A New Year's Serve

[bottle]

Shoulders Turning Earlier

It must be admitted that shoulders start turning a little earlier in this one than I have indicated.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHCourtlevelSide.mov

Well, somewhere in the middle of this best backhand of all time is the right sequence and mix for you and me, reader, and we both therefore should keep swinging.

I also confess that I still have the romantic notion in mind, picked up from a poorly bound old Czech tennis book made of third rate materials and falling apart, of starting a swing with a short radius and extending it just at contact.

I am not thinking, in this case, of going from bent to straight arm. Or of lifting elbow during the swing, which also would extend effective radius from the shoulder.

I AM thinking of moving the fulcrum inward from shoulder to center of the rotating bod. Clenching of the shoulderblades could optionally get in the act.

[bottle]

On the Fleeting Capsule

It sure was fleeting. And I hate to see it go. I will miss it. Maybe there wasn't enough support from other tennis players. Perhaps they couldn't master the art of stopping the capsule with their accursed cursor.

[bottle]

"Give Arm More To Do"

First one needs to explain, and explain a lot since people in this strange age are more eager to misunderstand than the opposite.

Working on a Budgian backhand is a 14-year locust. Despite one's serviceable backhands, one may still possess a hankering after the Budgian model as for an old Thunderbird with straight fins that go out.

Please understand: All my previous attempts to master this unique shot have failed. Oh, sure, I've hit five or six good ones in each 14-year cycle but not with repeatability. And yet certainly, in senior tennis, one sees J. Donald Budge influenced backhands all the time.

I would estimate that in a club of 60 tennis players of all ages, there will be two Budgians, pretty good backhands though not remotely approaching the original's excellence.

And Vic Braden's attempt to come up with a simplified vertical or even egged racket version clearly failed in its goal of marketability despite the excellence of Vic's own backhand.

Screw the history. Here's another 14-year cycle. So let's master the lovely shot this time.

"Give arm more to do." That means loading arm and back together as right foot steps out. That's what I'll think at least for the rest of today having been rained out early this morning along with three other guys after a five-minute hit.

A few mishits causing a jolt in the spin made me think I was on the right track. Not that I want such jolts all the time-- entirely smooth swing producing scorching pace with mild straight up spin is the goal.

That would be smoothness in palm of hand dropping down like a frisbee as front leg partially collapses and arm straightens and spears and rolls-- "swings" in a word.

And shoulders take over, pulling hips and legs-- swing in a word.

One word: Swing.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHRear.mov

[bottle]

Up a Notch

Let's go another step-- in thought-- to develop the sit-and-hit idea.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHRear.mov

An arm motion rather than an arm position occurs in sync with front knee bend.

I'll call the arm motion spear-and-roll.

Hand control of speed of the film shows spear-and-roll occurring before shoulders, hips and leg lift (in that order).

Why the new analysis? Didn't we already have shot logic nailed down well?

Self feeding this backhand and performing it in competition are two different levels of athleticism. These shots worked in play but had unwanted sidespin. I must have rolled across the front of the ball-- no good. This post is my attempt at an antidote.

[bottle]

Rabbit Punch

I can’t find one real rabbit punch in all these cartoon images, not at least as I’ve always understood “rabbit punch” ever since watching for the first time John M. Barnaby bonk a net post with the bottom of his fist in a photo in his 1969 book RACKET WORK: THE KEY TO TENNIS.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=rabbit+punch&qpvt=rabbit+punch&FORM=IGRE

But eHow contributor Michael Judge writes:

The rabbit punch has been around for as long as boxers have been fighting one another. Although it has a cute name, this is a particularly dangerous move. It is typically banned in most formal boxing and martial arts events. The rabbit punch can cause severe injury to an opponent and should never be used except in the most extreme self defense situations.

Note that Judge doesn’t identify specifics of technique for the particularly dangerous move.

It seems to me that if, with an eastern backhand grip, one gets palm turned down early in a Budgian backhand, one is then in position to bonk most effectively, i.e., the arm is in a naturally stronger than usual configuration for a long time.

