Unread postby jcoover » Sun Dec 17, 2006 7:01 pm
altius,
while my post might have seemed irresponsible and ignorant to you, i really do believe that 'nutting up' has quite a lot to do with pole vaulting in general. not only jumping on big poles, but just vaulting in general. while 'nut up' might not be the right phrase to put into words the emotions that you need to truly be a good vaulter, i believe that in two words, it does a lot. now if you are going to say that it doesnt take at least some courage to vault at a high level, i would call you out. that being said, having some balls and being reckless are two very different things. i had a friend who was a high jumper for poland back in the late seventies and through the eighties. he hung out with bubka sometimes at some of the euro meets and they would talk sometimes. he always tells me that bubka said not to be afraid of a pole. never to be afraid. i think that was what i was getting at in my post. anyways, this high jumper friend of mine would tell me that in my series, its just a series of poles. if you need to go up a pole, you throw the one you have down and pick the next one up and say f*** it. obviously you have to know your series well to do this, but the attitude is to be confident above anything else. obviously, this confidence is there for a reason. to have the confidence necessary, you must know that you have the tools to pick up the next pole. its confidence that you have put in yourself that you are ready to pick up that pole and make that bar. and that is what i meant when i said 'nut up'. sorry i didnt elaborate, but i just wanted to make sure that you dont think that im just some dumb kid who is going to get in a pole vaulting accident on account of recklessness and disregard for the sport.
-Coov
"We can, by God, let our demons loose and just wail on!" - John L Parker