High jump

“ The run for the long jump with such weights would be very similar, the chief difference being that while in the high jump the weights are thrown away at the moment of jumping, in the long jump they are retained. ”

“ One of the most interesting figures in the jumping competitions, the champion jump rider of Belgium, appeared in a finely-fitting uniform, with black coat, and blue riding breeches. A lithe figure with the moustachios of the Continental officer, he had a perfect seat, and took the jumps, and rode his horse at top speed at the high jump instead of at a canter, as is usually thought necessary for high jumping. ”

“ Bringing down the foot with such power serves to throw the body into the air, and this movement is aided by the lifting of the arms. The hardest strain comes on the back muscles, just as in high-jumping. The eyes should be fixed on some distant high point rather than on the ground where the jump will probably end. This seems to give a better "aim," and in many cases adds an inch or so to the distance. The fourth picture shows the jumper just after he has left the take-off. ”

“ While all jumping may be done in one pit, where the space is available it is better to have one pit for the high jumps, one for the running broad, one for hop, step and jump, another for the pole vault. ”

“ In the long jump the athlete employs all the impetus he can acquire by a sprint of about 30 yards. The ideal aimed at is to run at the fastest speed which is [298] consistent with reaching the taking-off board with accuracy, and then to leap as high as possible. A fraction of an inch under 25 feet has been cleared on two occasions, although it may be said that anything over 24 feet is exceptional, and that any jumper capable of 23 feet consistently has a good chance to win an Amateur Championship. The high jump requires skill of a very peculiar character. ”

“ Standing High Jump.—The competitors may stand as they please, but must jump from the first spring. The hight of the bar at starting and at each successive elevation, shall be determined by a majority of the qualified competitors. ”

“ The question of the long jump is more interesting, as it still forms a part of our contests. It is not certain whether the old Greeks practised the running jump, or the high jump, for we never hear of a preliminary start, or of any difficulty about “breaking trig,” as people now call it. ”

“ They clearly show the exact position and form of an athlete at the various stages of action in the running high jump, and a careful study of them will prove of great usefulness to any one desirous of perfecting himself in this particular branch of out-door athletics. The striking feature of the series is that it proves that a man practically steps over the bar with one stride, instead of flying over it in a compact bunch as he appears to do when watched by the naked eye. ”

“ In the palæstra and the gymnasium, leaping was practised in many different ways, as through a hoop, or over a rope. That the high jump also was practised is evident from the fact that the athletes leaped not only over pointed poles fixed in the ground, but also over one another’s heads, after the manner of modern circus performers. ”

“ The form of the standing high is the same, except that the jumper stands about a foot away from the bar, side turned toward it. As in the broad jump, she may gather speed by swinging the arms and rocking on the toes until strength is summoned for the spring. The feet must not leave the ground until the spring is made. ”

“ Begin with a few jumps about twelve feet or so, taking your run for them slowly, starting about twenty yards off and quickening in the last few strides. The great object to be guarded against is taking off to far from the mark, or getting out of step in the run; this can only be obviated by practicing at a certain distance until the necessary swing of the last few strides is acquired. The run to the jump cannot be too fast; in the air the legs should be raised as in going over a high jump, and thrown as far forward on landing as can be done with both heels close together. ”

“ To start from the mark also needs practice, and one of the methods of mastering this feat is to run slowly to a point about nine paces short of the starting place. In training Pg 25 this point may be marked by a piece of paper. Then sprint from the paper to the starting place. Experts are able to jump twenty-four feet, and a leap of twenty-two is excellent, but not many can hope to reach these lengths.
The High Jump.—Here the athlete begins his run to the centre of the bar slowly, then he increases his speed a little, finishing with a quick run and a bound. ”

“ If this modus operandi is paid attention to, the muscles will soon become accustomed to the sharp contraction required, and the legs will, by keeping them well together over low jumps and alighting on both feet, lose their tendency to straddle when a higher jump than usual is attempted.
Some, when in practice for high jumps, strengthen their muscles by standing on one leg and lowering the body down until the hams touch the heels, and then raising themselves up gradually again. ”

“ A good jumper can clear a reed the height of his own chin. For the long jump a flat stone is put in position to take off from, and the mark which counts is that made by the jumper’s feet in landing, whether he falls backwards or not. For the “jump-and-kick” [83] (nshü) the jumper makes a standing jump and while in the air kicks with both feet together at some mark such as a leaf stuck on the end of an upright spear. It is quite common for a man to be able to kick a mark as high above his head as he can reach with his hand. ”

“ Then the word is given, and, steadying himself on his two sticks he points his skis straight down towards the jump. He shoves off with his sticks, leaving them standing in the snow (for no jumper uses sticks when he jumps, which would be highly dangerous) , and at swiftly accelerating speed glides down the slope. As he approaches the jumping-platform he crouches low, and just as he traverses it he springs upwards and forwards into the air. High above your head, a veritable flying man, he soars, with all the impetus that his run and his spring have given him. ”

“ Although strength and good physical condition are essential to efficiency in pole-vaulting, skill is a much more important element. Broad-jumping with the pole, though the original form of the sport, has never found its way 1nto organized athletics, the high jump being the only form recognized. The object is to clear a bar or lath supported upon two uprights without knocking it down. ”

“ In bucking, the spring is taken from one leg, and the alight comes on the other; so that the jump, instead of being an actual interruption of the regular strides, as happens when the spring and the alight come on the same leg, is merely an exaggerated stride. The advantage of bucking is apparent to anyone who has tried both systems under favorable circumstances, and who is strong enough to bear the strain which the high hurdles require. The lower the hurdles are, the greater is the superiority of bucking over jumping. ”