Watch out, rabbits.

[bottle]

What Better Way to Express One's Hatred of Kinetic Chain Than to Reverse It?

Am not saying that kinetic chain is no good or that it isn't an inscrutable force in every good tennis shot, even the following one.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHRear.mov

I'm just saying that if a tennis parented and pro'd tennis player still has enough natural curiosity left to try to imitate the greatest one-hand backhand of all time, he or she will find that the kinetic chain prescription, taken as conscious steps, sucks.

The player will turn his hips too soon, right after his step-out, which is exactly what I do on my backhand skunk-tailed slice, which is the very best tennis stroke that I have ever invented for myself (with a little help from my friends).

The irony in this is considerable if dangerous since irony has never ever worked on the internet.

J. Donald Budge compared his backhand to the easy baseball swing of Ted Williams, and Ted Williams was a pioneer in biokinetics what with his talk about "hips firing marginally ahead of shoulders."

Well, I'm here to tell you to trust your eyes and watch the video again instead of listening to the late Ted Williams for this particular shot.

And if there is something you don't understand, grab the fleeting capsule with your cursor and run the movie slowly forward and backward until all the mysteries are cleared up.

You then will find that this is a flat, lifted shot with a modicum of topspin for control.

Like me, you may conclude that getting the racket backward around the waist FAST as part of a flying grip change makes all the sense in the world.

Like me using Faulknerian eastern grip with heel of hand on 8.5 pointy ridge, you may decide also to get the palm faced down as part of the grip change-- that's early.

You then won't need late backward roll messing with your assigned open pitch.

All this earliness doesn't mean that shoulders still can't be turning back as your foot steps out. Or that your shoulder can't be loading like stretching elastic. Or that this stretching can't continue into a modified sit-and-hit taken from the 1977 TENNIS FOR THE FUTURE by Vic Braden and Bill Bruns.

As you largely step and your foot rolls from heel to toe and your front leg compresses, your two hands get equi-distant to either side of your left thigh with the racket nicely level in between. It's all one movement. Hitting arm and bending knee come into place in sync.

From there you just need to spear with racket butt along the feet and turn the corner by rolling your arm forward.

Just before you hit the ball, swing with the shoulders.

Which will pull the hips and legs.

Will you leave the ground? Depends how hard you swing.

If your feet are going to turn 90 degrees in mid-air, it won't matter how parallel to baseline the front foot was to start.

If you're good at pivoting on the ball of your foot without hurting your leg, you could do that.

If you were an old, non-flying conservative watching Tennis Channel, you might have splayed your foot a bit toward net on step-out to make sure that you still were putting sufficient weight through the ball.

All these methods carry momentum to the outside as demonstrated by where the back foot comes down-- perfect for establishing dwell at contact with an inside out swing.

[bottle]

I know. You'd better renew them to get them back on the contents page before it's too late.

[don_budge]

Message in a Bottle...

How about removing the elementary school stars evaluation system from the forum altogether since you're only using yellow stars for yourself and for me, at least if today's message board is any indication?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbXWrmQW-OE

"Message In A Bottle"

Just a castaway
An island lost at sea
Another lonely day
With no one here but me
More loneliness
Than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair

I'll send an SOS to the world
I'll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle
Message in a bottle

A year has passed since I wrote my note
But I should have known this right from the start
Only hope can keep me together
Love can mend your life
But love can break your heart

I'll send an SOS to the world
I'll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle
Message in a bottle

Walked out this morning
Don't believe what I saw
A hundred billion bottles
Washed up on the shore
Seems I'm not alone at being alone
A hundred billion castaways
Looking for a home

I'll send an SOS to the world
I'll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle
Message in a bottle

Sending out an SOS

But John...I have three threads that have the gold stars attached. The two McEnroe threads (Continental forehand and backhand) plus the Traditional Thoughts thread.

[bottle]

Whatever it is, I want it!

