A New Year's Serve

[bottle]

This is for right-handers. Starting from cheated over pull hitting shoulder down and around as right foot moves toward ball-- a little or a lot or even a big cross over. Guess what? There wasn't an orthodox unit turn. The left foot didn't splay. Splaying happens on next step and will happen more naturally because of tension built up in the body. All that then remains is the hitting step and rasp of the shot.

But the right foot movement could come first. Then right shoulder start down and around as left foot splays. Or the splay could happen right away as part of orthodox unit turn followed by replacement step of right foot followed by hitting step by same foot (right foot).

But I don't know about replacement steps such as the one that Cageman uses at the TennisPlayer threshold. Is such a replacement step a training wheel the purpose of which is to teach Cageman when to quit moving his arm and let backward rotation of both shoulders take over? Tommy Haas has a great one-hander and just steps over-- once.

It seems to me that in dancing or tennis I do best with steps that naturally alternate.

Where I got in trouble-- in actual play, not in self-feed-- was when I skipped sideways like McEnroe and lowered the shoulder very late. Result: the shot was very late. Proving once again that nobody, not even me in my fiction, can move like McEnroe and get away with it.

[bottle]

Now Check Out This Dennis Ralston "School" Forehand

It happens in Furniture 2 of this great article (http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...nt_of_contact/). Notice how Ralston uses his hips yet keeps both feet flat to hit this shot. Then his rear heel comes up in order for him to finish in perfect balance on the front foot.

That's a lot of grounded structure, isn't it? And slightly different from the Welby Van Horn model in which rear heel comes up throughout the forward action followed by a slight replacement step to player's right or not.

Now compare both of these shots to more contemporary shots in which there is up to twice as much body rotation due to feet lifting up off of the ground.

Why even point all of this out? Because it is empowerment. If your forehands include a spectrum from heavily structured to medially structured to airborne fluidity you conceivably could win your next match.

Note. Can't see the need to puff cheeks during exhalation in a maximally structured minimalist shot.

[bottle]

Faw Down and Go Boom Backhand Footwork

This is for right-handers. Starting from cheated over pull hitting shoulder down and around as right foot moves toward ball-- a little or a lot or even a big cross over. Guess what? There wasn't an orthodox unit turn. The left foot didn't splay. Splaying happens on next step and will happen more naturally because of tension built up in the body. All that then remains is the hitting step and rasp of the shot.

[bottle]

Backhands-- Cage Man vs. John McEnroe: Late vs. Early Banking Up

Cage Man performs a one-hander as the TennisPlayer website opens.

John McEnroe performs a one-hander here (http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...enterFront.mov).

Forget the armie backswing vs. the body dominant backswing-- also distinguishing characteristic.

Reader, do you want to keep your shoulder down until the end of your one-hander or not? McEnroe doesn't. Are there advantages to both?

[bottle]

Two Volley Backswings of John McEnroe

1. BHV. Racket is already cheated over toward backhand. Here comes the ball. It is at shoulder level (http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...acBHVFront.mov). But McEnroe's racket is at waist level. So how is he going to get the strings up there? Give me an answer please, reader, A or B? A. Lift his arm. B. Lower his hitting shoulder while drawing it back a short distance. Answer: B or A and B.

2. FHV. Racket is cheated over toward backhand. Here comes the ball. It is at shoulder level. How is McEnroe going to get his strings up there and way over there so far away?

A. Keep opposite hand on racket for about half of the backswing so it turns with the body (http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...MacFHVRear.mov). Look, it's still low maybe even got lower than it was. B. Spread arms.

So, in which of forehand volley and forehand ground stroke does McEnroe keep his opposite hand on the racket for longer? The answer is just a curiosity, with my persona that of the bearded man in Prudential TV ads who tells us to sock away a dollar a day for retirement. We can always hope that big slabs of drywall fall on his head.

