A New Year's Serve

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Junior Backhand: Why Tweak Something that is Working Well?

Because a love that isn't getting better all the time is getting worse all the time.

Because nothing stands still.

Oh sorry, reader, if I just upset you.

Emboldened I am by the teaching pro who caught me down by the lake yesterday in self-feed but didn't think what I was doing was silly at all, in fact took time off from his private lessons to show me some self-feed drills in case I didn't already know them (hit from one end of the alley to opposite end of alley, etc.).

"Right," I said. "And you could mess around with grips. It doesn't matter how old you are."

"Right," he said. "There are all kinds of things you can do."

It helped that the time we played together we won 6-0 .

Back to my junior backhand, reader. Perhaps you have something equivalent in your own arsenal, a small but reliable shot.

I point the racket at the side fence even extending from the elbow a small bit. I turn my level shoulders to the max. All this is SIM. Reader, will you mind if I keep the focus here? I'd like you to understand that my subsequent stepping toward the net on a 45-degree angle will bring the racket around to the conventionality of pointing at rear fence but am afraid that you and I both may find this a distraction.

So back to initial move which of course includes all the elements of a good unit turn. Here is where I shall tweak although my precisely worked out waiting position is the lynchpin of three different forehand backswings.

But I want to hit a bigger one hand backhand now. Instead of adding a humongous behind the back loop I will have already adopted a different waiting position.

Does this announce the shot? I hope so. Maybe I can disconcert my opponent and make him think too much.

I drop shoulder and hands to bring racket tip up to the normal waiting position. But something is different. What? Do I need to know?

Now when I have stepped and am re-rotating my hips to finish straightening my arm and am also re-rotating my shoulders to get them parallel to sideline I can smoothly tilt shoulder up to where I want it: level or slightly less than level.

I will have added aeronautical banking to create a special shot designed only for occasional use.

[bottle]

Why Should Runaround Be So Difficult?

It won't be if you are confident in knowing what to do regardless of type of backswing.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_Court_Level_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Inside_Out&stroke=FH%20InsideOut%20CourtLevelFront5%20500fps.mp4

The unit turn blends into a small retreat with right foot as hips bulge out.

The retreat is "small" in that right foot does not pass left.

The weight can settle on right foot to initiate the hit.

That is a two-step runaround with significant ground covered thanks to the big width of Roger's split-step.

This move seems so easy that I may have been doing it all along. In any case it becomes more conscious for a while.

Then I may or may not proceed to the more elaborate runarounds that cover more ground depending on how much I value my backhands.

For you, though, reader, examining more of these huge, beautiful videos with grab-on capsule provided where Roger gets WAY OVER in his backhand corner may be a shrewd idea.

[bottle]

When You Gonna Bow, Paysan?

I went down in the basement to look for one of my favorite tennis books ever, MASTERING YOUR TENNIS STROKES. Couldn't find it although I located VLADIMIR NABOKOV: LECTURES ON LITERATURE and SAUDI ARABIA THROUGH THE EYES OF AN ARTIST by Malin Basil.

What I wanted to figure out is exactly where Tom Okker takes his body angle to hit his full topspin forehand.

Why? Because I figure he has a grip pretty close to mine. And because in self-feed today I was hitting hugely looped but maybe not so stupid forehands in which arm motion flows into a same speed mild topple of the upper body and head.

The premise of this forehand as in most of the shots I've been exploring recently is that tennis is golf on wheels.

And that a golfer addresses the ball with straight (and firm) upper body slightly bent over from the hips to create nice separation between body and club head.

A tennis player ought to assume the same position, I figure. The next question is when.

The question after that is whether the golfer maintains this slightly bent from the hips posture until the end of his followthrough.

Clearly, the answer is no and neither should the tennis player. There is a straightening of the body which improves the quality of any shot. Forgive me or don't for calling the straightening Alexander Ragtime.

This-- the shot I was self-feeding-- is designed only for occasional use. I set it up with other shots that tell me exactly where or when to bow.

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Passing Shots vs. Other Shots: Different Mechanics?

Depends first on whether one is squeezing time or is in a wait, i.e., is in the frame of mind known as relaxed and deceptive delay.

Depends second on how much experience one has with stopped backswing. We most of us start with stopped backswing in the very beginning of our tennis career. Later on, the picture is different.

All of Tom Okker's forehands are hit with a loop. All of John McEnroe's forehands are hit from a stop, i.e., a change of direction. Anyone trying to hit like John McEnroe even if just some of the time can play with his pause, shrinking or expanding it.

