Wide vs Narrow grip

[bzugar]

So i have a dilemna, i naturally vault with a wide grip thats a full arms length or slightly greater and im on 13' 13'6 and 14' poles but im not getting fully vertical, i get my shins to my hands and i come off of the pole then. My coaches keep telling me to have a narrower grip but that feels really uncomfortable for me because i have really long arms and am 6'1 so i feel like i dont have room so to speak. any help?

[botakatobi]

Listen to your coach. A wide grip such as yours will hamper your swing at this stage of learning.

[KirkB]

Listen to your coach. A wide grip such as yours will hamper your swing at this stage of learning.

Yes, listen to your coach.

Your milage may vary by an inch or two either way, but in general, your grip width should be approximately 22 inches - give or take. What is it right now? Don't try to reduce it in one fell swoop - try reducing it by a few inches at a time, over a few practices.

A wide grip will also cause problems in planting as high as possible, and for someone with your PR will also cause you to put too much pressure on your bottom arm - because you won't have sufficient strength to put all (or most) of your weight on your top arm only. This will also hamper your swing.

Your issues on the top half of your vault are all due to issues in the bottom half of your vault, starting with your run, plant, takeoff, stretch to C, and swing. A good "top half" (getting fully vertical) is the result of resolving all these earlier issues.

Please advise what the distance is between your hands. My grip width was 22 inches, and I think Bubka's were similar. I'm 6-0, and Bubka was the same. 6-1 isn't that much taller, and there's plenty of other vaulters much taller than 6-1 that are able to handle a relatively narrow grip, so that shouldn't be the problem. It may be just a psychological problem that you have at the moment.

You need to get past this incorrect assumption, and make a decision to not let psychological issues like this affect your thought process on how to improve your technique. You will have plenty more of these types of issues in the future, so you just need to tackle them head-on, instead of letting them divert your attention from the real technical issues with your vaulting technique.

I think you need to ask your coaches to review with you how you can change (and improve) your pole carry and your plant with a narrower grip, and then work on that. I think THAT'S the real problem that you need to work on!

Kirk

[Todd Haire]

I have to disagree that a wide grip causes a problem with swing to inversion.
One sees it stated quite often as if it were an irrefutable gospel.
Let me use the example of my friend "Soar Like An Eagle".
He is about 5'11" and jumped 17'6" in 1980. He uses a really wide handgrip and at age 55+ uses great technique to routinely jump a foot over his grip.
After watching and training with him for a decade I am convinced that what a vaulter does, or does not do with the bottom arm is critical.
Look at Galfione or Hartwig or Mesnil. Can you say that a wide grip hindered their success?
Is this athlete's hand spread causing difficulties and narrowing his hand spread will cure it?
The answer may be "not necessarily."

[botakatobi]

Ask Bubka and he will tell you that beginning vaulters need to learn the basics of vaulting on a pole that does not bend.

Straight pole vaulters over the last 150 years found that their swing and pull was better performed with a narrow grip.

Once the swing is perfected and the vaulter can jump well over their grip on a stiff pole, fiberglass technique can be introduced with a somewhat wider hand spread.

[CoachEric]

Look at Galfione or Hartwig or Mesnil. Can you say that a wide grip hindered their success?

Yes.

[KirkB]

Look at Galfione or Hartwig or Mesnil. Can you say that a wide grip hindered their success?

Yes.

This is just another way of looking at the classic Petrov Method v. Drive Method (Dial Method) controversy.

Along with the wider grip, vaulters like Galfione, Hartwig, and Mesnil took off more "under", "rowed" with their arms (even if ever-so-slightly), and had a slight delay in their swing (immediately after they "tucked").

Although they all cleared 5.95m plus, I personally believe that they could have vaulted higher had they used the Petrov Model.

Please note that attempting to convert to the Petrov Model after jumping thousands and thousands of times with a different technique is extremely hard to do, and is something that's probably not recommended to attempt in the twilight years of your career.

However, for a HS or young college vaulter, it should be relatively easy to focus on the more technically sound (based on "physics" principles) Petrov Model.

What you will notice with young vaulters in the 3.00-5.00m range (and even Masters in that range) is that they will have a much more pronounced delay after their "tuck", which kills their upwards momentum. And yes, it all begins with the grip!

The physics of a narrower grip should be obvious - you can plant taller without reaching, keeping better body posture thru the plant and takeoff.

And for a HS vaulter like bzugar (less muscular than an elite vaulter), I think the narrower grip will result in more of a swinging (and less of a muscular bottom arm pushing) action, which is more efficient.

Kirk

[dj]

Good morning,

There is too close and too wide.......

It effects the run, pole drop, plant and swing... Plus the size pole you use...

Grip the pole with you top hand and grab the pole with the bottom by measuring with the thump in y
The arm pit..

The grip should be ... With the pole held with the top hand at the hip bone the bottom hand is directly in front of the sternum, about 10" out. This is at the start of the run with the pole at about 75 degrees..

Dj