@@markdowding5737 I would have loved to include Bob Beamon probably in the single hitch-kick section, but the footage had officials in the way of the takeoff.

Depends how much time you have to practice the technique but a single hitch would work nicely. Focus on the arm motion and the legs will come along. A hang is great if you can be patient and wait for the ground and it doesn’t take as much time to perform well. Sometimes people are thinking about the landing as soon they take off but you have to remember not to rush.

Hi there! As I mentioned any one of the techniques can be used at a high level. Sometimes it comes down to which a person feels most comfortable with, sometimes a switch is a coach trying to prevent a bad habbit. It's very hard to say for sure without knowing anything about you, but perhaps I could give some scenarios in which someone would chose one over the other. But again, if one technique just fits with you, go with that, the following suggestions are not set in stone. The sail: I would suggest this if you are a younger, more new athlete. Holding the knee drive for the duration of the flight phase will help you develope good takeoff mechanics. Even a hitch-kick athlete will do some knee drive hold pop-ups in practice. The Hang or hitch hang: If your time of flight is longer and you feel yourself rotating forward, unable to get your legs high enough to land properly on your bum. The hitch: If you have a habit of over preparing for the jump with a pronouced overexaggerated dip in the penultimate step. This will encourge more of a run through the board to give a more optimal penultimate step, and upright take-off posture. One last piece of advise. There's no need to change techniques unless you are trying to correct a problem that you fully understand, but experimenting as you have can be helpful. The hitchkick doesn't guarentee a farther jump. Being strong and fast is what helps you jump far, not what your limbs do while in the air.

I had an athlete that I believe used to do this exactly. I ended up teaching them the hitch kick with great improvement, but this isn't most certainly the answer without more information. I'm going to make some assumptions and if I get them wrong let me know I'll try to have another crack at it. 1. Often the flight phase and landing issues are caused by the takeoff. The leg shoot that happends quickly after takeoff may mean that she doesn't spend very much time on the air, has little vertical displacement, and she feels she need to prepare to land immediately. In order to get more lift from the jump it is important that the last two steps of the LJ are flat footed on the ground. This faciliates the lowering of the centre of gravity on the second last step in order to gain lift on the takeoff. You can do some continous takeoff drills, or shortapproach jumps with this in mind to help ingrain this movement. If doing short approach just have her pop-up without a landing, running through the pit knee drive leg first (take off of right leg, land on left leg running through to slow down). This may make a big difference, and help the sail to work, but it all comes from the takeoff mechanics. 2. One of the reasons I would teach an athlete to hitchkick is when they reach for the sandpit immediately after takeoff. It gives them a distraction in flightphase, and helps them keep the chest upright instead of folding forward making it more difficult to land on their bum. There is a time comitment to learning the hitchkick, but usually the athletes it is meant for find it a natural feeling and pick it up quickly. Put the focus on the takeoff mechanics, this may open the door to her being able to perform any flight phase technique. And then it's just about seeing which one is most comfortable and natural.

@@patrickdean893 Great Feedback and I really appreciate you. I'll keep working that penultimate with short approach. She gets out of sync with arms cycle and legs so its going to be a while to get her to hitch kick. Crazy thing she is a 5'6 10th grade HJ.

@@ShearillBrown Oh very nice! It might then just be as simple as getting her more comfortable in the air. Perhaps using around a 6 inch launch box to jump off of, to give her a greater feeling of flight, and more time in the air to make corrections. Sometimes athletes get into an autopilot as soon as they take off, and to break habits I'll say imagine jumping into a pool. Jumping into a pool you've got enough time in the air to catch a football or strike a funny pose, so to slightly change their airform should be just as easy, though mentally challenging at first. All the best!

Chosing the right air form can sometimes be a problem solver for athletes, but as long as you're takeoff positon is good, and you're landing on your bum instead of feet first, it's really just about whatever movement feels the most natural. I would perhaps try filming some 8-step jumps (as long as you're conditioned for it and coach says ok) not thinking about the air form, and landing on your bum, and see which one your jump is closest to. Then go about refining the technique so your landing is consistent.