[stotty]

Topspin?

Sorry if I'm interrupting but...

The question for me is, does Don Budge topspin his backhand? His racket face lays open during the backswing and throughout the forward swing right up until the brink of contact. It looks more of a lifted shot. A friend at my club has the same open face on his backhand yet manages to achieve a modicum of topspin.

The only clear indication Budge might have topspun his famed backhand is in this clip:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHFront1.mov

[bottle]

Questing through the Decades

You are right of course to stress decades-long concerns over some new wrinkle in technology, i.e., a brand new tool but nevertheless a tool.

But what a tool "capture the capsule" may turn out to be for close examination of some phase of a stroke cycle forward and backward over and over at different speeds to shake loose an idea or two.

Today or tomorrow, now that I think I've identified a seminal such phase in best video of the J. Donald Budge backhand, I'll try to sync arm work (a little closer to player's left fence than I thought) with compression of front leg.

Then, I'm thinking, I'll try a perverse reversal of usual thought infected by the poisonous theory of a kinetic chain. (We're only talking about one weekend's self feed experiment and can, if necessary, change our mind about dining on kinetic chain later.)

Arm always tries to jump ahead of body, but maybe since we're giving arm extra work everything will come out right.

From the seminal sit-and-hit position I'll send racket spear along the footwork with forward arm roll just as stomach muscles get in the act.

Shoulders will rotate to pull hips and legs. I'm tempted to place an exclamation point, as in chess notation, after the word "legs" but will restrain myself.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHRear.mov

[stotty]

I am astounded that no one in the forum other than myself, to my best knowledge, has commented so far on the new technology here that allows one, from an entirely new slant, to revisit decades-old concerns such as the ones I raise here.

I revisit the decades-old concerns all the time. Suffice to say, you're not alone.

[bottle]

Future Moving Back to TENNIS FOR THE FUTURE

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHRear.mov

Whoa babe, if one grabs the fleeting cursor (full screen) halfway down its track, one sees the late Mr. Budge with his front leg bent and his two hands to either side of his left thigh.

This is close to the portrayal of a great backhand, "sit-and-hit," in the old book (1977) VIC BRADEN'S TENNIS FOR THE FUTURE.

The differences: 1) The Budgian racket is spring-loaded at that point. 2) Although the racket shaft between the hands is centered on left thigh, it is above and not touching that thigh which would contort body into a pretzel. (Braden actually wanted his students to brush left thigh just above knee with back of left hand.) 3) The racket is open, not edge on to court or slightly beveled. 4) Late roll of racket in combination with body action will keep the elbow in and simulate the feel of a "no arm swing" even though technically this is untrue. If you read the book you may recall the section where Vic has an Argentine leather-worker fashion a special holster so that Vic can hit backhands from the hips only. Another difference is that last instant spearing of racket butt melding into arm roll accompanies all the gross body action when J. Donald Budge does it.

I am astounded that no one in the forum other than myself, to my best knowledge, has commented so far on the new technology here that allows one, from an entirely new slant, to revisit decades-old concerns such as the ones I raise here.

I personally witnessed Vic Braden's backhand in Winchester, Virginia and can, like Vic Seixas, attest that it was a great one, booming high. He self-fed, i.e., dropped a ball and hit a backhand and then another and another for five hours straight while he held forth on other topics.

[bottle]

Are the Best Tennis Players "Students of the Game?"

I think not when I listen to the great doubles player Renee Stubbs expound on the forehand of Caroline Wozniacki on the Tennis Channel.

Stubbs is correct in saying that Wozniacki could generate more racket head speed with different technique but Stubbs' explanation of what this alternate technique could be is flawed by a confusion of old saws with new ones.

Racket head speed is somehow equated with "forward weight transfer" and "hitting through the ball" and "staying more closed for contact."

Federer unfortunately opens his shoulders quite early just as that other topspinner Tom Okker did before him. Not that there is a line in the U.S. Constitution saying that we must use Roger Federer as the model for everything, but most tennis afficionados would agree that Roger is a very good model indeed.

