A prolegomenon to qualitative analysis of the high jump technique

Technique training is one of the most important components of high jump training (Killing, 1996). Since technique training in athletics can be defined as an individual process of approaching a given technical model, technical models play a crucial role in efficient technique training (Tidow, 1981, 1990). However, recent qualitative analysis of the high jump technique faces a difficulty in presenting strict technical models (Ritzdorf, 2008b). The purpose of this study was to reveal the problems that hinder the development of qualitative analysis of the high jump technique, and to identify the necessary steps for further research. The basic concept, objective, and methodology of the qualitative analysis of techniques in sport were discussed. Previous studies that could be regarded as providing qualitative analysis of the high jump technique were then collected, referring to lists of relevant literature (Schiffer, 2005a, 2005b, 2009). These studies were critically reviewed, and the development of qualitative analysis of the high jump technique was summarized. In the 1970s, the flop technique was classified into two types: the speed flop and the power flop (Doherty, 1977; Tancic, 1978). In the following decade, coaches and researchers began to think that power floppers were “extinct,” and the speed flop became the dominant technique in the high jump (e.g. Killing, 1989). However, subsequent analyses of the high jump technique revealed that there were many technical variations of the speed flop (Killing, 1994b, 1994c), and analysts faced a dilemma in that although a strict technical model was needed to optimize technique training, the high jump allows a wide range of technical variation, and thus technical models cannot be restrictive. This dilemma resulted from the rigid dichotomy between the speed flop and the power flop. However, techniques in sport are not rigid dogmas, but are in a state of continuous development (Meinel, 1960, p. 249). Thus, this dilemma can be resolved by updating the classification of the flop technique, and it is concluded that this update should be further subjected to qualitative analysis.