@@patrickdean893 very helpful!

​@@patrickdean893 Can you recommend ways to get used to landing on your butt? Whenever I land I always land like feet first with them extended but I can never bring my butt up to where my feet landed so my mark is always back.

​@@elijah.alright3268 Ya good question, it is a funny thing if youre not use to it. A bit like when someone who doesn't know how to dive into water is learning how to dive. Every self preservation instinct tells them not to go headfirst into something, so people end up belly flopping in the begining. In the same way landing on your bum doesn't come naturally at first becuase it seems like it will hurt. I would guess that your leg extension for the sand is keeping your knees stiff upon landing. So you are essentially stopping your motion when your feet hits the sand, taking all the impact in your knees, and rebounding backwards. The goal is to get the bum to land to the side of where the feet touch the ground, so as not to lose any distance. Here's a few points to think about, one or two may resonate will you... -"Soft legs" upon landing. That's to say relax the legs so your knees bend as you land, allowing your torso, and bum to keep moving forward instead of rebounding backwards -Some people see the motion of getting your bum to land next to your feet as an active hamstring curl. As in once the heels touch the sand, you use your hamstrings to pull your body forward and to the side so your bum lands to the right or left of where your feet made a mark. I don't really believe there is an "active" componant, but think about it more as a relaxation to allow the momentum to continue. However the imagery of a hamstring curl may help to relax your quads so you don't stop your motion. If I have incorrectly interprested the problem let me know, I'll try to help. All the best!

@@patrickdean893 thanks for the help! I'll keep those points in mind next time I jump.

Been thinking about that. I'm working on one about LJ Take-off mechanics but it's kind of been on the back burner, since indoor season has gotten busy.

For sure. You know my name, but for refference I am a sprints/Jumps coach in Toronto, Canada.

whoa, what sort of school exam is about Long Jump? Sounds like a school I might like haha

@@patrickdean893 lol yeah physical exercise exam, sad its not practical

The best way to decide which foot to take off from is try low speed short approach jumps taking off from each leg (jog in takeoff is probably best). Some coaches talk about a "strong leg, and a coordinated leg." While not entirely nonsense, I do believe it's a waste of brainpower. You have a leg that will feel more natural, and the path of least resistance is to use that leg for the majority of your technical development. However training both legs for the sake of balance in strength is very important. I like to set up a continuous take off, or "gallop" drill for long jumpers to do with their non dominant leg in between jump practice with their dominant leg. For the second part of your question remember that if you jump off your right leg, the left leg swings through and the knee drives up just like when you are running. The same of true for a left leg takeoff, the right leg's knee drives up on takeoff. Many coaches put emphasis on knee drive in long jump, and while it may be evidence of good technique it is not the cause. Athletes that focus on having a good knee drive at take off miss what is really important. If you are getting flat foot contact on the last two steps of your long jump, and are most focused on using your speed to get distance not your jump, you will improve upon your technique and personal best far quicker.

..the date

Hahaha I'll have to make it happen! Thanks for the support! That's a great question, and one I have actually been thinking about lately. I coach an athlete who's PB at the moment is 6.03, probably capable of about 6.30-6.40. His technique looks most similar to a Sail, and I have been trying to get him to use the Hang technique to delay his landing position, and prevent him from dropping his chest too early. This has not been working well, his arms don't move together, they are slightly staggered just like the hitch kick. He was disappointed with his most recent meet nothing was clicking. I have decided to teach him the hitch kick (and also rework his approach rhythm). He will be the youngest person I've taught this to, but I believe it will help. I don't like to make rules based on performance really because things are so individual, but I will say that for someone who is jumping less than or around 6.00m I definitely hesitate to teach the hitch kick. If they jump 6.50 and I think it will help them, I don't hesitate. What's more important is what mistakes or difficulties is an athletes experiencing. If you'd like you can reply with any challenges you've been having with the Jumps, I'll try to advise based on that.

