Eye Positioning

[Username?]

I have been vaulting for almost two years now and I am having trouble focusing on what happens after I take off, I can't seem to remember anything that happens after my vault unless I hit the crossbar, I know if I was more aware of what was happening after the take off it would make me a better vaulter. My pr right now is 11ft 6inches from 4 lefts. Any tips on eye positioning after the take off and how to fix it?

[KirkB]

Good question! This may sound weird, but ...

Believe it or not, you're probably better off vaulting just as your are ... without focussing your eyes on ANYTHING. Just let them do what comes natually. Don't try to FORCE them to do anything that's not "natural".

REMEMBERING what happened between takeoff and pole release is a cognitive skill that has nothing to do with the optical skill of SEEING what you're doing.

This memory comes from the sound and the feel of your vault ... as well as what it "looked like". It might help to think of this as the RHYTHM of your vault.

So instead of worrying about where your EYES should focus, focus your BRAIN on how the vault FEELS, using your 3 primary senses (sight, sound, and touch). This will give you the full "picture" in your mind's eye ... so to speak.

Biologically (and I say this from my experience as a vaulter - not a scientist - so if there's any experts in this field, please correct me if I'm wrong), the answer to your question is actually that your TIMING and BALANCE "on the pole" and "in the air" are probably the most important FEELINGS. As you know, timing is a function of the brain, and balance is a function of the inner ear.

Imagine your vault in slo-mo. As you're swinging up and over the bar, on each "frame" of your vault, your inner ear tells your brain ... and your brain tells your muscles ... "a little to the left" or "a little to the right", or "get back a little more" or "OK, you're reaching the peak of your vault now, so it's time to drop your legs and drape your arms over the bar" ... and so on.

Hint: When you stand at the end of the runway, preparing to vault, focus on one particular aspect of your vault ... preferably a technical weakness that you're trying to improve.

Then fire down the runway, and when you takeoff, continue to focus on that one aspect. When you land in the pit, ask yourself "OK, what just happened?" and "Was that ... [vault part] ... better that time?".

Continue your post-vault analysis as you leave the pit, grab your pole, and return to the spot where you'll be waiting for your next vault. Perhaps chat with your coach or a buddy about your last vault. Ask them what they "saw", and tell them what you "saw" in your mind's eye. DISCUSS it. If you don't have the right words to express "what just happened", your coach or buddy will, and you'll pick it up ... sooner or later.

The more you do this, the more you'll FEEL how your vaults were (good or bad), and the more self-analytical and self-aware you'll be about what went right and what went wrong.

I know if I was more aware of what was happening after the take off it would make me a better vaulter.

Absolutely! That's how I suggest you can improve your self-awareness!

Kirk

[Username?]

So what you're saying is that I don't need to worry about what I should be doing while I'm doing it, rather doing it at the right time and feeling like it's supposed to happen naturally. So timing in a sense is more important than actually doing it right or wrong? If I improve the timing of the things I need to work on, I can always go back and fix them so that I do them right, or at least better than before.

[powerplant42]

Humans actually have 7 senses... Sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, kinesthetic, and vestibular.

Those last two are probably the most important. Kinesthetic is knowing how your body is positioned without looking at it (if you close your eyes and hold out your hand you should 'know' where it is), and vestibular is balance. On a pole, these are vital not only to your progress, but your SAFETY!

Biological psychology.

[souleman]

I'm very impressed with PP42's and Kirk's explanation of this. Nice job! One thing you will find as you progress through the season is that the jump will slow down (in your minds eye). I had a masters vaulter up here in Minnesota explain something to me last year that I never considered. He calls it the "black out" portion of the early season. What you're describing is dead on with what he was telling me that was happening to him in the early part of the season last year. As the weeks went on with several jump sessions under his belt, by the time he got to the indoor championships he told me that he was coming out of the "black out" phase and he was starting to see and feel more and more aspects of his jump the more he jumped. I think as you go along in the season you'll find that you're jump will "slow down" too so that you will in fact be able to "see" and "feel" more of your jump. Best way to do that in my opinion is to go over a bunch of bars and bungees. Good luck and as always ....................later.....................Mike

[KirkB]

PP, thanks for the clarification. I guess you do know a thing or 2.

The one obvious point that I forgot to mention (maybe because I never had much opportunity to do this in my vaulting days) was the idea of instant feedback by using a video camera.

Even tho you can't visually "see" your vault as you're jumping, you will learn quite a lot by looking at the vid of your vault immediately after ... the sooner the better.

Back in the day, we had to send our Super-8 film (it wasn't that super! ) out to be processed, and by the time we got it back, the "instant feedback" advantage was gone. But today, a coach, family member, or friend almost always has a camera, so all you need to do is ask them to take vids of your vaulting, and you'll get that instantaneous feedback.

I understand that this is illegal during meets (an unfair advantage, I guess), so this advice is restricted to practice sessions only.

Kirk

[VaultMarq26]

Humans actually have 7 senses... Sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, kinesthetic, and vestibular.

Those last two are probably the most important. Kinesthetic is knowing how your body is positioned without looking at it (if you close your eyes and hold out your hand you should 'know' where it is), and vestibular is balance. On a pole, these are vital not only to your progress, but your SAFETY!

Biological psychology.

Right idea, wrong execution......balance is made up of 3 different parts.....vestibular (located in your inner ear), proprioception (which is from Golgi Tendon Organs in the tendons of your muscles) and vision.

Only vision, hearing, touch, taste , and smell are considered senses by most textbooks.

[VaultMarq26]

and in an effort to answer the post......I teach looking at your bottom hand at takeoff....if it feels wierd, don't do it....like the other posts mentioned, it doesn't really matter.....what looking at your bottom hand will do is give you the reference point you seem to be looking for...it can also help you lead with your chest at take-off, or at least that is what I have found has made the difference for my jumpers.

[powerplant42]

What are your thoughts on the kinesthetic aspect of this question?

I've put this info up here before, but I'll do it again...

Bubka interview in Jamaica by IAAF...

Q. Where is your point of focus?
A. To the front, many jumpers look at the box, the box doesn't move, it is always there. I think it has to do with mental pressure or being scared.

http://www.carreroart.com.au/polevault/2200b.htm

Bottom hand, back of the pit, 'front'... Not much difference.

[KirkB]

Q. Where is your point of focus?

I wonder if your eyes can focus on 2 things at once. I think they can, but I'm asking ... not telling.

I'm thinking of a short-range focus and a long-range focus.

The short-range focus might be one of the answers given in this thread already (I won't repeat).

The long-range focus might be the horizon ... a fence-line or row of bleachers ... the back of the pit ... something fairly distant and horizontal ... to give you your equilibrium bearings.

I'm thinking that this might be similar to what pilots do when they go into a spin or a dive or their planes gets out of control. One of the first things they do is to try to find the horizon ... as a reference point.

Is this not similar to what happens when we try to keep our balance thru the various parts of the vault ... especially when swinging upside down and turning?

I also suspect that this eye focus is a subconscious action ... it's nothing you do by intent.

Kirk

[powerplant42]

Are you describing having the eyes' point of central focus being one place while the mind's point of focus being somewhere else in your field of vision? Looking at the bottom hand for instance, but focussing your attention on the horizon?

[VaultMarq26]

i like the analogy to the pilot......Personally if I don't specifically focus on the bottom hand at take off, I can't, or don't, focus on anything......the next vision that my brain can comprehend is seeing the top of my pole.