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Can anyone teach me how to do the drill where you do a vault but you do not actually get inverted. You are in a standing position the whole time. This is to practice the straight arms on take off I guess.

here is kind of what I am talking about.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AtEs6DrIfmo

It would be ONLY to focus on take off and arm position. I wouldnt advocate much vaulting without inverting, because it will train you to "hang in the pocket" for too long, and you wont have time to swing by the time you decide to.

As to the drill, just make sure you hit a strong take off and get your trail leg behind you, and focus on keeping your hands centered over your head. Adjust the bend in your bottom arms' elbow as necessary to keep your hands centered over your head. It will depend on how high you are holding and how much you are bending the pole. Unless you hold 15'+, dont count on both arms being straight. Both arms should not be straight during this drill or during the vault, they should be in the right position for you to swing properly, and that is right over your head like a high bar drill.

So the both arms should be OVER the head when you do a real vault?

And, should I practice on pushing up with my hands or keeping my trail leg straight and kicking it into inversion first? Which is more important?

ive been doing that for the past week [not everyday, but 3 of the past days] because i need to get more of a free take off and it also helps me hold the take off longer cause i have a tendancy to go right to my back.

yes both arms should be over your head at take off, otherwise you are just throwing your energy into the box instead of the vault.

both of those are important, so separate your practice so that you are working on both the take off and the swing up.

which one should I practice first?

As soon as you are in the inverted C position, after a strong take off, you should be swinging. There should be no hesitation. If you hit your take off correctly, you will swing automatically, and all you have to do is whip the trail leg faster to invert.

Thats very different from swinging too early, before you hit a strong take off, and before your trail leg is behind you. That is dangerous and shouldnt be practiced.

The take off comes first in the vault, and the harder you hit the take off, the harder you have the opportunity to swing. So practice the take off first, but finish your vaults after 1 or 2 of this "drill". You will find that the harder and better you hit your take off, the easier it is to invert.

I will post a recent video soon and could you tell me if I am swinging to early?

yep. I wont just tell you that, tho. There might be other issues to look at.