@@patrickdean893 I agree with what you're saying. It usually really is a matter of individuality and what the athlete is dealing with. I was performing the hang technique previously as it was the most basic one. But I found I wouldn't allow myself to jump/have good drive when taking off. Nor was I jumping forward, I kept leaning back and hanging straight away. At my most recent meet I got frustrated and switch to a hitch technique mid competition (Even though I knew you should never change technique all of a sudden like this). Because I was jumping 6.10's with a pb of 6.17 in my indoor season without any technique and landing on my two feet. Now with the hang technique I haven't jumped over 6 the entire outdoor season, jumping 5.3 at the last meet. I thought jt would work because when I got a coach and we practice jumping, I found the hitch technique was more natural for me as I run rather fast and would just continue my run (but my coach said I should do the hang technique) . And I remembered I never had an issue with my knee drive, it tricked me into knee driving as when running you drive your knees, no difference in the air. I ended up getting a pb with a jump of 6.33. I'm not sure if you agree with the switch and reasoning. But right now my technique is not pretty. Though it feels easier, more natural, I have good knee drive, and I'm jumping further. I'm not performing the technique well. I was wondering if there are any drills ypu reccomend to help practice the hitch technique.

​@@kiao287 Congrats on the PB! Yes I agree with your reasoning. Why fight it, a PB speaks for itself. Doesn't have to look pretty or perfect if it helps. Yes there are two main ways I would say you can break down the movement to improve the technique. First practicing short approach pop-up (pop-up meaning a take-off without a landing, just run off into the sand) with the trail arm coming around, and landing your run off with leg that you took off with. So if you are a left footed jumper pop-up off your left foot, and cycle to land on the left foot. The other exercise I like is what I call a hitch to lunge, done with short approach as well, probably 3-6 steps. It involves performing the hitch kick motion landing in the pit in a lunge position. So we'll take left leg take-off as the example in a sequence of events- take-off, trail arm continues to rotate around and straight above the head as the knee drive extends down, take off leg steps through to be the knee drive, arm drive arm (left in this example) catches up to trail arm and you land in a lunge with the right leg forward and both arms overhead. Pause my video at 9:04 to see what position you land in the sand with, and the movements that occur before. Side note, I found early in my training for Long Jump, coaches loved to emphasize the knee drive, but as I've studied and learned more, many coaches agree to deemphasize it. For Long jump the knee drive is evidence of a good take-off but it is not the cause. Think abound your body position at take off (no lean back, no excessive dipping in the second last step, no reaching for the board, last two steps are flat foot contact, and the last step or the take off step is quick). The knee drive it will take care of itself.

@@patrickdean893 Thank you so much for the advice and exercises! I absolutely agree with the side note. I find when I have the best knee drives is when I'm not thinking about it, but rather my approach and takeoff. Or how a slight forward lean when running is a result of not actively doing it but: ground contact, knee drive, dorsiflextion, etc. Your athletes are very lucky to have you as their coach. I'm sure when I have more questions in the future, I know who to go to ;).

@@patrickdean893 I am wondering if jumpers should lean back during their two last steps, or should they focus on being as upright as possible.

You are very welcome!

I'm glad! Yes, most triple jumpers do essentially a Sail technique for the jump phase of the triple jump (hop,step,jump). Check out Johnathan Edwards, and Pedro Pablo Pichardo for this. Pichardo in particular has great patience in his jump phase. The most important thing in triple jump is conserving speed and momentum through the phases, and secondly ensuring the rhythm of your jumps are even, meaning each of the 3 phases are similar in length. This requires a lot of strength, technique, and practice. Novice jumpers will often have a very short step phase because they jump too high in their hop phase, and cannot manage the impact forces. I would suggest either a Sail or Hang technique for your long jump. The sail is suitable, unless you find yourself getting into landing position too early like the case study in the video, in which case a hang where you drop the knee drive can help delay this and give you better timing for your landing. Both techniques will help with your triple jumping by teaching you to be patient, and wait for the ground to come to you instead of reaching for it. This is very important for triple jump, not just when landing in the sand but through the phases you always want to contact the ground directly underneath your hips, not reaching for the ground in front of you. They measure the whole jump, so trying to have a huge hop/step phase which then causes poor mechanics later in the jump kills your distance. Be patient through your phases, don't rush. Thanks for the support! I would love to, probably once the competitive season comes to a close I'll have some time to put out some content. I'm always bursting with ideas. All the best!