[bottle]

Snort then Blow up Cheeks in Serve and Backhand

Putting loosening of fingers and radial deviation of hand with the 2 of 1-2 rhythm led to better serves. Don't know yet whether putting the extra shoulderblades clench with 2 or 1 is better. If 1 is better the clench can come at end of inflation of the upper body. The old VHS "Virginia Wade's Class" was good at teaching this, showed Wimbledon singles champion Virginia stretching her two shoulders far apart.

I enjoy trying to play tennis with snort (intake of air through mouth and nose both followed in natural breathing rhythm by cheeky exhalation) on both serves and McEnroe-like backhands, maybe later on other shots too. On those backhands the secret for me is starting to lower the shoulder blended with backward body rotation right away. That is a body only backswing. The puffy cheeks as one exhales do prolong muscle relaxation as advertised.

[bottle]

To Exhale or not to Exhale: Winning or Losing the Service Point

That being true, one should research the subject, try different correspondences between deliberate breathing and other body actions, make a firm decision and then not stick with it.

I. Light research of the subject.

Assumption here is a good service motion in working order. Without that it won't much matter whether you breathe or not.

A. Breathing and pitching in baseball (http://m.mlb.com/news/article/57941576/). (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/sp...FExercise&_r=0). (http://www.nextlevelballplayer.com/p...-stephen-fife/).

B. Breathing and serving in tennis
(http://www.feeltennis.net/breathing-in-tennis/). (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rSPqLQ4Hz0). (https://www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Ga...219_Breathing/). (http://moderntennislessons.com/image.../articles4.pdf). (http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index...-motion.60603/).

II. Different Correspondences.

For starters, breathing in while racket goes up seems a good idea. Breathing out while racket falls in cahoots with gravity seems a good idea. Breathing in while racket rises twice as fast to throw position (arm slightly bent, fingers just loosened as wrist performed radial deviation) seems a good idea.

The seeming now becomes less sure-footed. I try holding breath through folding of arm, opening wrist, taking of extra clench between the shoulderblades (SIM) and first half of the throw (sharp triceptic extension, sharp adduction of elbow, sharp external rotation from shoulder while sharply straightening wrist-- SIM). Exhalation is saved for internal upper arm rotation and anything else you are doing just then.

III. Play with the Variables.

These include wag of racket to outside at racket's low point. Know all the variables well enough to play with them, to have fun with them. Then and only then make a total design decision. Stick with it for a good while. Then and only then be willing to change it at the drop of a hat.

Note: Now and only now I'm going through the material assembled here. I found this. "Do breath-holding techniques have a place in tennis? Saviano says that when you hold your breath, your muscles tighten up and your coordination turns to mush: 'Holding your breath in tennis is a sure-fire technique for poor performance.'" This is what I mean by being willing to change. I am willing to change the design I just outlined if such change will produce better serves. Easy to test! On the other hand is a deep breath followed by brief holding of it followed by prolonged exhalation the same as just holding your breath? I doubt it. Also, one should explore the tricks from track-- try sucking in air through both mouth and snout at the same time. And puffing cheeks to keep some air in lungs for longer during the extended and relaxed exhalation. Maybe this, rather than holding big breath, is the reason that Boris Becker's and Gabriela Sabatini's faces at important times looked so incredibly weird.

Must try:

Intake during rise of racket.

Holding breath during radial deviation of hand with fingers getting loose.

Outtake from there until after contact.

[bottle]

Scat Steps

But what happened before this phase of the stroke? He skipped to the ball. He propped on back foot as he lowered his shoulder. He took as short a hitting step as was possible. He banked his shoulder up to level as he formed a spear with racket butt as its point. He drove the spear forward-- in silence-- as he sprang from his legs.

Reader, study the grandmaster. Take these lessons to heart. Remember that Bobby Fischer taught from checkmate backward. Then change whatever stuff you have found into your own. As for the rest of youse, have fun in art school. Besides the sex, I hope it leads to art for you (although I probably know better).

Report: The footwork of # 2818 was too complex even for the Friday night tennis social. I ended up hitting slice instead. Never lost even with weak partners.

