"The splits" vs "a split"

All my life I knew it as "I can do a split", but recently it has come to my attention that many people refer to it as "the splits" which sounds absolutely dreadful to my ear because it defies all the rules of pluralization.

You can do a somersault and you can do "the tango" but you're not doing the tangos or the sumersaults, so, why the splits?! Additionally, it makes it very difficult to describe what sort of split you're doing. "I'm doing a front split" rolls off the tongue a lot more naturally than "I'm doing a front the splits". Anyway... I am curious if anyone knows what the origin of this odd abnormality is.

Solution 1:

Doing the splits (or at least attempting them) is a common stretching exercise in martial arts.

Per OxfordDictionaries.com:

split, noun : 2 (the splits or US also a split) (in gymnastics and dance) an act of leaping in the air or sitting down with the legs straight and at right angles to the body, one in front and the other behind, or one at each side: I could never do the splits before

In my taekwondo classes, we use front splits and side splits (aka plain old splits) as part of our stretching routine.

Solution 2:

I've always heard it as "the splits," but I'm not a gymnast. A bit of research shows that gymnasts use the singular "split." (They use the plural "splits" when referring to two or more types of splits.)

http://www.gymnasticsrevolution.com/Parents14.htm

http://gymnastics.about.com/od/trainingadvice/ss/frontsplit.htm

Solution 3:

You can do "a split" or "the splits". They are interchangeable. But you would never say "a front the splits". You would say "a front split" and walk away smiling, even if you pulled a groin muscle.