@@patrickdean893 Thanks a lot for the response, I'll be sure to practice, can't wait to see more content soon!

@@patrickdean893 Triple jumpers like me are waiting for technic analysis like in this video above It's was a wonderful thing to wash your video, very GREAT content 🥰🥰🥰 Very excited for triple jump analysis video 😇

To me, body type/height/weight aren't really relevant when we're talking about an athlete's flight phase mechanics. When I'm coaching I consider how fast they are, how experienced they are in the event, how much lift/flight time they have to work with, and by what time do they have to be able to put it all together in competition. Beyond those variables, some athletes just gravitate towards one style, and there is no point in fighting this unless there is a good reason for it (such as a habitually bad landing position that costs the athlete distance). I really should make another video because the only video on this channel is about flight phase mechanics, which is one of the least important aspects of long jumping. However, lets take the example you gave and make a number of assumptions. If an athlete is very tall, they may have a longer stride length, and a slower stride frequency. In that case their hitch kick may be too slow in the air, giving them have no time to prepare to land. Lets say there is a person who is short, very fast, and has high stride frequency, they may benefit from the hitch kick because its actually more difficult for them to stop their limbs from cycling at takeoff to perform a hang. It's really not about the body type, but it is about the athlete. Most people don't fit into the two examples we have above. I dislike athletes wanting to try a certain technique without a good reason for it, meaning they don't have a significant problem to fix. My most important factors in long jump are... -runway speed, rhythm and consistency -the 3rd last step should be a sprint stride not a jump preparation (only last two steps have flat foot ground contact, if your third last step is flat you are killing your speed) -NO torso lean back on take-off, and NO reaching (watch Ivan Pedroso, best takeoff of all time)

@@patrickdean893 thank you very much! great video by the way.

I’m glad! Appreciate you man 🙏

I would say the best technique is the one that works best for the individual. Unfortunately there is no one right answer. It's a bit like asking what is the best size pants.

Good eye, and good question. Check out one of his jumps in slow motion. I think what is happening is that he likely performed the single hitch kick for years before switching to the double hitch kick. As a result, he slows the cycling of his trail arm so that both arms end up above his head ready for the landing phase after the first hitch kick, when ideally one arm is up, and one arm is down to match the cycling of the legs. He then has to rush the second revolution of his trail arm, which gives his flight phase a slightly unbalanced appearance, as his upper and lower body is not in sync. It does seem like he has to rush his landing phase, but as his feet and his bum land at the same mark, I don't believe his total distance was impeded very much. A single hitch kick may give him enough time to get into a better landing position, and to be able to use his heels to be active upon landing by pull his bum forward. However, I think it is likely that he and his coach noticed that though he hasn't quite mastered the double hitch kick, it probably also provides him with benefits that outweigh the cost, such as carrying his speed off the board effectively (if you have a quick turnover when sprinting, sometimes it's easier to keep cycling your legs), or countering forward rotation keeping his torso upright for a longer period of time in the flight phase. Often times perfecting your technique is about tricking yourself out of bad habits in one way or another. If I was coaching this athlete, I would have him continue using the double hitch kick, but we'd work on the arms and legs being in sync through the phases of the technique so that both legs come together in front of him with a bit more time to spare. Thanks for the comment, sorry my response was so long haha.

Thanks so much, I hope it was helpful!