i wrote this a while back for some heptathletes i was helping for a time, maybe it could come in use......
it's a basic over view of the throw, in the hoping that those new to the sport with little understanding could maybe understand things a bit better.
the text goes along with this photo sequence........
www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/javelin/photo.htmThe javelin throwSimply, the javelin throw can be split in to three main sections - 1. The carry, 2. the X over phase and 3. The delivery with recovery.
I will explain in turn the role each has during the throw.
The carryThis initial phase of the throw is key as it sets the athlete up for the rest of the throw. The carry is when the athlete starts at a predetermined marker to start his/her approach and is initiated with a front on position where the athlete holds the javelin above head height and toward the throwing direction.
The athlete can now start his/her approach, the athlete should start the run in a controlled manner but with focus and determination and should think about good posture, running technique and relaxation, as this helps the athlete achieve maximum running speed – the more speed the athlete is able to control and transfer from run up to javelin at delivery the better.
The carry can be as long or as short as the individual athlete prefers, it doesn’t matter – it should be comfortable and be enough time to be able to be running at almost full speed just before the second main phase the X overs, however it shouldn’t be so long the athlete begins to decelerate.
A quick word on sightlines, by sightlines this basically means where your eyes are looking. Your sightline should be fixed on a fixed object down the middle of the field, you mustn’t take your eyes off this as this gives you a better chance of running properly and straight – try running looking in the wrong direction, it’s difficult, we want to to make things simple plus it gives you a sight to aim at, for beginners often where you look is where the javelin goes.
The X over phaseThe main difference between this phase and the carry is the 1. The javelin is brought back to arms length and to shoulder height [this is called the “withdrawl” and then the body position changes to a more ‘side on’ approach, the withdrawl is usually for most taken over the first one and a half or two X overs – the reason why the athlete withdrawls the javelin to arms length is so the javelin is as far away from the body as possible in an attempt to maximise the length of pull on the javelin when the actual delivery sequence begins, try and imagine the shoulder as a fixed point and the arm rotates from this, remembering the longer the time the athlete has available to apply the power to the javelin in the hand the better. The athlete has a ‘side on’ approach as this creates a stretch up through the body when the throw commences, and pre-loads the muscles by stretching them, I will explain more about this stretch as it’s vital to the throw later on. See photo 1 as this shows Steve Backley just performing the X overs with arm well back and hand high – note the sight line [where he is looking] and the flowing left arm.
The actual X overs should be performed where the right leg goes past the left leg and then the left leg is then pushed forward and driven to the ground and then again the right is driven past the left again and so on – this sequence is usually for 5 strides – LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT and THROW. It always begins with the left foot first, this is the same for 3 stride throws, 5 stride throws or full run-up throws.
After the first left, right, left the athlete performs what’s known as “the impulse stride” or “run off” and it’s where the athlete drives and extends off the left leg [check out picture 4] and then crucially brings the left foot past the right just before the right hits the ground, if you see picture 6 you can see the left foot has advanced further than the right as the right makes contact with the floor. The reason why we do this “impulse” is for a few reasons 1. it gives the us time to get our left past the right early so we can get into a good throwing power position and 2. it actually drives and propels us into the throw. At this time it’s important to note the upper body hasn’t moved – only the left arm has been moving freely to aid running and balance, see how Steve has stayed “tall” and his body doesn’t collapse this shows good posture and also note how controlled the javelin point is – it doesn’t move, a javelin that doesn’t move during this phase is more likely to have all the power delivered “through” the javelin – if the javelin does move around there’s much more chance of the power being delivered across, over or under the javelin and this will limit the distance and cause a poor flight. The motion of the footwork during this phase should be described as “powerful” and “active” this means the legs must be worked hard and be like a sprinting action where the feet are clawed to the ground for fast contacts – acceleration is key here or at least try to maintain the speed attained from the carry phase.
The Delivery with recoveryThe delivery begins as soon as the right foot contacts the ground after the “run off” or impulse stride” and is triggered by the right foot/knee/hip [lower right side] driving forward onto the left, see pictures 8,9,10 and see how Steve is driving the lower right side forward before the left leg makes contact, in doing this he’s maximising the run up speed he has gained and allowing for it to continue into delivery and also he’s creating separation of the hip axis and shoulder axis, this is to create the stretch in his muscles I talked of earlier, this is where the muscles are stretched through the bodies torque and it’s this stretch - shortening sequence of the muscles that’s vital – this stretch is known as “stretch reflex” if you see picture 12 imagine the stretch going up through the right leg, hip, chest, shoulder and arm, the sequence doesn’t quite show Steve at final left foot plant contact, just as his spikes in his heel make contact but if it did, you’d see the hips almost fully turned towards the direction of the throw, while the shoulders are still side on, a good analogy for imagining the stretch and the forces involved is to get a plastic flexible ruler [like you had at school] and bend it backwards and let go, whilst holding it firmly at the base – now imagine bending it backwards but this time twisting it as well it’s now got two forces acting upon it, this is similar to javelin throwing, the only difference is in the javelin throw it’s a sequenced release. When the left foot makes contact and makes “the plant” into the throw it must stay as braced as possible, this is so that gained run up speed is transferred from run up, up the body and hopefully to the javelin it should be a sudden “jolt” of the left foot plant contacting the ground that initiates the actual throw - all the speed gained on the run up is driven against it and it’s sort of like riding a bike and if you put the front brake on whilst going fast you’d just go over the handle bars and it’s just the same – the upper body and javelin follows over the braced left leg. A note on the actual throwing arm during the delivery sequence, if you look through Steve’s pictures he has quite a high arm on the flip side to this Jan Zelezny had a wide low arm, however the action should be as natural as possible to the individual, generally though it’s should be taught a higher arm best as this helps prevent elbow injuries that a low wide arm can cause, as a general rule the athlete must try to get the elbow to lead the throw and be above shoulder line.
Once the delivery has been completed and the javelin has left the hand the athlete must have a recovery, this is where the athlete can stop after the throw to save against foul throws by going over the line. It is done by continuing the bodies momentum, high over the solid left leg as seen in pictures 15 and 16 and it’s usually completed by one or two recovery steps, I prefer two as when trying to teach one recovery step the athlete bails out of the throw and doesn’t fully commit to the throw, however with two recovery strides it gives you time to continue to drive and keep momentum travelling towards the throwing direction.