered the cleanest butterfly of all time, in the 1967 NCAA championships.

In the Olympic Games of 1992, Li Xiaoshuang competed his named skill.

Through the years, many people have performed good butterflies in the gymnastics world. The three skills named after Russian gymnasr Alexandr Balandin all contain the butterfly motion. Dong Zhen also performs beautiful butterflies. More than any other nation, Chinese gymnasts often perform butterflies and Balandins to upscale their D-score.

As a rings movement, the butterfly is still very rare in the street workout community. Athletes like Elias Page or Scarxlus often perform it.

Scarxlus in particular performed a butterfly on pinkies on March 23rd, 2021, as well as a butterfly in L position with 15 kilograms added.

Meanwhile, Elias Page performed several reps of cripta, supinated, or wrist drop butterfly.

## Prerequisites

A very strong Iron cross is obviously needed for this movement as it is very taxing on the joints. Having some experience with the Azarian or Nakayama will help you apprehend the movement more easilty.

Being comfortable in a low cross is important too. Finally, some experience with Entrada de Angel might help you understand the movement pattern. The dislocation is however done at a wider range.

Being able to do dislocates and inlocates on the rings will also help you achieve this movement. There is a great part of mobility involved.

## Carry-over

Being an anterior strength movement, butterfly training will give you strength benefits in every skill of this area, mainly cross or Maltese. It is also an obvious prerequisite for strength moves containing the butterfly pattern such as the Balandin 2 or the Colak.

## Difficulty

The classic butterfly is ranked D in the FIG code of points, and the two variations (to L-sit and Li Xiaoshuang) are ranked C. However, the skills are rarely competed and gymnasts prefer Balandin variations that bring more points. However, given its rarity compared to movements like Azarian or Nakayama (although those are easier to combine), it is safe to assume the butterfly is harder than those movements.

In the Burningate code of points, the movement "hang to cross" is ranked 4 points, which seems low.

The butterfly is considered an elite movement.