PoleVaultPower.com

I think its amazing how much people will argue about technique but will never actually try anything new. Take the flaming free take off debate that is incessantly being badgered about for instance. What is being debated is a matter of 6ish inches. Sounds like a different idea for most of U.S. but why not try it? It's not like you can't move your step back if it doesn't work. When did the pole vaulting community become a narrow minded bunch of pansies who can't experiment with different technical models?

Good call. Well done.

Just because moving your step back works for one person doesn’t mean its the solution for all people, nor does it mean that moving the step back was Why you jumped higher for a particular jump.

It would take a very long time to attempt each part of each "style" or "technique" offered, not to mention make a very confused vaulter.

But if through research and scientific study you can find the prejump is the next step to a better vaulting model, every one can easily adopt it with out worry of hurting themselves (height wise) later.

That said, its a good point, that some times you just need to give it a "go"

I tried it several times at various stages of my vault 'career'. Never did I feel like it would help my plant height nor anything else. It wasn't for me. That said, I saw several vaulters over the years who's take off foot left the ground just before the pole tip hit the back of the box and they handled it fine. It occurs to me that once u leave the ground you instantly begin slowing down and also, you have lost directional control. The latter is of no real consequence but the former just shows me that there is more energy that can be put into the pole if the plant foot is directly underneath and leaving the ground the instant the tip hits the box. Seems logical to me. Could be wrong but that's my 2 cents.

http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/vie ... php?t=6123
http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/vie ... php?t=5940

a few recent threads, there are quite a few more even farther back

I have to applaud the efforts of vaulters who have at least tried different technical models to achieve greater heights. Such open mindedness is necessary to ultimate achievement of potential. However, if we as a vault community become stagnant and just repeat what we have always done we will constantly repeat the same mistakes. Experimentation must be the lifeblood of our pursuits as vaulters and without it we will become the definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over and over yet expecting different results.

Last season I was reading all this debate about the free takeoff and the Petrov/Bubka tech. model and decided that I was gonna back my step up 1 foot and see what happens. The result spoke for itself. The efficiency of the entire jump was unlike any I had ever taken. I was immediately sold. Watching this on tape only reinforced what I had just previously felt.

oh yea - I ended up having the best season of my career.

I don't see this negativity that you speak of within the strings that discuss the differences in technique. I understand how it can be annoying because it is redunantly brought up, but its not a bad thing i believe. I think it is a healthy thing to talk about it and interesting to hear other views even if it is insignificant
my 2 cents...

Padow what was your overall PR improvement with the new technique?