The One-Arm Drill

[powerplant42]

You've no doubt seen it, and you've probably done it before... The one-arm drill (or one-hander). Many coaches use it, but WHY do they use it?

The reason I've heard coaches give for it is learning 'how not to block with the bottom arm'. But how can they do this when the bottom arm is not even given the opportunity to do something wrong? I gave the example of learning to shoot a basketball in my 'database' thread: If you were trying to teach someone to shoot a basketball and they keep pushing the ball to the side with their support hand upon release, what would you have them do? Take the support hand away, or put extra emphasis on it staying still?

I am generally against the drill. It could be used as a demonstration to prove that the pole does not need the bottom arm to be bent, but I would probably not use it as a common drill... As Petrov put it, "You do not vault with one hand, so why do you do drills with one hand?" Perhaps in some specific yet-to-be-determined situation for a specific athlete I would have them use the drill. But what value is added by taking away the bottom arm? One could argue that it makes things simpler, but doesn't it just complicate staying behind the pole?

I'd LOVE to hear thoughts on this!

[KirkB]

How about an additional choice for "It depends."?

Kirk

[powerplant42]

It always depends. But the poll's context is 'in a general sense'. In a general sense, I 'hate 'em'. And the 'don't care' isn't for indifference, it's for neutrality.

[chaus]

Never used the 1 arm drill, I've seen other kids that are coached by my coach's friend do them. But they never appealed to me, but I can see the theory behind them;
I played basketball for quite a few years actually, and we did the 1 arm shooting. Your main hand (right for me as i am a righty) is the hand doing the shooting, and your left is just their for balance/guidance. You really learned how to shoot correctly, if it was taught and done right!
As well they did this in softball (minimally), swinging the bat with just 1 arm, if done correctly it worked wonders.

So really this drill sounds good in theory, but I don't know anything about it really.

[powerplant42]

The benefit of shooting a basketball with one hand is different than the benefit (if there is one) from using one hand on a pole. I'll have more time later this week to expand that thought.

[BethelPV]

One thing you can learn from this drill is that you in essence do not need to brace with the bottom arm to vault. I would prefer to do a drill with both hands right next to each other to do this, but you can do a drill with one arm and swing. Its main principle is the fact that you do not need to use your bottom arm to move the pole to vertical. It is all about the jump and the chest drive as well as proper posture, not the fact that you drive the pole with bottom arm. We always do the 1 arm drill with a swing, never actually just do a 1 arm hang drill. I think this is a better drill, but thats just my opinion!

[VTechVaulter]

I do this drill as part of my warm up every time i jump.

Reason 1. Its a very dynamic warm up for my top shoulder.
Reason 2. I can work on jumping before the tip hits
Reason 3. I can really focus on being forward, and driving the chest through take off
Reason 4. Focus on proper motion of top hand at take off, since i tend to have a problem with curling up behind me.

Now granted some of these things can be accomplished other ways. But i think this drill has some merit.

[altius]

It probably does not help this discussion much but when I asked Petrov about one arm drills he said - with some acid in his voice, "When you pole vault with one arm - you do drills with one arm". End of discussion for him. I see no point in doing them at any level - and they are counter productive with young athletes - who immediately swing past the pole when they leave the ground -when they should be trying to stay behind it.

[golfdane]

I really don't see the relevance of the drill. Sure, you get severely punished, if you don't plant properly with the upper hand, but auto-corrective drills should still be safe. IMHO, this one ain't.

I'm with Alan on this one. Relevance to the actual event is important, and the bottom hand is IMHO equally important to a decent plant as the upper hand. The bottom hand is not passive during the plant, and one should be aware of what the bottom hand does and don't do. You won't learn how to spell by not writing at all.

[vaultwest]

I certainly understand the reasons some people don't believe in or like One handed vaulting and I partially agree. But I personally like the drill on a limited basis used correctly in my warm-up to vaulting. I think just like vaulting drills with a straight pole are self correcting and teach a vaulter certain parts of the vault better than vaulting on a bending pole (which can hide faults in technique) I think one handers can be a better self-correcting exercise to help learn to execute a free takeoff. By only having the top hand to hold onto the pole, one must takeoff correctly or the vaulter immediately knows that the vault is a failure, as the hand slides down the pole or the vaulter swings past the pole. As for Petrov's response, I get that but then why do we do vault training drills with ropes, rings and High bars because until we vault competitively with a rope, set of rings or a high bar what is the use of using them. Of course I know what that answer is to that, my point is that I feel with one handers I can focus on one specific part of the vault and help my athletes vault better. Just my simple opinion.
Vault On

[rainbowgirl28]

and they are counter productive with young athletes - who immediately swing past the pole when they leave the ground -when they should be trying to stay behind it.

Not if they do it right. If anything I think young vaulters are more likely to learn how to stay behind the pole on a one-hander because they won't be trying to block out with their bottom arm.

One-handers can be beneficial if taught correctly. If an athlete has a bad problem with pulling with the top arm, swinging on a one-hander can be a good drill for them.

It's like most other drills... it's a matter of how it's taught. Most coaches aren't teaching the drills correctly, so it's now an issue of what they are doing, but how they are doing it.

[powerplant42]

Ropes/rings/bar allow you to replicate movements. They let you repeat something like the swing/inversion/whatever without having to run down a runway with a pole.

What are the differences between vaulting with one arm and two arms?

For one, you really can't carry the pole. That can create its own problems.

Secondly, you don't have any mechanical benefits that the bottom arm brings to the equation... After all, it is the bottom arm that moves the pole in a free take-off! I would also imagine that finishing the take-off would be more difficult to do (and stay safe), but I have not done this drill for a long time... Maybe I'll make a video (I know, I keep saying that...). The bottom arm allows you to balance behind the pole... Staying behind the pole is necessary to swing correctly!

There is also the psychological factor to consider... An athlete might waste time building up enough confidence to do the drill on an appropriate sized pole when they could've just put their bottom hand on the pole and vaulted correctly.