Unread postby souleman » Tue May 05, 2009 10:18 am
dmoo, hopefully I won't cloud the issue but............the bend occurs naturally. It is not something you try to achieve. If the poles you are on are starting to bend at the heights that you are jumping, that is probably a "natural" characteristic of the jump and the pole and something you just have to learn to time up. Frankly, with an 11 foot top hand grip, you should be able to take a hunk of conduit and get over ten feet or so. I'm basing this on the physics of DJ's mid mark chart. If you study it you will find that it's not until about an 11-6 jump that you are actually jumping over your hand grip. That is if mid is on, take off is on and technique is on. That's also at the point where shortening of the cord (which is the main benefit of a flexible pole) starts to come in play. So I would say if you are jumping below that and you're having difficulty timing up the bend and recoil of the pole then get on a bigger pole and keep stiff poling (sort of.....let's face it the pole is going to give a little). Then gradually work your way down to lighter poles (this summer) that will bend more allowing you to time them up easier. Right now you're in the middle of the season so, for the team's sake, you have to make heights. That's why at this point I'm suggesting you get on a bigger pole that doesn't bend as much. If this is what you want to do (pole vaulting) and get really good at it then when June comes and until next March when your coaches get you back, you need to basically start from square one and work on this one step at a time. That process begins the day after your last meet this year. PP is dead on about the bars or rings and Kirk's been around the block enough that they can help you get to the point where that bend won't freak you out. But you have to put all of the pieces together beginning at the top of the runway. Good luck and I'll be interested to hear about your progress..........Later.........Mike
