Pole Transition

[ramenvaulter]

I'm looking to get on a new pole this season but I'm having some trouble.
i've went 12ft2in on a 13ft 125lb Spirit. I'm trying to get on a 14ft 130lb spirit.
Problem is that the pole takes me up but not into the pit.
Its really frustrating and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on how to transition to it.

FYI I'm 5ft6 130lbs

[baggettpv]

Your takeoff isn't good enough to jump on that pole. Plus it's too big of a change.

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC

[ramenvaulter]

could you suggest some things i could do to improve my takeoff and transition to that pole?

[foxvault]

Does anyone know what a good pole transition should be around as in height change?

[powerplant42]

?

What do you mean? It all depends...? Explain your question.

[rainbowgirl28]

Does anyone know what a good pole transition should be around as in height change?

The height the bar is at shouldn't affect your decision to change poles. You should go up a pole when you are blowing through the pole you are on... hitting the bar off on the way up with the standards at 32".

[powerplant42]

Ahh, BAR HEIGHT during a competition!

Typically, if you switch poles during a competition it should be for reasons like:
You're having a good/bad day
The wind changed
You're getting really tired

But you might want a "PR pole", like a really big pole that you use to go for huge PR's (it should still be relatively safe, only used on good days, and once everyone else is out). That way, if you line it up just right, you'll really get something back out. But it really pushes your limits. You should of course still land safely consistently on this pole.

I forget where I read that... I think its from Jan Johnson.

Other than (MAYBE) that, don't do it. Ever.

[KirkB]

... BAR HEIGHT during a competition ... once everyone else is out ...

Those aren't good reasons to move up a pole.

As the newly married lady said, when you're blowing thru your regular pole with standards all the way back (or almost all the way back), you can safely move up.

Personally, I liked the confidence that I had in clearing bars with the standards all the way back. Whenever I moved up a pole, I knew that if I continued my same technique, the worst that could happen is that I'd land on the bar but still make the pit. With this confidence, I had no hesitation in my jump/swing/inversion to "go for it". I knew I'd land safely. That's a very powerful, comfortable feeling to have when you're standing at the end of the runway, preparing to jump for the first time on a stiffer pole.

To say this in the negative, you don't want to introduce self-doubt on this critical jump. It will prove to be psychologically self-defeating. Stay positive, stay safe. I'm referring to my 1971-72 technique here, so by then I had learnt my lessons about stalling out. Once I got in this groove of landing well into the pit, I could focus 100% of my attention on technique improvement. It's something that I should have learnt or realized years earlier.

The trick is to not change your technique at all - other than not blowing thru. Just shoot more up.

If you find that you're doing something different (other than running faster or jumping harder) for the stiffer pole to work, then you're on the wrong track.

Forget about the competition or the height of the bar. If you're blowing thru, you're ready to move up. Not before.

The reason this makes sense is that you simply want the new pole to let you continue your best technique, except get a little more vertical and a little less horizontal out of it.

Besides running faster or jumping harder, a very common reason to move up a pole is when you have a good tailwind. That of course lets you run faster.

The reverse is also true. If you moved up due to a tailwind, be sure to move back to a softer pole when the tailwind is gone. Likewise if you're slower or not jumping off the ground as hard (for whatever reason).

But other than due to tailwinds, you'll find that once you move up a pole (and stay healthy), you won't often need to move back down. Once you get on the stiffer pole, it's fairly easy to continue to stay on it. It will soon become your "soft" pole.

Kirk

[foxvault]

i mean im at a 12' pole and im trying to transition to a 13'5" pole. Im having trouble with the plant and my lower left hand always calapses. im trying really hard to get the pole out there and get it to bend more.

[golfdane]

I agree with Becca and Kirk

Poletransition should be based on how you perform on a pole. Safety is a big issue, and going on too big a pole, just because you feel the need for a BIG jump, can backfire severely.

Please bear in mind, that a longer pole gripped at the same height as your previous pole, will appear to be several pounds stiffer. Going up 1' in polesize AND gripping at the same height as your previous pole, will add more than 10 lbs to the "percieved force" it needs to bend. IOW, the 13' 130lbs gripped at the same height as the 12' 125lbs, will feel like a 140lbs pole.

In fact, Bob Slover makes a nice demonstration of this (in regards to gripping up on poles) on Neovault: The Reckoning 3. The force needed to bend the pole to a 90 degree bend varied more than 20 lbs (don't recall the exact number) when gripping up 4".

[KirkB]

i mean im at a 12' pole and im trying to transition to a 13'5" pole. Im having trouble with the plant and my lower left hand always calapses. im trying really hard to get the pole out there and get it to bend more.

Foxvault, you may be under the misconception that you need to "get the pole out there and get it to bend more".

This sounds like you're trying to push with the bottom arm to make the pole bend. This is incorrect.

Instead, you should let the TOP arm bend the pole, due to the force of your run and jump off the ground. The bottom arm should not push.

If you're not doing this properly on your 12' pole, go back to it and improve your technique, THEN move up to the 13'5" pole when you're letting the pole bend due to the force of the TOP hand.

Research other threads on PVP re pushing with the bottom arm, and you'll see what I mean. Enter the words "push bottom arm" in the search field, and go nuts. One particularly good thread is the "Semantics and Collapsing the Bottom Arm" thread in the Intermediate Technique forum.

Kirk

[foxvault]

K thanks