Pommel Horse Flops and Scissors: How High-Difficulty Skills Work
A guide to pommel horse flops and scissors: how chained circles earn D and E value, the sequencing rules, top scissors like the Mikulak, and 2025 Code changes.
On pommel horse in men's artistic gymnastics, two families of skills do the heavy lifting for the Difficulty (D) score: the flop and the scissor. A flop chains circular elements on a single pommel, while scissors swing the legs front and back in a cross pattern. This guide explains how both work, how their difficulty is assigned, and what changed in the 2025 Code of Points
, based on the FIG 2025–2028 Men's Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points.
What Is a Pommel Horse Flop? Consecutive Circles on One Pommel
The flop is one of the most visually striking sequences on pommel horse. Let's start with the name and the basic structure.
Origin and Definition of the Flop
According to The Gymnastics Authority, "FLOP" stands for "Full Loop On Pommel." It refers to circling elements performed consecutively on a single pommel handle. While ordinary circles span both pommels, a flop pivots on just one handle as the gymnast turns.
Pommel horse skills fall into four element groups: support swings and scissors (Group I), circles and flairs including flops (Group II), travels and handstands (Group III), and dismounts (Group IV), as outlined in this guide to men's element groups. Flops belong to Group II.
Building Blocks of a Flop
Flops are assembled from foundational circling skills. Individually modest, they gain value when chained under the rules.
- li>Loops (circles): circular swings from front to rear support, sometimes with quarter turns
- Stocklis (A and B): circles with half turns
- Kehrs: single-arm turns used only at the entry of a sequence
- Russian wendeswings: front-support turns combined with flops
