Leapfrog
Leapfrog (also leapfrog ) is a children's game that is widespread worldwide and has also found its way into sport as a physical exercise. In Johann Christoph Adelung's grammatical-critical dictionary of High German dialect from 1793, it is said that leaps and bounds are "in common life, comical or daring leaps that are like the leaps of a buck".
history
Leaping leapfrog has been known at least since the Middle Ages. In Brueghel's painting Children's Games , children are shown jumping sideways. In the Little Pretty Pocket Book of 1767, children are also shown jumping leapfrog. Leaping leapfrog has long been part of physical education in schools. However, it is less suitable for girls, as the teacher Moritz Kloss (1818–1881), the “father of girls' gymnastics, wrote in the mid-19th century . Leaping, vaulting , parallel bars and high-bar exercises "would damage the female body, which is open downwards and have weak muscles, and masculinize the gymnasts." During the exercise, tree trunks of different heights are still used for leaping at individual stations.
procedure
Leapfrog requires at least two participants; There is no upper limit to the number of participants, so that it can be practiced by entire school classes or sports teams. One participant bends over and supports himself with his hands on his legs. He tries to have a secure footing so that he does not fall under the expected pressure on his back. With or without a run-up , the leapfrog tries to jump over the other player by pressing his hands on his back and straddling his legs . A jump can be made from the front, from the side or from behind.
If he has now successfully jumped, he in turn bends down to allow the other player to jump. If several participants play along, this creates a jumping series of exercises.
Surname
The name common in German-speaking countries goes back to the sometimes wild jumping of a buck . In France the game is called "Sheep Jump" (saute-mouton), in England it is reminiscent of the jump of a frog with the term leapfrog . The Icelandic word höfrungahlaup describes the jump of a dolphin in the water.
