That's pretty good.
GabeA wrote: ... the run is crucial to the vault because it starts the sequence that carries out the vault, and if not done correctly will mess all the future parts up.
Yeh. Run AND plant.
GabeA wrote: ... 2nd step, top arm should be completely extended upwards,
You don't have to have your top arm fully extended a full step before your takeoff. You just need to ensure that it's fully extended when you leave the ground. And (of course) you should leave the ground before (or at the exact same moment) the pole strikes the box (Petrov Model). Thus, it's less important to start the plant early (altho that's not a bad idea), and it's more important to have a QUICK plant, with a vigorous upwards thrust of the arm (like a basketball layup).
GabeA wrote: I like to think think that the bicep touching the ear is a good reference(correct me if that is wrong).
A better reference is feeling that your top arm is fully stretched, just like it's stretched on a highbar. PUSHING against the highbar - without shrugging your shoulders. As far as an ear reference goes, your top hand should pass in FRONT of your ear, keeping the pole close to your body (as opposed to a sidearm curl plant). Don't expect to be able to absorb the shock of the pole hitting the box with your top arm fully stretched at your stage of development. You have to work up to this - perhaps for more than a full year. Meanwhile, it's OK to shrug a bit to absorb the impact - just realize that this isn't good technique.
GabeA wrote: Last step, having your arms up already, this step is where you takeoff, jumping up, not forward. If the run is consistent, and you're not reaching for this last step, like most beginners seem to do, them things should happen smoothly from here.
Again, your arms should move up QUICKLY - not necessarily EARLY. Most importantly, you need to be fully stretched when the pole strikes. Thinking about this right now, I realize the contradiction - I'm saying fully stretched, yet I'm also saying it may take more than a year to develop physically enough to do this. Yeh, that's a big issue, and there's really no shortcuts. Train in the off-season (especially on gym apparatus) to develop your shoulder muscles. Also keep them flexible with lots of stretches.
The irony here is that if your plant and takeoff are smooth (no sudden jolts, and no "under" takeoff), then there's hardly any abrupt jolt on your shoulders at all. It's only when you're off (under, or late/incomplete plant, or lack of an up impulse on takeoff) that you will feel this jolt. But you must train for the MAJORITY of your jumps - which will not be perfect. Actually less than 5% of your vaults will be close to "perfect". So you need extra strength in your shoulders more for your worst jumps than for your best jumps.
GabeA wrote: If the run is under, like mine is, I believe your hips drop, and your swing is blocked.
The swing is not BLOCKED from being under. It's blocked from pushing with the bottom arm. If you're under and you don't press with the bottom arm (and if your pole is sufficiently flexible), you will still bend the pole, and you may still get a sufficiently good enough of a swing to clear the bar.
Your hips don't "drop". Rather, they won't be "raised up" as smoothly if your plant/takeoff isn't "on".
GabeA wrote: The way you run is important as well. You shouldn't lean forward or back to compensate for the weight of the pole, you should be up, tall, just like you should take off.
According to the Laws of Physics, you MUST lean forward or backward to compensate for the weight of the pole! (You and the pole are "one system".) However, you can mitigate this law by dropping your pole into the box - using gravity - so that you're not leaning back as much while running (and especially at takeoff). A gradual drop is best, but just be sure to FINISH your pole drop before you jump!
GabeA wrote: It should be burned in to muscle memory through repeated drills like pole runs. The plant should be tall, with your top arm being what loads the pole, and your bottom arm should not press forward, rather your bottom HAND press up.
You're almost there. Again, the bottom hand should not PRESS up - you should only REACH it up (Petrov Model).
GabeA wrote: If done correctly, it should create a natural "rubber band" in the muscles, stretching back and then reflexively shooting forward to create that rowing motion that most people mistake as a forced row.
If WHAT'S done correctly? The STRETCH is actually a separate action than the plant and takeoff, done IMMEDIATELY after takeoff. And the WHIP (downswing) is done IMMEDIATELY after the stretch. These are cognizant actions, meaning that they will NOT just "happen" if your plant and takeoff are good (as you seem to imply).
I get your point about the "rowing motion" and "forced row", but since "rowing" has a bad connotation in PV, I wouldn't use that word in the context of a GOOD connotation. Rowing is bad. SWINGING from the STRETCH is good.
GabeA wrote: Think of me like a bucket, and fill me with knowledge.
I would rather think of you as a young, aspiring vaulter that does his research to understand what's critical to your training and your technique, and not just expect coaches (online or in person) to hand it all to you on a silver platter.
So far, so good.
Kirk
