I’ve previously posted on the jerk and the variations in styles, but today I’d like to get just a little into the details of the split jerk footwork and serve as a primer for today’s lifts.  As Ruth mentioned, we learned a lot from our recent USAW certification and one of the technique nuances that Coach Bob Takano emphasized was that of the split jerk footwork.  He also has posted free articles on the finer points of the snatch and clean and jerk where he also hits some of these same points.  After your dip and drive, he states:

The rear foot should move rapidly backward, skimming the platform before coming to rest.  The front foot should lift clear of the platform before coming to rest.  The rear foot should strike first.  If the forefoot strikes first the athlete will be forced backwards, making it difficult to align the bar, ears, shoulders, and hips.  An imaginary vertical line should be capable of being dropped down through these points to provide soundest supportive structure.

The big take-away is to have the back foot stick its landing just before the front foot sticks its landing.  This will help you get under the bar better and into better alignment since we jerk front a position in front of center of gravity.  Since the bar path is pretty much vertical because our dip and drive is straight down and up the weight often tends to stay forward and this is a little trick to help you get under the bar and fail less jerks out in front.  Skim the back foot and prance the front foot were the cues Coach Takano used, and although he likened it to a 2-step, it made sense to Ruth and I and we’d like to incorporate it into our jerk technique training.  It might not make sense just by reading it here, so we’ll be sure to go over it more clearly before our jerks today.


WOD 11.13.10

Jerk 4×2

3 Rounds:
20 Overhead Lunges
100m Farmer’s Walk
10 Ring Dips

1 Response to “Split Jerk Footwork”

jeff stoehr
November 15, 2010 at 4:44 PM

Hey Sean… great stuff to share with us all. Very cool getting the BRONZE!!!!!! Oh yes Jack is looking to set the wheels in motion to transfer to App State…