Capt Caveman wrote: pp42
Stop doing that drill in that manner - it is 40 years old and is in need of some updating. Fiberglass poles were in their infancy when it was created and even in 1969 you had to get your hips up in order to go up. Or follow Kirk's new thread (as i will since I still can't picture how it works) to see how to do it correctly.
Swing up not down - everything in the vault should move forward and up. (new question, what is a "down swing"?)
Keep your hips moving during your swing (even if you are a tuck and shoot vaulter) and maximize the rotation in the shoulders. Think about it, how can you hang under your hands in a vertical position if your hips stay below your shoulders.
I think my Hinge-Whip Drill is getting a bad rap ... due mostly to misunderstandings ... or vaulters just not doing it right.
For example, if I STRONGLY recommend that you do this drill on the highbar with BOTH PALMS FACING FORWARDS, but then you TRY to do the drill with a mixed grip (one palm facing forwards and one facing backwards), don't blame me for it not working properly!
I thought I explained it quite well in many, many posts over the past couple years ... but apparently not. The purpose of this thread is to try to clarify these drills (highbar, rings, and/or rope) ... once and for all ... so that they can be used PROPERLY and EFFECTIVELY.
And yes, Caveman, I'm modernizing the WORDS to describe these drills ... but if you think the drills themselves are antiquated, you're living in a cave.
These drills have stood the test of time ...The PHYSICS of the PV have NOT changed over the years. Gravity still works IDENTICALLY to how it worked in 1969 ... surprise, surprise!
Yes, the poles have improved since then, but not so drastically that you must change your PV technique SIGNIFICANTLY to accomodate the fishing-pole bending effect of the sail wraps on the new poles.For starters, here's the link to Amy's version of my newly-named "Stretch Whip Drill" ... on the rings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn5LIiHmPlY.
Her elastic STRETCH (aka "inverted C") and her DOWNSWING are fantastic! Now, you'll never get the stretch like that on the pole, but there's nothing wrong with exagerating it on the rings ... just for training purposes. I chose Amy's version of this drill on the rings as only a starting point ... to give you an initial reference to the important aspects of the drill. You STRETCH, you SWING DOWN (the DOWNSWING), you WHIP, and then you pop your hips up above your CoM (the UPSWING) ... in one continuous chain of motion. I'll critique Amy's version of this drill later ... she cheats a bit in the Whip ... but the first half of her swing (the downswing ... to the chord) is what you should focus on as being excellent.
One advantage of FIRST learning this drill on rings instead of highbar is that you don't have to worry about your grip ... the rings will twist to their natural position. Another advantage is that the highbar doesn't get in the way ... stopping your hips from rising. For intermediates and elites, I prefer the highbar for this drill, but perhaps for beginners, RINGS is best. It's VERY DIFFICULT to do this drill properly on a rope, but it can be done ... by elites ... as the Gibilisco vid shows. (I'll get to that later.)
The objective of this training ... on rings, highbar, and/or rope ... is to develop the coordination, strength, and speed of your entire SWING on the pole ... but mostly the DOWNSWING ... so that your hips never hit the dreaded "flat-back" ... or tuck ... position. That's what this drill SHOULD teach you, so if you're doing it in such a way that your hips aren't moving UP, then you're doing it wrong.
Notice that what I used to call the "Whip-Hinge Drill" or the "Hinge-Whip Drill" I'm now calling the "Stretch Whip Drill". This is the modernization that Caveman is asking for ... using MODERN terms. The drills themselves have NOT changed over the years!
I think my use of the word "hinge" was unfortunate. It implied that your fulcrum point was at your hips. In a sense, it is ... but guys like PP have taken this too far ... with the result that it's taken completely literally ... resulting in ONLY a hinge at the hips and nowhere else ... leaving the hips way too low ... and the feet way too high! To cut to the chase about this, I emphasized the HINGE too much (notice that it's gone from my tagline now?) ... the PROPER way to think about this is to whip from the inverted-C to the forwards-C ... using ALL your muscles ... from head to foot ... not just your trail leg!
To be fair to PP, he's asked me for a vid of how to do this drill PROPERLY for over a year now, and I've yet to deliver. Right now, the best vid I have to show how it's done is Amy's. But as this thread proceeds, I'll add other vids, such as Gibilisco's rope drill ... and perhaps some of you have good vids to share too.
Capt Caveman wrote: Keep your hips moving during your swing (even if you are a tuck and shoot vaulter) ...
These drills are not just for Petrovers. Even the best of the best tuck/shooters (5.80+) have great swings ... and minimize the amount of time they're in the flat-back position. You MUST keep your hips moving ... if you don't, then gravity sets in and you're dead. These drills are model-agnostic.
I'm out of time today, but over the weekend, I'll add to this thread, and I'll clarify any questions you have. Stay tuned.
Kirk
