Pole Vault 4

I dissagree with the warning not to "row" it is now taught (by Brad Walker's college coach, Pat Licari) that rowing is essential to the vault.

Well if you have ever tried to swing on a high bar you notice that you cannot swing with your arms in front of you. Same thing with the row. It causes your arms to move in front of your body, which stops you from swinging.

He doesn't crash into the pole because after his high plant, he keeps the left high and relaxed and allows it to stretch upwards. Also, Petrov would argue (and I would agree) that the left arm does absolutely nothing to properly bend the pole. If the left is used to bend, it simply creates an improper overbend and also gives an improper point for the pole to bend around. Pulling is necessary, as it accelerates the swing and allows the vaulter to invert much more quickly.

what was that thing about prematurley turning left, i do that and when i vault instead of going straight i move to the side, and im not too sure how to fix it

i've been vaulting for about five years now and there are a few reasons why to are going to the side. the one that mostly is to blame is a late plant or you're just under. if this happens people often plant with their top hand a little bit to one side.(if you're right handed its to the right and the other way to the left).

a premature turn can really through off your vault. this is especially a problem if you're turning with your shoulders rather than your hips or legs. it can cause your pole to recoil to soon and this is often to the side. hope i helped ya out :) vault on buddy!!!!!!!!!!

This has helped my vaulting a whole bunch.

I think this is one of those areas where there are different schools of thought. During the takeoff, the left arm should certainly push hard. During the swing, some vaulters keep it straight, some don't. Kjell Isaksson, who was a technical marvel, preached easing up on the left arm pressure to ease the drive swing, then pushing back hard to accelerate the swing-up - an evolved version of your advice. Can't find a vid of Kjell's early 70s vaulting, but Bubka does pretty much the same thing.

Bubka didn't push with his left though. The only reason his left is straight at take-off is because he has a high plant. The left arm is actually very relaxed, and then it actually pulls when the swing up is initiated, kind of as an attempt to unbend the pole.

I disagree, except re. the part about the high plant. With that much forward momentum, he *must* work hard with the left not to crash into the pole. Isaksson added the notion of giving an extra push when planting the pole, to increase the bending action (a natural extension of the takeoff jump). Also, no pulling is necessary - he just needs to "push a little less" in order to begin rotating inwards.