A New Year's Serve

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A Tennis Lesson on Backhand Witnessed in Winston-Salem

The high-priced instructor, although he always played with a two hand backhand himself,
was working on the one hander of his student.

"Get lower," he said. "Get even lower than that."

All exchange of information for one hour concerned getting lower.

The next day, I came back to the same court. The student, Filipino, was there but
not the instructor. We did nothing but trade backhands.

When it was over, this student said he liked my one hander but thought I wasn't
getting around on it quite enough to hit sharply crosscourt.

That's why I'm excited now about the sharper angles I'm achieving after watching
new videos on one handers at Tennis Player by Doug King.

When I use the word "new," I mean not only new to me but at least at some point
new to Doug himself.

Confession: I only believe in sportsmen and coaches who are in a constant state
of change, the idea being "You're either getting better or getting worse."

In the various courses and lessons by Doug King he always keeps a space open
for late realization that comes presumably from teaching many students and also
by always being open to new exploration.

Among new realizations: 1) If one starts to lower bod while taking racket to the side
instead of back one can then complete the backswing with racket coming up as
foot glides out thus using two phases rather than one in getting low, 2) One can
pull front hip slightly backward as part of bod straightening to square up a racket
that was slightly open, 3) The subsequent rip caused by clenching the two
shoulderblades toward one another works best if it starts at the moment the
racket gets square.

Also, one will come upon the occasional cue one didn't notice in earlier video--
on backhand the signal to straighten with hip coming backward when knuckles
graze the inside of the ball.

Which combines easily with earlier suggestion to let the major muscle groups
naturally conquer the resisting smaller groups busy at work to keep the racket
tip back so that that tip will fling at last like one thumb stubbing against the other.

Finally, one sees a way to shorten the racket work behind one thanks to the new
space created by initially taking racket out to side. Result: more economy within
the stroke without significant loss of power.

Goal: To install the described moves then make the whole "absolutely seamless."
Click on "One Hand Backhand Racquet Kata" (https://tennisone.tennisplayer.net/m...e.outline.html).

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Using Correct Definition of "Pronation" to Develop Last-Instant-before-Contact Kata
on both Forehand and Serve

On forehand, one can use golfy hip and bod motion to bring slow racket sideways and
open right up to lower quadrant of the ball.

Pronation (internal roll of forearm) can then square up strings to back of the ball.

ISR (internal shoulder rotation) volleyball spike combined with power cord snap can then
provide huge short tract acceleration on both the ball and spin on the ball.

On serve, pronation (again, internal roll of forearm) can change theoretical contact
of racket on ball from outside quadrant to back of ball (high five) before upper arm
twist takes over in a huge volleyball spike though characterized by going up.

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Great Chunking Possibility

The extensive "chunking" that occurs in Doug King tennis instruction would be
useful even in strokes that carry design different from his.

Chunkng is simply a term pertaining to the question of what belongs with what.
We combine our chunks of experience or desired experience in different ways.
First we figure out the size each chunk ought to be, particularly if we seek best
possible rhythm along with movement that is dramatically animal-like.

Another unique aspect of the Doug King body of video work is the extent to
which Doug encourages a student to make her or his own design.

"I will be your guide," he says while leaving final decisions to the student.
This is hardly command style tennis instruction which also can work
especially with dolts.

In the following forehand video (https://tennisone.tennisplayer.net/m...e.outline.html)
"Racquet and Live Ball Stroking," I am greatly influenced by body move to the
ball of Christine, King's assistant pro. The same move exists in the forehands
of King himself but is less easy to identify because his seamless stroke is so well
seasoned/armored. I know from my experiences in rowing that the more practiced
a stroke the more difficult to discern the different parts.

When I try to combine down and up backswing with arm fall and body move
to inner bottom quadrant of ball, I feel that the chunking thus achieved is
new.

More specifically, down and up is a chunk. Arm down and body then to the
ball is another chunk thus permitting one briefly to feel just a bit like Jose
Iglesias, the Detroit Tigers shortstop. But these are learning chunks. Eventually
there will be two chunks only-- backswing and foreswing, i.e., 1-2 rhythm.

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When Should Upper Body Do its Lateral Stretch?

That's an old question regardless of the serving motion one uses.

It refers to the reverse "husking" one adds to the ongoing body bend,
i.e., a clenching of the two shoulderblades toward one another.

Mark Phillippoussis said he arches through the whole serve, but for
all we know he may have meant longitudinal and lateral arch both.

By going into kata mode without a racket we ought to be able to
answer the title question.

(https://tennisone.tennisplayer.net/m...e.outline.html). Go to "Serve
Kata Training, Part 2 ."

What are the parts we see today?

Hips turn and hand separation.

Shoulders turn with toss.

Tossing arm hold with hitting arm fall and curlicues and shoulder lift
to grab the ball and forward hips turn lifting right heel up with upper
arm and body still winding back.

Volleyball spike and scarecrow arm finish. Would want to have laterally
arched before then.

In watching the video I see lateral arch occurring in the stage of "while
still winding the upper arm back."

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Learning to Move

People, as Doug King explains, take much longer than animals to learn how to walk.

In considering the forehand that Doug explains and demonstrates, I note that much
of the effort Doug has put into making students like Robert Redford function more like
one's furred friends has to do with rhythm.

I find down and up backswing followed by second arm drop to be more rhythmic
than a simple lift and drop which may or may not prove faster.