“ In my own case there were two restraining influences, and I wish to dwell on both as a hint to parents. I was a very eager little athlete: thanks to instructions and photographs in a book on athletics belonging to Vernon, I found out how to jump and how to run. To jump high one had to take but a short run from the side and straighten oneself horizontally as one cleared the bar. By constant practice I could at thirteen walk under the bar and then jump it. ”

“ The jump should be high. Many coaches teach the girls to jump over a bar, thus forming a habit of getting height. It is always well to fix your eye on a point about four feet high and beyond the distance you can jump. ”

“ High-jumping should also be practised, but the athlete should not attempt to become proficient in the number of inches he can clear, but rather in the form with which he covers a reasonable height. A spin now and then over the hurdles will also do a great deal toward improving a broad-jumper's form. ”

“ If you want to take up jumping as a specialty, spend the winter, or the in-door season, in pulling weights so as to strengthen the back and chest, and in going through leg motions to fortify the limbs. No one can ever succeed as a high-jumper unless he has a well-developed chest and back. As will be seen later on, the strain on the dorsal muscles is practically what lifts the man over the bar. ”

“ The standing two, three, five and ten jumps are merely repetitions of the single jump, care being taken to land with the proper balance to begin the next leap. The record for two jumps without weights is 22 ft. ”

“ The act of the jump itself is where the greatest effort of muscle and nerve is required. Just before coming to the take-off, say at the last step, the athlete should gather himself together and crouch as low as his great speed will permit, and bring his jumping foot down as hard as possible upon the take-off, at the same time throwing his hands forward and upward. ”

“ Moreover, the balance, when helped in this way, never improves, but remains permanently bad.
Correct position, narrow track, complete command of the different swings—all those things, in fact, which distinguish good style from bad—mean economy of force, and are therefore eminently practical. To say that jumping is a useless accomplishment may at first sight appear justifiable. In one sense there is not much practical use in jumping, for occasions are not very often met with in the course of a tour where a jump is the only way, or even the safest way, out of a difficulty. ”

“ The glad word is passed round the hotel one evening that some famous ski-jumper has arrived and will give an exhibition next day; and next day, accordingly, you trudge out on to the slope where the jump has been erected. This is a long steep hillside, and the platform for the jump has been put up some hundred yards from the top of it. It is a champion jumper who has arrived, and the apparatus is on the big scale. Out from the slope of the hill is this platform, built in the manner of a dormer window in a house-roof or a header-board above a pool. ”

“ The jumper, who starts some distance up the hill, descends at top speed, stoops as he nears the take-off and launches himself into the air with all his force. He maintains an erect position until he reaches the ground, alighting with bended knees, on both feet, one a little in advance of the other, and “giving” with his legs to overcome the force of the fall and to preserve his balance. Another feature is double jumping, performed by two persons hand in hand. ”

“ When a jumper comes down on his heels, instead of jumping from his toes, he is apt to make the skipping injurious by jarring his back. The players jump in turn over a long rope turned by two of the players. ”

“ You may read a dozen volumes about jumping, Tom, but a dozen jumps will teach you a dozen times as much as the printer's ink. And remember that a standing or an irregular jump, even if small, or that the leap of a pony, is harder to sit than a well-timed jump of twice the dimensions on a full grown horse. I have been nearly dismounted in teaching a new horse much oftener than in the hunting-field. It is only when your horse comes down, or when a bad jumper rushes at his fence and then swerves or refuses suddenly, that there is any grave danger of a fall in riding to hounds. ”

“ As he comes down the jumper should hold his feet as far forward as he can, in order to gain every inch that is to be had, and he should also keep his head and arms forward, so as not to lose his equilibrium and fall backward, thus making his jump void. ”

“ The man who wants to make a long jump is much more likely to stand than the one who merely wants not to fall.
Short Directions for the Jump.—Run in normal position until within about 15 yards of the platform’s edge (not so close if running very fast) , then bring your feet level and, keeping your knees pressed together and well forwards, crouch down as low as possible. When the hands can touch the ankles draw them right back. ”

“ In a graceful curve, with tip upturned, it balances and guides him through the air in a jump which will cover over forty times his own length, equivalent to a performance of two hundred and forty feet by a human jumper. The instant he strikes, the jumper soars away again like a bird, at right angles to his first jump, and zigzags here and there through the air, so fast and so far as to baffle even the swift hawk and the dogged weasel.
Every day Mr. Jumping Mouse washes and polishes his immaculate self, and draws his long silky tail through his mouth until every hair shines. ”

“ Although called "Jumpers," they only jump in a minority of the experiments, the word jumping really including all such phenomena as lifting the shoulders, raising the hands, striking, throwing, crying, and tumbling. Jumpers have been known to fall head over heels over an embankment on which they were sitting, on suddenly hearing the whistle of a locomotive ”

“ THE JUMP AND HALTERES Jumping is not a military exercise but an amusement of peace. It is useful, of course, at times for a soldier to be able to leap over any obstacle in his way. But the Homeric chieftain was not suitably dressed for such feats of agility, whether he went to war in Mycenaean style with his long-shadowing spear and towerlike shield reaching down to his feet, or like the later hoplite arrayed in panoply of bronze. For flight or pursuit he trusted in his chariot and horses. ”

“ A man in making a standing jump, or a dive, raises his heels and throws his weight on his toes as he crouches for the spring, i.e. before he begins the upward movement of the spring itself. In this way his centre of gravity is brought exactly above the point from which he will push off.
A ski-jumper as he crouches for the spring keeps his foot flat on the ski and his centre of gravity over the middle of his foot, instead of over the toes. ”