Learn the scissors jump: side run-up, finding your take-off foot, clearing the bar with your legs — with mat, mistakes, rules and the path towards the flop.
The scissors jump is a high jump style in which you clear the bar with a scissoring movement of the legs: first the lead leg goes over the bar, then the take-off leg follows. As in any high jump, you take off from one foot [1]. It is the simplest style because you can perform it after a few run-ups and need no layout on your back.
The honest answer to whether it is worth it: not for great heights, but very much for getting started. The flop has prevailed over decades because it has the smallest difference between centre of mass and bar and a curved run-up uses centrifugal force [3]. In the scissors jump, however, you learn the essential thing: driving the lead leg out of the take-off. The state federation describes exactly this as a prerequisite for the flop from U14 [2].
Realistically you need three to four sessions until a scissors jump looks clean. That is an experience value; I did not find studies on it.
Run straight at it, jump up from one leg and land on both legs on the mat, over a small height [3]. You learn to jump upwards out of the run rather than forwards.
Milestone (practice standard): 10 jumps with a clean take-off, without missing the mat.
Test which leg you prefer to take off from. The other is your lead leg, which you swing up actively. In children's athletics the state federation trains exactly this driving of the respective lead leg [2].
Milestone: your take-off leg is clear and the take-off feels stable.
Run in diagonally from the side, on the lead-leg side [3]. Jump off, swing the lead leg up and bring the take-off leg after it. A rope or elastic band at a low height helps as a target.
Milestone: 8 out of 10 jumps with a clear leg change in the air.
Now the bar comes in, low at first. The legs may be bent, which makes clearing easier [3]. Land softly on the mat, eyes forward.
Milestone: 5 valid jumps in a row over your starting height.
Increase the height in small steps. As a competition or training form the teaching script names 10 to 15 scissors jumps without a recovery break, about 10 to 15 centimetres below your best [3].
Milestone: the technique stays clean even when you are tired.
High jump is a jump from a run onto a mat, and the risk lies in the landing. Never jump without a mat. The mat must be large enough and lie firmly. At take-off, ground reaction forces that are a multiple of body weight act on the take-off leg [5].
In a Japanese surveillance study with 51 and 54 collegiate jumpers in two seasons, the most common injury in high jumpers was tendinosis of the flexor hallucis longus (15.8 %) [5]. That is a small sample, but it shows that the take-off foot needs rest. Increase volume and height slowly.
This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach, especially once the bar goes higher than hip height.
If you later want to switch to the flop, look at the run-up. In a study of 13 male high jumpers (personal best 2.02 to 2.31 m), the centre of mass from a curved run-up reached on average about 5.5 centimetres more height than from a straight run-up, without the joints having to do more work for it [4]. That is not a statement about beginners, but it shows why the federation teaches the curved run-up from U14 [2]. Still, stay with the scissors jump until take-off and lead leg are in place.
A high jump in which you take off from one foot and clear the bar with a scissoring movement of the legs, lead leg first, then take-off leg [3]. It is the simplest high jump style and is taught as an entry in youth athletics [2].
From the leg you push up from most safely. The rules only require that you take off from one foot [1]. The other leg is your lead leg, which you swing up actively.
Because the flop has the smallest difference between centre of mass and bar and the curved run-up uses centrifugal force [3]. In the scissors jump the difference between centre of mass and bar is larger than in the flop, so you waste height.
For getting started, 4 to 6 steps are enough [3]. In federation basic training, the flop later uses about 5 to 8 steps with a straight and a curved part [2]. Start short and measure the run-up so that you hit the take-off point every time.
For competitions the rule book gives 0.7 metres height and at least 5 × 3 metres area [1]. For learning: the mat must catch your landing safely and must not slip. If unsure, take a larger one or ask a coach.
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