On either forehand or backhand side, one's normal shot is apt to be one's fastest. By "fastest" I'm not talking about pace here but rather duration of shot mechanics. How much time does one take to get the shot off?

A backhand pass could be one's normal loop shot or a shot in which racket was first held still and high.

Many people no doubt are better off not thinking about this and keeping one system for every situation.

A different system for some passes for some players however has to be worth every bit of experiment.

[stotty]

Tom Okker and our very own Klacr

All of Tom Okker's forehands are hit with a loop. All of John McEnroe's forehands are hit from a stop, i.e., a change of direction. Anyone trying to hit like John McEnroe even if just some of the time can play with his pause, shrinking or expanding it.

Okker's forehand must be the loosest looking stroke in history...and his serve. It is the opposite in some respects to Klacr's. Okker let the ball fall a long way off the bounce and lowered the racket head considerably to meet the ball (considerably lower than many of his era). Klacr hardly lets the ball fall at all and barely lowers the racket either.

It's hard to find clips of Okker's forehand on the Internet. Why? Simply because in the clips you'll find, none of his opponents hit to his forehand.

Luckily I saw it in the late 70s in all its glory. It was quite a sight. One of the best of its time.

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Aspiration

I don't see why somebody shouldn't aspire to Tom Okker's forehand.

He is a little guy with long arms-- surely not a best example therefore for klacr or me who am a big guy but not as big as klacr.

I just figure that I've been shortening my strokes and therefore would have fun with a huge forehand for contrast, a special to unleash not more than once or twice in a match.

[bottle]

Tennis Names

I love such tennis names as Ray Bender, Bill Hair and Roger Horsley.

Roger has asked me to play doubles with himself and two other good players on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. I can't wait.

[bottle]

Shortening One's Tennis Strokes as One Ages

The stories one tells are likely to be as authentic as any other aspect, e.g., self-improvement, that one has drawn out of some passion that one has.

Of course, self-improvement is a pretty good story too.

I have told my story of Ray Bender many times, a tennis player approaching the end of his life and my first USTA singles opponent.

For the record, we all are approaching the end of our life but he was approaching his a bit faster.

Although he was the president of Maryland tennis, he decided to drive down into Virginia, specifically to Winchester since that would be a nice thing to do.

In the tournament's first round, he drop-shotted every one of my serves. With the match over, he told me that he had been shortening all of his strokes. And I silently recalled one huge topspin forehand-- just one-- that flew past me in the middle of the match as Ray screamed out in pain.

He was a school teacher who believed in sharing and talking with people. I resolved to shorten my strokes no matter what.

[bottle]

Reflection

Who knew that slower but pre-loaded muscle contraction will produce more racket head velocity (through proper sequencing)? Brian Gordon.

This idea applies to forehands as well as to two-handed backhands or any other stroke.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/biomechanics/brian_gordon/atp_backhand_part_02/index.html

30 degree torso rotation with a 60 degree shoulder rotation (twist of upper arm) is more efficient than 0 degrees torso rotation and 90 degrees shoulder rotation.

Or suppose that 10 degrees of torso rotation occurs to take torso to the 0 degrees point. One still will (or should) see inefficiency.

Split the work better so that shoulder rotation (twist of upper arm) can go slower and a shorter distance and therefore do more.

Is this news? Is there some provocative point in this little dissertation? You bet.

Always look for the stupid little thing that might make a big difference.-- Frieda Johnston, 100 years old

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Body Angle from the Hips

I reviewed every photograph and drawing in THE SCIENCE OF HITTING by Ted Williams, LAU'S LAWS OF HITTING by Charley Lau Jr., CURE YOUR SLICE FOREVER by John Huggan.

If such inspection sufficiently covers baseball and golf, it's time to think about tennis. I can now go to one of my tennis books, but a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, so instead I post here one video of Roger Federer and one of the svelte but fat hitting Elena Dementieva. Lady first.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_woman/elena_dementieva/ed_forehand/ed_fh_wide/ed_fh_wide.html?EDFHWideCourtLevelRear.mov

Note how Elena has body angle in movement to the ball but then straightens up before she hits.

Now the man.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_Court_Level_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Center&stroke=FH%20Center%20OpenStance%20CourtLevelFront10%20500fps.mp4

Note how he is straight up as he glides toward contact but then bends at the hips to create a swing axis that will take the racket both down and up. (Or am I being inexact?) Other times he runs bent over (it's subtle) and straightens for the hit like Elena but still retains more body angle than she. Reader, if you look everywhere in the high speed archives, you no doubt will find a video where Roger runs toppled, straightens and topples again. And you will find a video that perfectly corresponds to the first sentence of this paragraph. But better would be your exploring of these possibilities on a tennis court.

