Topic: New Utah State Record!

[Carl Darby]

Dave,

I don't understand this "high hip" technique you are talking about. Perhaps you could help me out by giving me some links to videos of lifts where the technique your a talking about is apparent, and others where it is not. A description of what to look for would also help.

[Dave Almeida]

Taylor's been doing that to ensure getting the bar high enough.

There has been a sea change of lifters going w/ a high hip kick in the last decade or two.

Has anyone got experience w/ a straight arms way of getting the height, even w/ longish arms?

I don't have as long of limbs as Taylor does but when i had problems with bar contact being too low i did 2 things:
waited on my entire foot longer before finishing the pull
better knee rebend in the second pull while simultaneously holding the shoulders over the bar

other than finish the pull, those are the only two cues i use with myself now on the pull portion of the lift. keeping the entire foot planted longer until the last possible second, if all positions are held proper, helps improve timing in my opinion (my opinion may not be applicable to everyone of course).

disregard the fact that he has long arms, that really is a non issue to an extent (unless he is collar to collar in the snatch) because he can always move his grip out farther while keeping straight arms. it is more of an issue for someone like koklyaev where he can't move his grip out any further.  try to find lifters with longer legs and see how they approach the set position before lifting and experiment with it. never stop experimenting until you find a technique that is strong and produces the most consistent bar path for that individual lifter.

[Dave Chiu]

Good points DA!!

CD -- watch and re-watch the NBCOlympic.com archives, keeping count of how many A session lifters pop the bar ABOVE the crotch for Cleans as well as SN.  Compare w/ the '88 archive listed here on WE a few months ago (from the Korean site), and you'll see the change in the last 20 yrs.

I used to think that it was just anatomy that made Naim and Reza lift so distinctly (probably still so in the latter case), but watching all the others of many shapes and sizes also do it was a revelation to me. 

It was a big difference to see ALL the lifts covered at these Olympics to make the difference clear.

[Carl Darby]

Thanks Dave. I see what you are talking about now. My problem was thinking this technique was more recent, like within the last 5 years. I was also looking for a technique where pulling with overly bent arms would not be a distinct disadvantage. Like Dave Almeida said, making sure to finish the first pull with heels firmly planted and possibly widening the grip will get the bar where its wanted without bent arms.