There are two pommel horse skills that are almost always performed back to back and are staples in men's pommel horse routines and the reason just might surprise you. Those two sills are the Magyar and Sivado.

A Magyar is performed on the pommel horse and has a value of D, meaning it's worth 4. It also meets the Group 3 requirements, which includes travel elements.

A Sivado is the twin skill to the Magyar and essentially mirrors its counterpart, but in reverse. It also boasts a D value and meets the Group 3 travel requirement.

To perform either skill correctly requires the gymnast to traverse the pommel horse beginning at one end all while maintaining a fully extended body. There are actually several ways to complete the skill correctly, so you will see variations of leather and pommel combinations to receive D credit. However, if the gymnast chooses to complete the skill by skipping the leather in the middle and moving directly from one pommel to the next, the skill is downgraded to a C, meaning it's worth 0.3. There are several common execution deductions, but the most common one may occur if the gymnast skews their body or deviates from proper alignment with the horse. This means that the gymnast's hips should be square with the pommel horse, and if you see any deviation, that is what is called skew.

One of the reasons that we see athletes perform the Magyar and Sivado back to back is because in the Code of Points, there is a rule that says the Sivado and the Magyar are allowed to share a circle at the end of the pommel horse. So, by doing them together, you sort of eliminate one circle that you would otherwise have to complete if you did them alone. There are no combination bonuses on pommel horse, so doing the Magyar and Sivado back to back doesn't give you any bonus points. But it does make the routine just a little bit easier if you are able to compete them together.

Now, if you're a women's gymnastics fan trying to learn more about men's gymnastics, you'll often hear commentators compare pommel horse to balance beam. And in that same vein, I want you to think of the Magyar and Sivado in the same way that you would a back handspring, back layout step out on beam. That combination is one that you see in almost every single balance beam routine in women's gymnastics. And it fulfills a requirement. The flight series requirement. So the Magyar and Sivado fulfill the group 3 requirement to travel, and they are in almost every single routine. So why does this matter?

Well, one of the most common elements that we see are the Magyar and the Sivado. And once you're able to identify the Magyar and Sivado, it's something that you'll I hope you learned a lot in this video on Magyar and Sivado.

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