The Opening
Blocks to H1, H1 to H2, and the Slide
Blocks to H1 is its own event. H1 to H2 is another. From H2 on, find the rhythm and slide toward max velocity.
- 1Three Races in One1 screenThe race has three structures with three different jobs.
- 2The Big Four2 screensFour big, long, strong steps that whack the track back and reach a measured fourth-step mark.
- 3Dribble, Then Mike Tyson3 screensThe dribble quickens the hands and feet into H1. The Mike Tyson organizes the upper body's force over it.
- 4H1 to H22 screensStill an acceleration interval. Strike hard, restore the front side, dribble the last two contacts into the next Tyson.
- 5The Slide1 screenEach interval faster than the last, until max velocity, then hold it ideally through H9.
- 6Timing Standards2 screensThe founder's practice numbers for blocks to H1 and the hurdle intervals.
- 7Accurate Hurdling at the Opening2 screensMark the step locations. Take off and touch down in the right place, then build the season around accuracy.
Three Races in One
The race has three structures with three different jobs.
Three Structures
Blocks to H1 is its own event.H1 to H2 is its own event.H2 through H10 share one philosophy: find the rhythm.
The Big Four
Four big, long, strong steps that whack the track back and reach a measured fourth-step mark.
Four Big Steps
Big splits on steps one and two.Match the front-leg and back-leg shin angles.Whack the track behind you, with maximum force.
- Response
- Strike the track hard behind you
- Meaning
- Big Four strike direction
- Response
- Long, powerful, charging steps
- Meaning
- Big Four intent at the ABCs
Coach notes
- Drive knees and arms in straight lines forward and back. About 45-degree back and shin angles. Reach the measured step-four location with the required shin angle.
- At the ABCs: "four big long steps. Still whacking back, still good sprint mechanics, but you're big and you're strong and you're charging up."
Negative Shin Angles
The two-step and four-step starts aim at measured marks.The goal there is negative shin angles.
Dribble, Then Mike Tyson
The dribble quickens the hands and feet into H1. The Mike Tyson organizes the upper body's force over it.
The Dribble
After the Big Four, the approach steps shorten.The hands lower and quicken so the feet can quicken.Seven-stepper: quick 5-6-7. Eight-stepper: quick 5-6-7-8.
Coach notes
- The founder corrected an earlier reading: the dribble is the fast, low-handed motion that resembles the lane line drill. The dribble leads into the Mike Tyson; they are not the same thing.
Open
- Unresolved The dribble has no independent mechanical description beyond the low quick hands and the lane-line resemblance.
Two Uppercuts, Same Hand
Going over H1 the trail arm swings back.On landing it punches forward.Swing it back and punch forward again, as hard as you can.
“He'll hit a guy with two uppercuts in a row with the same hand. ... That motion is kind of what has to happen to get over a hurdle.”
Coach notes
- The name comes from watching Mike Tyson fights: Tyson often knocked people out by throwing two uppercuts in a row with the same hand.
- Canon describes the same double punch from the lead-arm side: forward through the hurdle, back with a big elbow as the lead leg lands, forward again with the next contact. The founder identifies the double punch as a generator of speed through H1.
Open
- Ambiguity The walkthrough describes the Tyson through the trail arm; the earlier canon unit describes it through the lead arm. Both are preserved; the founder has not reconciled them.
Knock Somebody Out at H1
Punch harder into H1 than over hurdles two to ten.The Mike Tyson is what the upper body does to organize that force.
“This is the first one, so you have to knock somebody out in the first one.”
- Response
- Two hard same-arm punches over H1
- Meaning
- Upper-body force organization at hurdle one
Coach notes
- Clearing a real barrier at speed makes the body look for balance and counterbalance to generate force. The Mike Tyson is the founder's answer to what the upper body should do with it.
- The lower body was already specified: thigh to chest, forward lean, heel to butt. The Mike Tyson is the arm action that goes with left-left.
Open
- Needs the founder Whether the Mike Tyson appears at any hurdle after the first, and what the upper body cue is from H2 on.
H1 to H2
Still an acceleration interval. Strike hard, restore the front side, dribble the last two contacts into the next Tyson.
A Mini Tyson
H1 to H2 is still accelerating.Strike hard with forward shin angles.Get the hands and feet back in front and dribble into the next Tyson.
Above the Lead Knee, Then Stay Forward
Position matters most at H1, and it governs every hurdle.Be above the lead knee so you can step down over the hurdle.Then hold forward posture through the whole race.
Coach notes
- Shoulders do not open left or right. No rocking back and forth like a rocking chair.
- Efficiency of movement, ground-contact time generated by proper stiffness, and the Slide are the other governing race variables.
KU-011The Slide
Each interval faster than the last, until max velocity, then hold it ideally through H9.
Every Interval Faster
H1 to H2 is the slowest interval.Each interval after it is faster than the one before.Reach max velocity, then hold it, ideally through H9.
- H1-H2
- H2-H3
- H3-H4
- H4-H5
- ...
- to max velocity
- hold through H9
H1 to H2 is the slowest interval.
Coach notes
- At the ABCs this becomes a measurable pass condition: if H1 to H2 is not in the low 1.0s, the athlete is still doing it right as long as 2 to 3 is faster than 1 to 2, and 3 to 4 faster than 2 to 3.
Open
- Unresolved Where max velocity is reached, and interval-timing conventions, are not yet defined.
Timing Standards
The founder's practice numbers for blocks to H1 and the hurdle intervals.
Blocks to H1
2.80 is unacceptable. 2.50 is very good.The goal is into the 2.4-second range.
| Time | Founder reading |
|---|---|
| 2.80 s | unacceptable |
| 2.50 s | very good |
| 2.50 to 2.80 s | range observed in practice |
| 2.4 s range | development goal |
Coach notes
- These are the founder's athlete-specific practice standards. Timing conventions and hurdle specifications are not attached to them.
- In one filmed practice review summarized in a secondary source, the founder framed the reps to H1 as a progression: the A rep can be slow, B about 2.7, C about 2.6.
KU-013The Intervals
After H2: under one second per interval.The goal is 0.99 or faster.
| Interval | Founder numbers |
|---|---|
| H1 to H2 before faster development | consistently 1.1x s |
| H1 to H2, favorable | 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04 s |
| H1 to H2, less favorable | 1.09, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12 s |
| Each later interval, goal | 0.99 s or faster |
KU-013Accurate Hurdling at the Opening
Mark the step locations. Take off and touch down in the right place, then build the season around accuracy.
Where to Look
The locations of the first four steps from the blocks, or at least step four.The H1 takeoff step and the cut step.Ideal takeoff and touchdown at every hurdle after.
Coach notes
- Cones or stripes mark the desired step locations. Each takeoff and touchdown has its own athlete-specific measurement.
- At the ABCs the founder narrows it to: second or fourth step, then the cut step, in the right place.
Open
- Unresolved Tolerance bands, exact measurements and measurement reliability for each checkpoint.
Hips Forward, Not Up
Takeoff: far enough from the hurdle, sending the hips forward and not up.In one review the founder asked for a takeoff about 2.4 meters or more from the hurdle.
Coach notes
- This comes from a third-person summary of one video review for one athlete. It is an example of a founder target, not a general prescription; takeoff distance is athlete-specific.
- The same review notes that pulling a sled earlier in a session lengthened ground contacts: "We need you popping off the ground."
PRAC-VID