golfdane wrote: ... Vaulters being so focused on the bar, that they swing past the chord of the pole before the pole is vertical. The result is often a complete loss of momentum, and they stall short of the bar. ...
Instead of "swing past the chord of the pole", I would say "flag out". So the 5th image in Master's drawing ... where the vaulter is almost upside down ... is the earliest that he should "try to extend his legs over the bar".
If you have the momentum to go higher, but you try to extend over the bar too early, then you're just going to rotate your body around your center of mass (your hips). You won't be able to raise your CoM any higher, because your hips aren't close enough to the pole.
If you DON'T have the momentum to go higher, then you're just going to fall on the bar ... like AJ's doing.
I think what AJ hasn't figured out yet is that to keep from flagging out, he has to get his hips up higher ... closer to the pole. The best way to do that is to SWING to that position. To SWING to that position, he needs to swing quickly ... thus my advice for him to lower his grip. Plus improve all the other things in the run, plant, takeoff that will come with time and practice.
The lower the grip, the faster the swing. The faster the swing, the more upside down you can get ... and the more momentum you still have for the top half of your vault. The more upside down you get ... and the more momentum you still have, the less you flag out. The less you flag out ... and the more momentum you still have, the higher you go.
Momentum raises your body higher (if you position your body properly). Gravity pulls your body down. When you have no more momentum left, gravity takes over and pulls you down ... onto the bar.
There is a vertical and a horizontal component to this momentum. You not only need enough momentum to raise your body higher than the bar, you also need enough to sail your body forwards ... over the bar set at 80 cm from the box. AJ, with your present grip, even if you think you have enough vertical momentum, you still don't have enough horizontal momentum to clear the bar.
AJ, can you see how important it is to have as much momentum as possible? You get this momentum from your speed down the runway, plus the efficiency of your technique during your plant, takeoff, and swing. Once your momentum is lost, there's no "quick fix" to clear the bar. If you don't have enough momentum at your present grip, the only "quick fix" is to lower your grip.
Kirk
