Developing The Hitch-kick Style Of Long Jumping
In my eyes and few track and field events are more exciting and interesting than the long jump. The powerful sprint down the runway, the graceful leap as the jumper seems to float through the air and the sudden landing with an explosion of sand - the long jump is truly amazing. But then I'm biased!
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In my eyes and few track and field events are more exciting and interesting than the long jump. The powerful sprint down the runway, the graceful leap as the jumper seems to float through the air and the sudden landing with an explosion of sand-the long jump is truly amazing. But then I'm biased!
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If you watch closely and you'll notice that the jumper keeps pumping his arms and legs as though he were running in air. Although you might have assumed that this helps propel the jumper further through the air, 'phantom' running is actually necessary to maintain balance.
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As the jumper sprints down the runway and he has forward motion. When he plants his foot to propel himself into the air and the jumper's lower body stops for a moment.
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Meanwhile, the jumper's upper body continues moving forward unchecked and creating a forward rotation of the body around its center of gravity. If no corrective action is taken, the forward rotation will make the jumper topple forward and head-first into the pit. How many times have we seen this!
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Known as the hitch kick, a running motion helps the jumper maintain balance in the air. When a person runs and he bends his knees as his legs move forward and straightens his legs as they move backwards. In effect and this is a fast forward rotation of the legs.
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The wind-milling motions of the arms are also fast forward rotations. Making some parts of the body rotate faster causes other parts of the body to rotate more slowly to compensate.
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The movement of the arms and legs in effect uses up the jumper's bodily rotation and leaving nothing for the torso. That way and the torso can stay upright after takeoff.
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It might sound complicated but a hitch-kick is quite easy to introduce to a youngster who is blessed with above average speed levels. It would be pointless to introduce this to a jumper who by comparison is slower. A hitch kick requires air-time so speed is a prerequisite.
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The hitch-kick is also known as climbing or running in the air. This technique counteracts the athlete's rotational velocity by cycling the arms and legs during the flight and is regarded by many jumps coaches as the most complex technique.
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In-the-air techniques are generally selected by the athlete and coach during training based ON an individual athlete's skills and experience.
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When landing and it is the primary objective of the jumper not to fall back in the landing pit. As you all know and the jump is measured from the location in which the body contacts the sand closest to the take-off point.
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For this reason many jumpers will work ON keeping their feet in front of the body at a maximum distance from the hips. Then use their arms in a sweeping motion to help keep the legs up and the body forward.
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Upon contacting the ground, the jumper will push their legs hard into the sand and rotate the body side-ways and this slows the vertical (downward) momentum of the bottom and also rotates it to the side of the athlete trying to ensure that the heels are the furthest back body part.
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The hitch kick is an important technique for Young jumpers who are quick to master because it gives them greater in-flight balance than either the hang or the stride techniques.
All the very best,
NigelPS: My 42-page Plyometrics Training MANUAL for Long Jumping is now ready and all details are now ON my website, http://www.longjumping.co.uk.Nigel Lewis is a Level 4 Athletics Performance Jumps and Combined Coach in the UK and works as a Coach Education Tutor for UK Athletics.Click ON http://www.longjumping.co.uk for further details.