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Note: I'm not "Guest." I'm "Bottle." And I was talking about a Doug King
influenced forehand although Doug never claims proprietorship of anything.

Hand Hand Hand Bod Bod

It's a lie from the first word, of course, as most tennis instruction is.

It's fiction here with the altruistic goal in mind, reader, of making
you live better.

The first word "hand," is part of a "unit turn" in which the bod rotates
45 degrees.

That doesn't matter. Dennis Ralston said to lead with the hand, and
his advice will never hurt you.

So hand goes down. Then it goes up. (As bod turns all it still can,
a second lie.) Then hand drops as nothing else moves and this
is the truth.

Then bod including some smooth rotation of the hips takes the
somewhat open racket despite one's semiwestern grip right up
to lower inside quadrant of back of the ball.

There may be some lie in that too in that you feel you are making
a catch, an act which is apt to include subtle movement of the hand.
The lie here is in calling this particular move or kata all bod.

Then comes a whopper-- the idea that your racket scrapes the ball
in three different places.

Doesn't matter. Your effort to brush soft twice and hard once increases
dwell from .004 second to .006 .

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How I Want it to Work

As if you cared, reader. But some of you do. Others read this thread for different reasons.

Concealment is a perennial theme in tennis philosophy. To me, it should be a last flourish.
Basics should be mastered first.

When I say I'll build the backswing for my new topspin forehand on that for my McEnrueful--
a flat shot-- I propose an interesting experiment.

I'll not however abandon direct lift backswing. The direct lift will show me where to go with
a U-shaped lift. And of course I'll go with either or both if I think that will help me win.

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Continued

Working from "Lift, Fall, Roll" mantra, why not try the lift of John McEnroe-- especially since
in my own case I already have a McEnrueful (sad that it isn't a John McEnroe forehand), a
flat shot that's pure body blow.

To lift the arm and racket as in a conventional loop but stop it like a paper cutter about to
fall takes energy.

Reaching the exact same spot with an underhand bowl takes less energy, I would submit,
and so I am going to do it to make my backswing for all forehands more golf-like and
consistent.

The significant difference between a McEnrueful and a topspin forehand-- in backswing--
will be composite vs. semiwestern grip.

Practicing the two shots in strict alternation should be fun.

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In Search of Better Fall Design for Forehand

I speak not of the autumnal but of something related to gravity.

If your main plot is to sneak up on the ball then envelop and fling it, some
gravity drop should add to the effortlessness of getting there.

Well, how much? How high should the racket be before you drop it?
And should it be stopped, like Doug King's, no matter with what brevity
or delay? Probably.

And should you roll the strings more closed as you drop them? Why is
that necessary if one believes in open-faced approach to lower inside
quadrant of the ball as if to catch it? Because-- perhaps-- one wants
to load the forearm by rolling it backward late.

I'm thinking that moderate height of the elbow will suffice. I'd like forearm,
not turning elbow, to caress the ball from bottom to back. Since I'm saving
socket roll (Internal Shoulder Rotation) for the big push with elbow to crank
over upper outside quadrant while moving slightly backward in a volleyball
spike.

When best do the major body contributions fit into this scheme?

First try at an answer which isn't an answer yet: Reject the Nike myth
"Just Do It." Give body specific tasks shortly before and during contact
(https://tennisone.tennisplayer.net/m...ng.flow/course
.outline.html) through clicking under forehand training category on
"Racquet and Live Ball Stroking."

To ask a question is the beginning of an answer.

Study Christine's body actions to get to lower edge of ball.

One mantra heard here: "Lift, Fall, Roll."

That would be backward roll, right?

(The key video here can also be found by going to the tennisone cache
and looking for Flow Course.)

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Revision of Micro-counts for 1HBH

"So I want three micro-counts on one hand backhand side too: 1) lower right hand
under left hand to spear butt to outside, 2) slide knuckles along inside edge of ball,
3) square racket by retracting right hip as body and arm straighten."

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Hmm

This elusive stuff must be perfectly understood. The body elongating with front hip coming slightly back also
straightens arm passively from the elbow, does it not? Which is part of squaring the strings, no?

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Here's How to Do it

http://www.npr.org/event/music/14142...y-desk-concert

When I circled back and clicked on that link it didn't work. So go to hilaryhahn.com then
click on tiny desk concert.

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Editing

Note on previous post: I made some editorial changes. What they are is less interesting than what
the whole thing now says or is trying to say. In number 2 for one hand backhand, "soft movement of arm and
strings to almost put strings on lower right quadrant" it could be noted and so I do: When one moves the
arm like that one can get the racket head to go farther if one doesn't close strings at the same time. A
bit of delayed straightening of arm from elbow helps.

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Different 1-2-3's

I currently am using three micro-counts soon to be forgotten to catch the ball and fling it
on the forehand side, viz., 1) a soft meeting of open strings with lower left quadrant, 2) a
soft roll to back of ball, 3) an amazingly quick volleyball spike like throw over top right
quadrant caused by vigorous roll of whole arm (ISR) with bent elbow moving slightly backward.

So I want three micro-counts on one hand backhand side too: 1) lowering of right hand
under left hand to spear butt to outside, 2) soft movement of arm and strings to almost
put strings on lower right quadrant, 3) squaring of the racket by retracting right hip as body
and arm straighten.

All for what happens next (https://tennisone.tennisplayer.net/m...e.outline.html).
Choose "one hand backhand racquet & live ball training."