Introduction The Handspring forward on stretched salto forward with 1 1/2 twist (540°) off, commonly referred to as "Chusovitina," is a Women`s Vault skill with a difficulty score of 5.4 according to current scoring rules. Gymnasts who successfully execute this vault can attain a high score. However, because of its advanced nature, only a very few gymnasts worldwide are capable of performing the element. Furthermore, there is no documented technical information on the Chusovitina in instruction manuals or previous studies. Therefore, this study aimed to phenomenologically analyze the attitudes of a former female gymnast who has mastered the Chusovitina, exploring her consciousness regarding her movements. Through this investigation, the goal of this study was to elucidate the essential knack that supported the subjects execution of the Chusovitina and provide basic insights into the consciousness of the skill. Method The study subject was a former Japanese national female gymnast who retired from competitive gymnastics in 2022 (referred to as "Gymnast A"). Gymnast A mastered the Chusovitina vault skill during her active career and successfully performed this technique numerously at national and international competitions, including the Olympic Games and World Championships. In this study, interviews were conducted twice, on 2 February 2023 and 7 February 2023, totaling approximately three hours. During these sessions, the author extensively explored Gymnast A`s consciousness of her movement, employing phenomenological deconstruction procedures during the interviews. All exchanges between the author and Gymnast A were recorded and later transcribed for analysis. Results and Discussion The interview and subsequent analysis revealed that Gymnast A identified 12 knacks throughout the entire sequence from the run to the landing, in the execution of the Chusovitina. Among these knacks, the movement of "swinging the legs strongly upward toward the landing side of the vault while maintaining abdominal muscle tension" during the repulsion phase and "waiting for the timing to start twisting until the body is in a standing position" during the second flight phase emerged to be the most important and indispensable for the success of the Chusovitina. Furthermore, these two knacks played a dual role in enhancing the height and rotation of the salto during the second flight phase and initiating the twist action. This valuable information can be applied in future coaching sessions for the execution of the Chusovitina vault skill, offering practical insights for gymnasts. Funding This study was supported in part by The Japan Society of Coaching Studies, Research Grant 2022.
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