Where Stubbs is correct is in saying that Sloane Stephens generates more of a slingshot than Caroline Wozniacki.

And slingshot, at least as I have come to understand it, has to do with conflict between shoulder turning from body core forward and arm remaining stationary or even fighting backward.

None of this is relevant to staying half closed with the shoulders at contact-- advice from an older era and a good way to hit a low, hard, flat shot without much spin in doubles.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/RF_FH_Arm_Action&stroke=RFFHCenterArmActionSide_250fps.mp4

Note: To compress racket tip lift like Federer, make it shorter as he by not starting it until some of the unit turn is already accomplished. Racket tip now will have a shorter total distance to go before left hand in this video almost catches up to right. The shorter distance should enable more control. One doesn't want racket tip speed at top of the backswing since racket tip from there reverses direction.

[bottle]

The Hunting of the Snark

THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK (AN AGONY IN 8 FITS) is an 1874 poem by Lewis Carroll which has been described as "the impossible voyage of an improbable crew to find an incomparable creature."

If your Snark is a Boojum, Carroll tells us,

"You will softly and suddenly vanish away
And never be met with again!"

Everyone does have their Snarks, I hope. One of mine is a J. Donald Budge backhand:

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/golden_legends/donbudge/donbudge_sa.html?DBBHRear.mov

I'm thinking of a big step-out where heel sets down on the court conspicuously before the front of one's foot and then one's patella slides out on the same linear path.

I'm thinking too of Budge's own specific advice not to flail but to swing, and his comparison of this jewel of all his strokes to Ted Williams' easy swooosh in baseball.

And of building on what one already has-- in my case a skunk tail slice and a skunk tail drive, with the slice being the better of the two, and both working on sling-shot principle in which nothing is more important than proper loading of the front of the shoulder.

For better or worse, these shots do not include a very long step-out, and it seems to me I just set my foot down flat.

So that will be the first major difference as we enter some dark forest at the end of a long sea voyage once again. And if I want to I can keep my arm bent and loading until the heel sets down.

The foot rolling flat will then straighten the arm and load the front of the shoulder even more and tuck the straight arm close to the body. We could call this "Feature One," but on the other hand we don't want a laundry list but rather a simple sentence to describe the entire shot, a sentence which may not ever appear on a page but might in fact appear on a tennis court.

Well, we have to work toward this very slowly, and I won't start from skunk tail but from a lower more round the body position.

Next we combine two motions: A bonking with bottom edge of hand (and a vigorous if short forward rotation of the hips-- RED FLAG). But halfway through this combination three more acts occur:

Shoulders swing from the gut and arm suddenly rolls the racket from open to vertical and the body slowly rows from left to right.

Total result is that you fly with feet slowly rotating 90 degrees for a perfect two-wheeled airplane landing.

Capeesh? Neither wheel touches down first. They both touch the tarmac at the exact same moment.

Note: Grabbing the zipping capsule with your full screen cursor will immediately correct whatever mental formulation you just came up with.

I now think there is only one smoothly forward hips turn without the quick and preliminary version I originally came up with and now for purpose of dismissal have accompanied with a red flag and enclosed in parentheses. That would indicate that bonk with lower edge of hand starts while the patella still is sliding on its straight and leg-compressing slant.

Vic Braden told us that his sit-and-hit backand-- in TENNIS FOR THE FUTURE-- was based on Budge which never made sense to me until right now. Braden wanted us to curl both hands down to middle of left thigh just above the knee-cap. In later pages he wrote that low point could happen with racket butt near the inner part of RIGHT LEG. By working capsule back and forth to slow down the Budgian version-- the model after all for the other!-- one can see a low point with racket somewhere over the right leg or even on net side.

One can't be overly literal about this. Sit-and-hit and Budgian original are, after decades of consideration, much the same. The racket gets ready to turn its corner just as the front leg reaches full compression.