Against early morning competition that was better, however, was able to hit the new TSBH fairly well in warm-up although that occurred before the latest revelations about John McEnroe's footwork.

The answer now seems reliance on pared down scat steps, with "scat" defined on the internet as either go away quickly or abbreviation of scatophagy, meaning the consumption of excrement.

Scat-singing is described at Dictionary.com as "singing in which the singer substitutes improvised nonsense syllables for the words of a song, and this to sound and phrase like a musical instrument."

This will work for me. Simple scat-singing with the feet to suggest the skittering steps of John McEnroe without being the same:

A unit turn in which the shoulder goes under, the inside foot puts down like Mr. Cage Man's at the threshold of this website, and that same foot replaces to wherever it wants to hit the ball.

Ratty little steps. Beautiful. Followed by a hit in which the leg drive is less specifically defined.

There's banking, yes, and sharp exhalation to accompany the elaborate arm-and-back work, but knees probably stay bent even if force of the shot lifts feet above the court.

(http://www.acronymfinder.com/SCAT.html)

[bottle]

Ratio: a Concept where Rowing and Tennis can Come Together

How long are the sweep oars in an eight out of the water compared to in the water? Four to one is not bad but declines somewhat as strokes per minute go up. The more the eight-oared crew can preserve good ratio at the higher rate the more likely that crew is to win its race.

My McEnrueful, my special composite grip forehand learned from combining John McEnroe's forehand backswing with Welby Van Horn's principles of hitting a basic eastern grip forehand is a very good shot on some days and not so good on others depending on the state of my "feel" during a crucial couple seconds.

When feel is bad I turn to my strong eastern abbreviated ATP3 and regardless try to hit a mixture of both.

So good feel is a goal. The question is, can one use logic partially to generate such feel? Thinking about ratio could be the path.

In the McEnrueful, the down and up of the arm swing is one to one. Downward banking of rear shoulder then can be one half, i.e., go twice as fast as the "one" of the racket rising above the wrist. Multiply the one half then by four for body hit on the ball, i.e., make the hips and racket go four times as fast.

Similar logic may be applied to a John McEnroe topspin backhand. There won't be magic solution in attaining it but one will come closer to the "feel goal." The numbers won't be so easy to identify but obviously the forward swing will be many times faster than the backswing was.

Perhaps one should note here that John McEnroe never yells on a forehand and always yells when hitting his topspin backhand. Just turn up the volume when watching the TP videos and you will see, I mean hear (http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...HShortSide.mov).

Why (and when precisely) does he yell? Because he is exerting full human force through contact. Muscles in the back and shoulder are accelerating arm from the shoulder while rolling racket also from the shoulder. At the same time he is using big back muscles to clench his shoulderblades together thus creating an even longer if simultaneously accelerating lever.

But what happened before this phase of the stroke? He skipped to the ball. He propped on back foot as he lowered his shoulder. He took as short a hitting step as was possible. He banked his shoulder up to level as he formed a spear with racket butt as its point. He drove the spear forward-- in silence-- as he sprang from his legs.

This is quick precedence and where do we put it? In backswing? In some sort of transition? Not-- in both cases. It is essential part of the forward hit, so be quick by letting there be no transition. The way to go is to create tremendous ratio of middle high backswing to foreswing (x to 4x or more).

[bottle]

Generality About the John McEnroe Backhand

Mac turns with his shoulders level as he skips toward contact. Just before the final step, "the hitting step," he dips his shoulder. That hitting step might be far across or not across at all and very short, four or five inches even. Bank down, step, bank up, fire arm. Along with everything else that is happening of course.

I no longer feel that this shot is dependent on a curled wrist.

Then there's this one (http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...HShortSide.mov). What's happening? Banking and unbanking. Swing racket butt forward from the shoulder as front leg drives up. Clench shoulderblades together swinging sideways now from a longer lever and yell. But did arm stop its free play? I doubt it. More likely, he's hitting the ball from two different fulcrums at once.