A baseball swinger waits with body angle. A golfer addresses the ball with body angle. A tennis player creates body angle just before he hits the ball unless he already had it from his movement to the ball.

Elena does something different as do some other tennis players who wish to hit flat. Even the flat hitter Ellsworth Vines however, judging from the photos of students in Mercer Beasley's HOW TO PLAY TENNIS, keeps body angle from the hips through half or more of his forward stroke. Here's some old video:

http://wn.com/ellsworth_vines

Clearly, one has a choice (one always does). I like the opportunity for solid connection in a hitting drop to advanced low point that toppled body angle affords near the beginning of the forward forehand stroke.

[bottle]

Woof!

This is just something fanciful to try. Once you have joined the BAR (Body Angle Religion) and you find yourself running for a forehand without even trying, stick out your snout to implement a slow straightening of your entire body while hitting the ball.

If nothing else, reader, this will get your mind away from its unhealthy preoccupation with kinetic chain, which is not the same as using it.

All great players use kinetic chain. Of course we do.

[bottle]

Flat Back

Return to a certain office suite led to a re-reading of the GOLF magazine this year that featured Rory McIlroy with an emphasis on 30-degree body tilt at address. And flat back accompanied by these words: "Be careful not to over-arch and create a reverse curve at the bottom of your spine. That'll limit your ability to turn."

Golf, tennis, baseball-- all use body tilt for basic swings.

[bottle]

Three Instances of Body Angle in the Forehand of John McEnroe

Is John upright or bent over as he moves? A little of both. He is not as bent over as Ellsworth Vines but mild body angle is there.

How does body angle work in this or in any case? One's back is flat and bent from the hips.

Flat back means that back is neither curved nor reverse curved.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/modern_legends/johnmcenroe/mac_forehand/mac_forehand.html?MacFHRunningRear1.mov

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/modern_legends/johnmcenroe/mac_forehand/mac_forehand.html?MacFHWideCourtLevelRear1.mov

Note how in this, the second video here, the topple comes late. Is there advantage in putting it late over adopting it to initiate movement or even using point guard posture from basketball in one's waiting position? Reader, that is a question for YOU to answer.

Body angle is an essential in this and most kinds of forehand and that is my point.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/modern_legends/johnmcenroe/mac_forehand/mac_forehand.html?MacFHInsideOutCourtLevelRear.mov

[bottle]

New Idea for Forehand Crosscourt Short Angle

Using Roger Federer's forehand grip (heel and big knuckle both on panel three) bowl down and backward close to the body.

Then with the smallest of possible loops bring the racket butt into flip and flashlight as body settles and rises pivoting all the way to square up the racket out front for its rolling flick which will be almost entirely straight up.

The small loop gets body and arm movement happening at the same time but with the arm going a bit faster.

I don't think kinetic energy from the loop is a factor. Rather the loop creates a small delay allowing racket and body to get on the same wavelength.

[bottle]

Now I edit the foregoing and hope I can get to the court today (bad weather). Go down to low point and start the loop from there. If you want to, tap the court three times, before starting the loop but not for long. Make the loop elliptical enough, though small, to complete it and bring the racket into where you can keep your chest on the ball as you hit it.

That would be for a hard hit shot. The short angle is not a hard hit shot. It's spinny. If it goes fast that's probably from the speed of the oncoming ball and solidity of your body arrangement. This outside seam instruction is similar to Willies Hoppe or Mosconi telling you to hit the cue ball one cue's width to the right of dead center.

In the case of short angle, continue to pull the racket forward farther than in the previous description to square up the strings and get proper aim on outside seam of ball for the rolling flick.

On open shots one can kick forward with left foot like Federer. On closed shots one can kick backward with right foot like Avery. That's true of short angle or long angle shots and I haven't checked out a closed or rather neutral forehand, typical, of Federer, recently.*

Note: I'm tired of the academic distinction between open, closed and neutral forehands. Open and closed used to be good enough for me and I'm ready to return to that state of mind. But of course I don't want to step way across and block core movement.

* Nobody should be lazy. Here's Federer hitting a neutral/closed shot. What he does with his feet is completely different:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_Court_Level_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Center&stroke=FH%20Center%20NeutralStance%20CourtLevelRear%20500fps.mp4