tylerd1994 wrote: ... So you don't have to push the pole. It is your velocity and planting tall and good form that creates the pole speed. ...
It's a push with the TOP arm ... not with the bottom arm. I call it "PRESS and SQUEEZE", so as not to use the ambiguous word "push". By PRESS, I mean stretching the top arm as high as you can on takeoff ... and then continuing to stretch it as much as you can. Exactly what you said re "planting tall and good form". To SQUEEZE means to grip tight with the top hand ... so the pole doesn't slip out of your hands. You might want to search for "press squeeze" to find other threads where I've discussed this.
Your top elbow should not bend. The opposite of PRESS is PULL. If you PULL with your top arm, you're going to hunch your top shoulder ... and raise your center of mass. These 2 faults will reduce your pole speed towards vertical. By pressing, you keep your CoM as low as you possibly can, whilst minimizing any loss of energy due to pulling with your top arm. This keeps the pole rotating to vertical.
I hope you're catching these terms ... I'm sure they're new to you. You can search for them on PVP to get a more thorough explanation. For example, search for "rotate pole vertical".
Kirk
