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My teamate and I have been pondering this for a long time and we got a very clear answer from some big name coaches at Reno but wanted to know what all you think. Some coaches teach row and some coaches teach swing....what do you think? personally i am convinced that it is almost all swing and if you are thinking row you are killing your energy. What do you think?

i wish i was good enough to provide some real good advice. nonetheless, here's my two cents. in what your asking, row or swing, there really cant be just a row, theres no way you could pull your whole body through the motion to vertical with just rowing. therefore, i think its good to have as good a swing as you can, and theres gonna be some rowing action in order to get yourself inverted and get your shoulders back. my coach refers to the rowing action as down pressure, and recommends it in order to keep pressure down on the pole in order to keep it bent longer and give time to get upside down. im sure what i said aint the most sound advice and there needs to be corrections, but there it is for what its worth.

how would you know if you were applying "down pressure" ? like for example when i plant my bottom hand slides down the pole like a foot, and its not because of bad grip. Would that be from dwn pressure rather than pushing up? And my swing sounds just like you described as well, and i cant get inverted at all when im vaulting.

row up and away, swing down and away.

row up and away, swing down and away. never in.... until later anyway[/code]

so lets say im having the problem of putting down pressure, and im only swingign about halfway up, my bottom hand slips like a foot down when i plant, and i cant gte anywhere near inverted in full runs. So if i push up at the plant, and change that all to "up pressure", then that would fix it? rather than putting pressure donw, and ruining my swing like im doing now?

Coach Butler of Rice Univ wrote: Rowing down or "down pressure" will cause your swing to buckle into a "L" seat or tuck & force the pole to slow it's rotation to the bar, making the vaulter struggle to get inverted.............Row is a shortcut to get to the bar.........and the vaulter will hit a plateau and not progress.
I have always believed that you must "swing to your top hand"! For over 25 years of coaching, I've never coached someone to apply pressure. My cues were to "press up" or push up, keeping the angles open & the swing long! However, I asked Vitali Petrov about his feelings of "arm work". He showed me that all force is "ABOVE THE VAULTER'S HEAD". The vaulter should Takeoff and allow the arms to be ELASTIC, continuing the plant in flight, driving the chest & hips thru the pole, chasing the pole. Then,what I call "UP PRESSURE" is applied until the arms point between 11-12 o'clock! Also, It is important for the vaulter to PUT THE UP PRESSURE IN RHYTHM OF HIS/HER SWING. Too fast a force with the arms, and the swing breaks or shortens! The vaulter must " COVER THE ARC OF THE POLE, to be able to get totally inverted & on top of an unbending pole. As Hull states, "Pressure towards the crossbar". Try this direction of force and see what will happen to your swing. The pole will move to vertical!

I agree with David here - "swing to the top" is a cue I've been using for years. In the takeoff phase, I believe in getting the hands as high as possible over the head, and punching the chest forward until you're "in the pocket," with your bottom hand overtop of your forehead and chest (I think that's what David means when he says "elastic arms"). Once that happens, your swing will start itself. I don't feel you should "row" or "paddle" your hands slowly to your hips - Everyone sees whatever they want to see on video, and 5 people can have 5 totally different opinions on what they see in a particular vault with what is happening. When I watch video of Bubka, I see him "hitting the pocket" better than everyone out there, and swing to his top hand, but I also see a slamming action forward towards his legs/hips with his top hand. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, it just looks like it happens to me. IMO though, the swing coming from hitting the pocket gets him inverted, not the top hand. I just feel that the top hand slamming forward helps to close off the vault and aids in popping his hips up the axis of the pole, plus moving it to vertical. It's not a rowing action though, it's like giving a "high-five" with the top hand only. Does anyone else see this?

whether its intentional or not, every great vaulter has a row phase that is in time with their swing, its all about moving through the box and staying behind the pole, if your way out front you cant do anything.