The Plant - Advanced Technique

[altius]

If the top hand is on the hip and the bottom hand is in line with the centre of the chest the pole is inevitably at a slight angle.

[Tim McMichael]

Figure 8.2 in BTB2 shows Bubka leaning back, left toe off the ground as Tim describes but the pole is already lowering to 70/80 degrees.

I remember Petrov saying, "Pole first, then run." over and over again. He wanted the pole lowered to that 70 or 80 degrees and in motion before the athlete began to take the first step. He had us work on this and we discovered two things almost at once: It was suprisingly hard to do, and we had no idea why he wanted us to do it. It seemed unnecessary. We wanted to talk about the "important" aspects of Bubka's vault, and Petrov insisted on emphasizing, "Pole first, then run." I adopted the method he showed us because I could see immediately that it would lead to a more consistent approach. If something went wrong in my run it was almost always in the first three steps, and it did not take much going wrong back there to make things go terribly wrong at the takeoff. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that starting the run in this manner made everything else easier as well. I had the strong impression that some of the other coaches and athletes felt they were being patronized, but I am certain that Petrov was doing his very best to show us something he felt to be essential.

[KirkB]

I'm pretty sure that almost every vaulter carries the pole a bit to the side, it's the only comfortable way to keep your shoulders square with the box.

I do agree that my pole carry was extremely straight-on compared to modern elite vaulters. But mine was no different than Kjell Isaksson's, so I never really thought it was anything special. In my way of thinking, I was surprised that EVERY elite vaulter back then never copied Isaksson. They all saw him vault, and had an equal opportunity to copy his pole carry.

But I can guarantee you that there was no "a bit to the side" in my carry whatsoever. Even today, I'm actually surprised that more vaulters don't carry their pole that way. To me, it was just EASIER!

Because of my personal experience, I cannot agree with you saying that "it's the ONLY comfortable way to keep the shoulders square". Sometimes even when you think "there's no way" something will work a certain way, with a little "out of the box" thinking and experimentation, you'd be surprised what's possible!

For example, by training yourself to run (training without the pole - whether you sprint or jog) without any swaying of your shoulders or pumping of your arms, it IS possible ... it BECOMES possible!

A postive side-effect of my high pole carry was that I had a narrower grip (22") than what you normally might have with a side carry ... even if you're carrying it to the side in the slightest. Since I didn't use my bottom arm immediately after takeoff except for balance (and a bit to plant the pole, of course), it didn't really matter (as much) how wide apart my hands were. So the distance between my hands was determined by what was the most comfortable to carry the pole, rather than what might be "optimal" after takeoff. It turned out that my grip width suited both!

Kirk

[KirkB]

If the top hand is on the hip and the bottom hand is in line with the centre of the chest the pole is inevitably at a slight angle.

True ... if ... in line with the centre of the chest!

But IF the bottom forearm is ACROSS your chest (such that your shoulders are still square ... and your forearm is the approximate width between your shouders ... which it is), there is no "slight angle".

Kirk

[Tim McMichael]

I like for the pole to be angled just enough that the tip will fall in a plane directly between the athlete's eyes. This is so that the very tip of the pole is the first thing that enters the athlete's peripheral vision, and consistent visual cues are essential to spatial awareness, especially at high velocity. (As a side note, this is why Spirit places their labels at exactly the same distance from the top of every pole. And if your labels are not in the same place you should peel them off and put them there.)

Also, a pole angled extremely to the side will block first one eye and then the other as it crosses back to a central position. This ruins depth perception, and if one eye is blocked for long enough it can lead to not being able to plant at all. The athlete completely loses their sense of where they are at on the runway.

An extreme side carry also forces the vaulter to shift their balance to the side the pole is angled toward. The athlete's center of mass will start from the side and then have to move back to a central and forward position during the approach. This plays hell with balance at the most crucial stage of the run. A beginner or intermediate athlete will almost always turn their shoulders back out of line as they bring the pole back to center, and if the pole is too low or pauses in its drop, they will also lean back. This causes them to be under and late with their plant and the whole thing becomes a train wreck.

The last issue is timing. It is hard enough to time up a drop in a vertical plane without adding the dimension of width. It is an important principle of any movement to seek bilateral symmetry and simplicity wherever possible.

As Altius said, top hand on the hip and bottom hand in the center of the chest and all is well.

[baggettpv]

With the efficient carry position, as the pole tip drops (top hand raises) when seen from behind, the tip will travel in the same line as the pole itself. Stand behind someone while they drop the tip (no moving, just standing there) and look at the movement of the tip. It ends up being a straight line to the box.
Just another one of my short additions to the list. I like these!

Rick Baggett
WSTC

[rainbowgirl28]

Kirk, where was your bottom hand when you started your run? Right by your sternum or your right shoulder?

[Tim McMichael]

Here is a great video that shows Bubka's first step. It is from the chest up, but you still get a good sense of what is going on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsHMcmPx ... re=related

You can especially see how he leaves the pole where it is at as he rocks back on his heel and then lets it pull him into his first step.

[KirkB]

Kirk, where was your bottom hand when you started your run? Right by your sternum or your right shoulder?

The sternum is a relatively long bone, so I assume you mean laterally. Laterally, it was on the OUTSIDE of my nipple (closer to my opposite shoulder than to my sternum). Vertically, it was below shoulder height ... approximately nipple height, I guess.

But I don't want to mislead you. My pole wasn't rigid with my body as I might have inferred. It DID bob up and down a bit, in unison with my gait. Since this bobbing was still planar to the box, it didn't cause any negative side effects.

It is hard enough to time up a drop in a vertical plane without adding the dimension of width. It is an important principle of any movement to seek bilateral symmetry and simplicity wherever possible.

That's what I was trying to say re 2D versus 3D!

Kirk

[rainbowgirl28]

That's what I was trying to say re 2D versus 3D!

Kirk

But like Rick said, it is a 2D line, it's just a bit diagonal relative to the ground. Your pole almost certainly moved in a slightly diagonal line too, you just weren't conscious of it.

Take a look at Bubka, where is his bottom hand relative to his sternum? I think the vast majority of current elite vaulters carry the pole this way. I think carrying it "straight" was more of a holdover from the steel pole days. The early fiberglass poles were pretty heavy compared to modern ones. So as the carry weight of the pole has evolved, so has the technique for carrying it.

[KirkB]

... I think carrying it "straight" was more of a holdover from the steel pole days.

Come on, Becca, I'm not THAT old!

Actually, I'm not aware of any metal vaulters using a high pole carry. I'm sure they carried more to the side. I'm sure that Isaksson was one of the first ... if not THE first ... to use a high pole carry ... in the FIBERGLASS era.

The early fiberglass poles were pretty heavy compared to modern ones. So as the carry weight of the pole has evolved, so has the technique for carrying it.

You got that right! That's actually exactly why I thrived with the high pole carry ... compared to the side carry of my HS and first couple of college years. With my lighter, shorter poles in HS, the carry wasn't as much of an issue. But 16 foot logs were challenging to handle.

Kirk

[altius]

"But IF the bottom forearm is ACROSS your chest" - if it is then it is not in line with the Petrov model.

Incidentally y'all may be interested to learn that Steve Rippon is moving away from the high pole carry with Lewis. He argues that modern poles are so much lighter you do not need to employ the high carry with the timing issues that this involves. Just a thought.