High Jump - Various Techniques
Learning various techniques is not a difficult task at all, rather implementing them in your training is quite difficult. A learner should have right approach and consistency to harvest those techniques. One of the good ways to do this is by doing Approach Runs. This is something familiar to high jump only but only with the difference that the jumper will not jump at the end. A 9-10 approach runs before actual practise is important but to have a good result you can increase it according to your capacity.
The following things should be taken care of during the approach run −
Effective running techniques
sprinter techniques should be used
Until before final 1 or 2 steps, runners’ heel should not touch the ground.
Use straight line acceleration approach
Maintain the running track along the curvature
Instead of making a quick action, gradual running should be preferred.
A 6-4 running approach is said to be ideally fit for this. That means the athlete will run 6 steps in straight line and remaining 4 steps in curvature path before take-off.
Perfect acceleration along the take-off foot path
Maintaining a right tempo is crucial.
Gradual increase of cadence should be done to increase speed.
Instead of making your last few steps faster, try to slow down your first few steps.
Avoid attacking the curve
As in approach runs, the athlete do not need to jump over, hence steps get eventually slow during the end of the run.
Avoid that by placing a bar at a lower height than actual.
At the last step, instead of jumping over it, try to get under it into the mat.
Scissor Jump
This jump is performed in between the normal approach and layouts. It is nothing but a transitional drill. It includes the combination of both normal approach and take-off. The basic aim behind this drill is to make the athlete stand on his lead feet after getting jumped over the bar. Consider the below diagram for clear understanding.
In this type of approach, the jumper just attacks the bar. No need to worry about the technical aspect of the jump. Take-off positions related to vertical sections are clearly emphasised over here. With regular practise, once the athlete achieves mastery over that particular level of height, the level of the bar can be increased much further.
Back Overs
Through the practise of this, the jumper gets used to his position over the bar. This is a two-fold exercise and it is not necessary that you will use a higher bar for practise. A short height bar that an athlete can jump over very easily would be an idle fit for this. First his focus should be not to let his body parts touch the bar and secondly to impact a strong kick that will make his lower body successfully clear the bar.
Short Approach Jump
Suddenly practising the full jump approach takes a lot of time and such high speed take-off causes fatigue and injury most of the times. Instead of this the jumper should go for a short jump approach. Because in short jump approach the athlete can expertise more on certain techniques and can practise it more frequently. Two styles of short term approach are explained below.
Minnesota 4 step
Mark the starting point on the ground such that the jumper will be four step out from the bar on their full approach.
Hits the mark with the left foot by jogging.
Repeat the four steps in right-left-right-left manner.
If you are working on bar clearance and take-off, this technique will help you a lot.
True 4 Step
A good technique of attacking a bar.
Start from the stop and take only four steps to the bar.
As the athlete will use only four steps to clear the bar so his speed and acceleration will increase two-fold.
Full Approach Jumps
This is an actual practise to make an athlete able to compete in real competition. The only confidence gaining key in a meet time situation in a full approach is to practise this full jump approach.
The athlete should concentrate upon how to accelerate his speed from slow to high and pick up a lightning fast speed at the end. Clearance of bar and take-off techniques should be practised along with it to harvest the most during the competition.