[bottle]

Nice Easy Serves

G 2 4 8 thunderclap
1 intake 4 8 sharpexhale
1 2 4 8 husk
1 2 4 8 stiffenleftside
1 intake intake&arch 8 thunderclap
1 2 4 holdbreath thunderclap
1 2 4 elbowbackward elbowbackward
1 2 4 keepelbowback don'tkeepelbowback
G 2 4 8 flash(lightning)
1248 thunderclap
1 2 4 derclap
1 2 thunderclap

Note: The numbers, describing ratio, could be from a speedometer.

[bottle]

Protection Shot

As you know, reader, I like to think "futuristically." That adverb sounded so awful when accusatorily wielded in my direction by a neo-shaman, a well known anthropologist published-on-two-continents expert in growing and milking one's own psychedelic plants as we both competed for the attention of the same Hungarian princess (and priestess of psychedelics) nick-named "Tunde" by her parents, a name that means "fairy" or "sprite" in Magyarul.

I didn't use any psychedelics. Didn't and don't. Guess who got the girl? Just as well, right?

When I was the crew coach at Skidmore College, Jeffrey the women's tennis coach whose office was adjacent to mine had a most interesting idea for teaching his varsity to protect themselves against an extremely fast shot coming directly at them.

I don't know the fine details since I wasn't obsessed with my tennis just then, I just remember that the strings went sharply up and clipped the ball as if each lady was Wonder Woman deflecting a bullet with her bracelet.

When I wasn't replacing the shearpin in a motorboat out on Saratoga Lake, I happened to see a few of Jeffrey's girls practicing this maneuver and imparting topspin. They looked like they were turning inside out.

Well, Jeffrey grew up a couple miles from Wimbledon and knew his stuff. I'm sorry that I have forgotten his last name but won't forget this shot.

It seems to me that if one's racket is low like John McEnroe's then one is in position to explore this turn-the-tables protective shot.

[bottle]

Pet Theory: Fear of Change is Exaggerated in Tennis

Of course, if you are a top player, you won't want to mess-- much-- with what got you there.

But suppose you are not a top player? That is possible. Hard to accept, I know, but possible. Why not try more new stuff then?

Some newness is no doubt disruptive and even self-destructive. But there is other that ought to be taken on individual basis and carefully evaluated.

I'm blown away that a uniformly low waiting position cheated toward backhand for both ground strokes and volleys (McEnrovian) is not as impossible a change as one might think. Of course one must have good reason for any such change and I do.

Other than more interesting orchestration, however, possible unforeseen circumstance might include the fact that backward movement for an overhead feels better (think of the slapping the net drill-- that gets racket low), and in net game one can protect oneself better if the strings have to go up rather than down or twist unpredictably to slightly higher or lower or right of or left of where they already are. I am just learning what else is different. More comfort and one feels more athletic. A lower center of gravity for sure, better for springing in any direction. Well, it was just one doubles session, I know, but I didn't play worse.

[don_budge]

The Great John McEnroe...

Mac is just so clever the way he nudges and strokes the ball around. His deftness is miraculous. The will be another Djokovic, another Nadal, even another Federer one day. But there will never be another McEnroe. He is truly unique.

I would urge any student of the game to watch him closely, as closely as one's sensors will allow. He is the most fascinating and skilful player who ever played tennis...or at least who I have witnessed.

Well said and well played.

[stotty]

Thanks, Stotty. One can perhaps learn something from this rather than consider it just as anomaly, i.e., use a bit of the racket tip toward center of the body trick even when elbow is farther out. Wow again: there's some upward banking of the hitting shoulder in this shot. And Mac's head goes up in relation to the crowd behind.

Mac is just so clever the way he nudges and strokes the ball around. His deftness is miraculous. The will be another Djokovic, another Nadal, even another Federer one day. But there will never be another McEnroe. He is truly unique.

I would urge any student of the game to watch him closely, as closely as one's sensors will allow. He is the most fascinating and skilful player who ever played tennis...or at least who I have witnessed.