Straight arm forehand

[holzi]

As a former elite discus thrower the straight arm forehand looks very similar to what we did in throwing a discus, the longer the lever the more acceleration, when I tried to hit a straight arm forehand, which seemed very naturally for me, I got extreme problems with my hitting arm shoulder, which got even worse, when I used a an extended racket. So watch out, when you teach a straight arm forehand, it will very probably put a lot of stress onto the shoulder.

Heiko

[airforce1]

As a former elite discus thrower the straight arm forehand looks very similar to what we did in throwing a discus, the longer the lever the more acceleration, when I tried to hit a straight arm forehand, which seemed very naturally for me, I got extreme problems with my hitting arm shoulder, which got even worse, when I used a an extended racket. So watch out, when you teach a straight arm forehand, it will very probably put a lot of stress onto the shoulder.

Heiko

was your contact point well out in front?
thanks,

[johnyandell]

It's strenuous, this is for certain.

[bottle]

Strain in Muscle or Strain in Head?

Tour technician Ben Ford told me that the muscle on the outside of the arm under the shoulder ball is key, compared to a double-bend forehand, where deltoid muscle gets the work.

Maybe the question is still open as to whether this is "a stroke for the masses." After anyone has hit a million of them, though, I doubt they'll look back.

Also on around half of Federer's forehands (was that the finding?) he uses his biceps also to whip the strings.

[mikeyee]

I was taught the straight arm 35 years ago!

I stopped playing 30 years ago and a few years ago picked up the game again. I was surprised to find people saying I had a modern Federer forehand. We were taught this forehand in a slightly different context. The point was to hit the ball very far in front (eastern grip), to "straight arm" the ball, like a running back in football. We had to learn to use our weight behind the ball to create power. Since the racket is moving almost straight up (because you are contacting so far in front of the body), there was no real need to windshield wiper the ball for topspin. We learned to hit this stepping toward our target. Our rackets weighed almost a pound, this caused a restriction in the motion compared to today's rackets. However I do not think today's very light rackets are amenable to the straight arm swing. I play only the heaviest rackets available today.

With a modern racket, my swing is much like this video, though I generally keep one foot on the ground. If I really want to "go for it", I use a neutral stance and step toward my target.

[uspta252077198]

Straight arm

The more the leverage, the more the momentum (linear and rotational one). Power is directly proportional to the momentum: the more the momentum, the more the power. That's the reasoning behind extended arm forehand.
I am a coach of 30 years of experience and also an electrical engineer, and I have been studying and encouraging to hit this way since I saw Sergi Bruguera in mid 80's winning everything with his straight arm forehand.
No arm injuries at all were reported.

[mikeyee]

momentum or weight? more or less strain?

To me, I think of the straight arm forehand as a weight shot, you get your weight behind the shot. If I open a heavy door, I straight arm it, I don't double bend it. I suppose this is momentum in a way.

I never think of the straight arm forehand as having more strain, but if I try it with my left arm, it's the laying back of the wrist that causes strain. Once I bend my elbow, the stain is gone. So I do suppose there must be strain. But I think that you don't want to muscle a straight arm forehand the way you must muscle a bent elbow forehand, that would cause a ton of strain.

[bottle]

Want to go in a different direction? These posts may offer possibility.

[bottle]

I was taught the straight arm 35 years ago!

I stopped playing 30 years ago and a few years ago picked up the game again. I was surprised to find people saying I had a modern Federer forehand. We were taught this forehand in a slightly different context. The point was to hit the ball very far in front (eastern grip), to "straight arm" the ball, like a running back in football. We had to learn to use our weight behind the ball to create power. Since the racket is moving almost straight up (because you are contacting so far in front of the body), there was no real need to windshield wiper the ball for topspin. We learned to hit this stepping toward our target. Our rackets weighed almost a pound, This caused a restriction in the motion compared to today's rackets. However I do not think today's very light rackets are amenable to the straight arm swing. I play only the heaviest rackets available today.

With a modern racket, my swing is much like this video, though I generally keep one foot on the ground. If I really want to "go for it", I use a neutral stance and step toward my target.

I don't know to what video mikeyee refers but am intrigued by his halfback straight-arming of the opposing safety.

The distinction mikeyee makes between older topspin in which the whole arm rises and windshield wiper topspin with lighter racket nowadays would be significant alone if all we wanted was a bit of clarity in our knowledge of tennis history.

The challenge in either case looks the same-- to quickly get the straight arm pointed at the net.

How can anyone with a big loop ever do that? Could there ever be time?

I've been curious about forehands with not much if any pause between the backward and forward body rotations-- one could buy some microseconds there, it has always seemed to me.

If one built an early separation-of-the-hands backswing in which pointing opposite hand created ALL of the backward body turn, one could to some extent replicate same stroke mechanics going the other way.

One would turn shoulders while taking racket back independent of shoulder.

Two simultaneous turns backward in other words with straightening elbow thrown in to add to the mix and palm of hand set pretty much parallel to court. And two simultaneous turns forward with wrist snapback and rolldown (SIM) creating a natural loop formed by the change in direction.

Such design gets the racket smoothly back with little effort. And gets hand smoothly forward for the straight-arm as in football with little effort again.

As a believer in 1-2 rhythm, I put the early double turn forward just before the wipe as inside foot kicks out to temporarily retard the hips and thereby put more meat on the ball.

[bottle]

A Lift Toward Right Fence Followed by Twirl Toward Left Fence

Regardless of whether the forehand is straight arm or bent arm, Doug King in the new trove of TENNISONE lessons now available to all TENNISPLAYER subscribers provides what may be a very interesting answer to the choice raised by mickeyee concerning whether to lift arm or twist arm to twirl two handles like opposite ends of a baton.

Doug King describes and demonstrates a compromise answer. The elbow can lift first followed by arm twist after (or above) the contact.

While Doug remains open to arm twist from below the ball too, a sequenced use of both modes is excitingly different possibility.

[bottle]

A Lift Toward Right Fence Followed by Twirl Toward Left Fence
While Doug (King) remains open to arm twist from below the ball too, a sequenced use of both modes is excitingly different possibility.

Me, I'm now at least investigating the notion of simultaneity here. Could, in other words, the elbow lift from the body's power cord while whole arm begins its twisting baton-like wipe? Or should elbow scoot dependent on the power cord direct itself straight at the net for a very hard hit. King suggests that one use one's imagination in developing this genre of forehand, the best suggestion of all.

For that purpose, I submit, there's nothing like Doug King's idea about "waggle" as uniting principle. That and his advice to "maintain form."

Huge shots exist in this bailiwick. They appear sporadically at first in self-feed mode. One just has to nail discovery down before taking it to the next stage (sessions with a good hitting partner preferably before competition).

Apology: I just realized I'm writing about a three-quarter arm length forehand, not a straight arm forehand, which I have too. Along with my McEnrueful which is probably four/fifths arm-- I don't think about that one. This is my personal forehand orchestration and of course other people will be different.

For my straight arm forehand I don't believe I am using a power cord since I load the arm farther out in the slot.