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dougb wrote:

No, they don't./quote]

Take a look at the cover of BTB.

doug balcomb

Sorry about that, I meant to say they don't block out.

[quote]Sorry about that, I meant to say they don't block out./quote]

Not a problem! As you realized, my point was that they pull their head and shoulders under their top hand and tight to the pole WITH THE LEFT HAND.

As far as blocking out this is what i suspect is happening with badmother. Not blocking out at takeoff, but when he is inverting. I don't have any video but the picture shows his right arm angle point forwad. (His point in starting this thread.) You can't get in this position by rowing with the right arm. You have to push (block) with the left at the same time. Think about it if the left arm were not there he would be swinging towards the pit.

Doug Balcomb
PV Coach

Now I think I know what your are referring to, and I agree. Good point, I'm sorry I misunderstood.

dougb wrote:

As far as blocking out this is what i suspect is happening with badmother. Not blocking out at takeoff, but when he is inverting. I don't have any video but the picture shows his right arm angle point forwad. (His point in starting this thread.) You can't get in this position by rowing with the right arm. You have to push (block) with the left at the same time. Think about it if the left arm were not there he would be swinging towards the pit.

Doug Balcomb
PV Coach

Doug, I've got a pretty lax bottom arm... I'll show you the rest of the series that picture came from, plus a video or two, my bottom arm crashes in.

And here's some video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPlUoU8EELM

*EDIT*

I just got done watching that David Butler video from his lecture... Pretty much explains exactly what i'm doing, and what i need to do to fix it. Man, what a great speech/lecture.

Looks like i got to this conversation real late....... but i enjoyed reading the discussion as its something i focused on as well. To row through the vault. I think though that we are viewing the "row" from a different perspective. On the otherhand, i feel the basis of you "bad" positioning at the top of your jump, as seen in the first photo comparison with bubka, is because your shoulders are rigid, and your not allowing your hips to move fluently to the pole, your stop the elevation of your hips when your shoulds become rigid at that point in your jump. If you lax your shoulders and lay them back (allowing yourself to get fully inline with the pole) then your hips would hopefully move more fluently to and past the chord of the pole allowing you to invert further and recieve more form the pole in return.

Just to add in a little, in your frame comparisons, you're also under and that will affect your arms some.

BTW Great song in that last video you posted