Wanted for Murder in All 50 Tennis-Playing States: Dick "Kinetic" Chainey
The F.B.I., confusing Dick Chainey with Dick Cheney the 46th Vice President, took no action.
Their reason given was that the Bureau never met an international war crime or criminal it didn't like.
But Dick Chainey, a different kettle of fish, didn't kill innocents, he merely killed their tennis games.
By convincing young kids to turn their hips before they turned their shoulders he instilled them with a slowness they would never overcome in a lifetime of playing tennis.
Worse, the premature hips destroyed each kid's ability properly to load his or her arm on every ground stroke.
Take the following forehand, thought to be pretty good.
Or the following backhand, also thought to be good.
In either case can you tell from watching the video which turns first, shoulders or hips? For obtaining the correct answer, watching may not be enough. You simply need to know. Shoulders turn first.
Tom Okker knew it and said so in those sections of MASTERING YOUR TENNIS STROKES (1976) that dealt with his early shoulders topspin forehand.
His close friend Ivan Lendl knew it and said so in his joint book with Eugene Scott: IVAN LENDL'S POWER TENNIS (1983). To quote him: "Note that my hips only move as a product of my entire upper body movement. In a sense, the hips only follow the action of my arms, legs, and upper body. Unlike golf, the hips do not play a major part in producing power-- the idea being that if every part of your body explodes forward like the swing in baseball or golf, power may be gained but control is forever lost."
I've never heard the last word in any subject, and the passage above is no exception.
That dream murderer Dick Chainey, however, would have you believe that hips firing marginally ahead of transverse stomach muscles is the way to go.
Perhaps the jab of Muhammad Ali, which as his palookas would attest came all the way from his foot and ankle to paralyze even the most muscled part of one's arm is the perfect example.
Kinetic chain, however, is a description of rapid energy flow rather than a series of prescriptive steps.
Should not any player serious about his tennis at least try the wisdom of Okker and Lendl a single time?
The F.B.I., confusing Dick Chainey with Dick Cheney the 46th Vice President, took no action.
Their reason given was that the Bureau never met an international war crime or criminal it didn't like.
But Dick Chainey, a different kettle of fish, didn't kill innocents, he merely killed their tennis games.
By convincing young kids to turn their hips before they turned their shoulders he instilled them with a slowness they would never overcome in a lifetime of playing tennis.
Worse, the premature hips destroyed each kid's ability properly to load his or her arm on every ground stroke.
Take the following forehand, thought to be pretty good.
Or the following backhand, also thought to be good.
In either case can you tell from watching the video which turns first, shoulders or hips? For obtaining the correct answer, watching may not be enough. You simply need to know. Shoulders turn first.
Tom Okker knew it and said so in those sections of MASTERING YOUR TENNIS STROKES (1976) that dealt with his early shoulders topspin forehand.
His close friend Ivan Lendl knew it and said so in his joint book with Eugene Scott: IVAN LENDL'S POWER TENNIS (1983). To quote him: "Note that my hips only move as a product of my entire upper body movement. In a sense, the hips only follow the action of my arms, legs, and upper body. Unlike golf, the hips do not play a major part in producing power-- the idea being that if every part of your body explodes forward like the swing in baseball or golf, power may be gained but control is forever lost."
I've never heard the last word in any subject, and the passage above is no exception.
That dream murderer Dick Chainey, however, would have you believe that hips firing marginally ahead of transverse stomach muscles is the way to go.
Perhaps the jab of Muhammad Ali, which as his palookas would attest came all the way from his foot and ankle to paralyze even the most muscled part of one's arm is the perfect example.
Kinetic chain, however, is a description of rapid energy flow rather than a series of prescriptive steps.
Should not any player serious about his tennis at least try the wisdom of Okker and Lendl a single time?
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