The PREJUMP : key to success or giant hoax

[MightyMouse]

See The free take off: key to success or giant hoax for discussion

[Mecham]

Wait, why was this topic made?

[MightyMouse]

For the poll, it seems that Prejumping is alot less common than the free take off.

[agapit]

For the poll, it seems that Prejumping is alot less common than the free take off.

Hey dude, they refer to the same action. Before a "free takeoff" terminology began to be used in the early nineties by the public, Alan Launder, living down-under separated by thousands of miles, dubbed the action a prejump. The essence of the free takeoff/prejum is to complete the jump of the ground before pole resistance. I personally prefer the “free takeoffâ€Â

[LHSpolevault]

Agapit, I'm confused, so... are Free Takeoff and Pre Jump the same thing?

[agapit]

Agapit, I'm confused, so... are Free Takeoff and Pre Jump the same thing?

you got it

[LHSpolevault]

SCORE!

[MightyMouse]

I had heard from coach launder, that the prejump is an extension of the free take off. The prejump is foot completly off the ground when the pole hits the back of the box, and the free take off is the toe on the ground when the pole hits the back of the box.

[VaultMarq26]

This seems to be a bit of a grey area. There is a very small difference between teh two.

[ADTF Academy]

Ok for all those that feel they need to do more harm than good and attack everyone. Let's take a moment and examine this.

Peter McGinnis: (From Pete's Points for Perfect Pole Vaulting) - Continous Takeoff
"For elite vaulters, pole strike occurs in the second half of the support phase, closer to the instant of takeoff. This indicates that they are actively pushing off the ground. They are "on their toes" when pole strike occurs and they actively push the pole upward and forward. If pole strike occurs during the first half of the support phase, closer to the instant of touchdown, then the vaulter will be not be able to actively push the pole upward and forward. The vaulter will be jerked off the ground by the pole."

hmm on their toes that is pretty darn close to being completely broken from the gound.


Bubka/Petrov from Jamaica (Alan's Book):
The free takeoff is a very short period of time, we can say no more than Hundredths of a second, going form the end of the take off and the moment in which the tip of the pole reaches the end of the box. (pg 28).

hmm just after the toes break contact with the ground.

Point 1
"Additionally we can increase the angle between the pole and the ground in the moment of taking off." (pg. 28)
Point 2
" The take off finished with a complete extension of the take off leg and ankle." (pg. 28)

Hmm now take a look Both Petrov and Peter said finish the final stride completely. Peter said on the toes Petrov said just after the toes break contact. Ok! this is a difference of no more than Hundredths of a second. Additionally, both Petrov and Peter said that the key is to increase the angle at takeoff.

While many of you worry about the exact wording and are too busy arguing and putting people down you miss out on the key concept and fundamentals behind what Alan and Petrov are trying to teach.

1. Finish the final stride Completely, and
2. Increase the angle before the pole strikes the back of the box.

I agree with and support the Freetakeoff/Prejump takeoff model talked about by Petrov and Alan. If you look at the actually wording I will agree that the Prejump might produce a slightly higher takeoff angle than the Freetakeoff, which in return will produce a slightly higher angle at takeoff than Peter's wording, but not by much.

All three stress the two more important points and are only a different of no more than Hundredths of a second.

Another thing to think about is that the spot at which you takeoff from is only one factor to the concept of the free takeoff. Body positioning and posture is another huge factor that is also very seldomly addressed. Just because the vaulter can take off in the right spot doesn't mean they are going to have a successful vault. Your body positioning and posture at the moment of takeoff is vitally important. Also you must address if the vaulter has the strength training and speed to utilize the energy transferred into the pole during the free takeoff. Otherwise it will simply cause frustration.

Alan's concept of the Pre Jump takes Petrov's free takeoff a bit further. In that he refers to a period of time when the vaulter has completely broken contact with the ground before the pole tip strikes the back of the box and is in flight. Hence a prejump.

You people are so worried about termionology, they are very similar and in fact you can't do a prejump if you don't do a free takeoff. So work towards the free takeoff and ultimately aim for a pre jump if you chose. Otherwise please stop wasting our time. If I were you I would be more worried about ensuring that I have correct body posture and that I am planting tall and not reaching the hands towards the box. Also making sure that you are not striding out in the last stride. You can't do a free takeoff/Prejump/Continous Takeoff if your plant is horrible. Without correct body posture these concepts are pointless.

[MightyMouse]

I think there is a large difference between (launders) prejump and the free take off, a completely re-sequencing of events. In fact note the results of both polls

80% yes free take off 20% no
60% yes prejump 40% no

ovbiously there is a discrepecy , which is what these posts were trying to figure out.

You people are so worried about termionology, they are very similar and in fact you can't do a prejump if you don't do a free takeoff. So work towards the free takeoff and ultimately aim for a pre jump if you chose. Otherwise please stop wasting our time. If I were you I would be more worried about ensuring that I have correct body posture and that I am planting tall and not reaching the hands towards the box. Also making sure that you are not striding out in the last stride. You can't do a free takeoff/Prejump/Continous Takeoff if your plant is horrible. Without correct body posture these concepts are pointless.

I apologize for forcing you to take your time to write about this topic. I just wanted to try to have some conversation on the technique board beyond "how do I get inverted". And have some discussion about the great stuff agapit altius and other pole vault pros are writing that makes us question what we are training.

I enjoy the contribution you give to this board. You are a great resource of information for the few topics you choose to write on, I just dont understand the short temper?

[altius]

I had hoped to stay away from the forum to let things settle down but since i was the person who coined the term 'Pre jump' in 1989 and then attempted to explain the difference in BTB I have some responsibility to clarify this issue. The advantage of being in the air -as high as you can/dare go is that you maximise pole ground angle -this makes it easier to move the pole and then makes it easier to flex. However as even Bubka himself said -this is very difficult to do - not least because it requires that the vaulter do everything perfectly from the first step on if they are to have any chance of a ppre jump. Because it is so difficult i beleive you need to think about a free take off where although the vaulter is not in the air at the instant the pole tip touches, they are on their toe nail and the pole is not loaded until they leave the ground.

Because of the advantage of the pre jump - even if it is only a slight increase in pole ground angle, I see the free take off is a failed pre jump.

Now I have chosen to make this distinction because even the notion of a FREE TAKE OFF is difficult for many US vaulters to accept - that is if you go by the evidence that 90% take off way under and many try to really load the pole before they leave the gorund. So if the free take off is difficult to accept -how much more so the pre jump??? Certainly when i first proposed this element of technique in an article in our national coaching magazine in 1989 the New Zealand vault coach wrote that I was crazy to put the idea forward - it was impossible. Well look at the Photo of Bubka in BTB and look at almost any video of Markov -- and????

Yes i read that agapit sees the two as being the same and I respect his view but he has been immersed in these concepts since he reached a decnt standard in the USSR - few people around the world come to the event with his perspective - and as he knows words have meaning and clarify actions - take my definitions or leave them - I just happen to believe that my definitions clarify the issue. But it really is take it or leave it time for me. No more debate.

A man convinced against his will remains of the same opinion still. Granma.