Using the resources of Tennis Player to Construct and improve one's game

[don_budge]

Proper position of the feet...or Lower body Fundamentals ala Hogan

So why is it that the position of the feet is so important? Golfers, unlike tennis players, always begin their swings from stationary positions. Each golfer spends years learning to correctly build their stance in order that they can build a swing around it. Shaping their swings. With this in mind...remember that tennis is "golf on the run".

Every golfer up until this point has chosen to build their golf swing around a rather neutral stance...except of course perhaps "Happy Gilmore". Golfers will, however, adjust their stance accordingly from slightly closed to slightly open depending upon how they will shape a particular shot. But the default position is plus or minus...neutral. This is the position to correctly teach tennis players to swing their tennis racquets on the forehand side...the default position ought to be the neutral or slightly closed position. Like Federer...you cannot argue with this guy.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/roger_federer_09/rf_forehand/rf_fh_center/rf_fh_center.html?RFFHCenterNeutralStanceFront.mov

I am going to pass along a very vital tip...from none other than Ben Hogan...the golfing icon. I have a tape of Ben Hogan and Sam Snead playing a match on an old TV series called “Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf”. These two golfing legends play a match at the Houston Country Club and afterwards both Snead and Gene Sarazan both exclaim that they have never seen a finer round of golf played than the one just completed by Hogan...he was flawless. At the conclusion of the match Sarazan asks both golfers for their comments on the most important part of the golf swing and this is what Hogan had to say.

“The most important thing of the golf swing to me, is the movement of the lower body from the top of the swing (“get in position” position). First of all, it starts down below with your knees and your hips. At the top of the swing you move the lower part of your body, not your shoulders...letting your shoulder, arms and hands bring you into position to hit. This is the first movement there (Hogan demonstrates that as he turns his hips from the top of his swing his hands come down into position without any movement from his hands) then you release at the bottom of the swing.”

After watching your videos and reading the preceding comments I felt compelled to comment on the importance of the action of the lower body in the swing...whether it be a tennis swing, a golf swing or swinging a baseball bat. There are certain fundamentals that one should be strongly advised to observe when transferring the weight of the body to most efficiently transfer the energy into the racquet head and subsequently into the ball. In order to make this most fundamental move to the ball...your feet must be in the proper position.

My contention is that any forehand that is shaped around open or semi open stances are going to have certain characteristics that are going to infringe on the maximum potential of the swing later on down the line. Forehands that are shaped around open and semi open stances tend to be too dependent upon arm motion without having the strong base underneath it from which to make maximum use of the power of the lower body.

This is fundamentally speaking of course. Tennis is a game of offense and defense so of course one must learn to swing from different stances but the default position ought to be the closed or neutral stance. Especially for beginners or fledglings.

[don_budge]

The Shape of Things to come...the Fedefore

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin/showthread.php?t=2116&page=2

post #16...constructing the three lines of racquet, feet and shoulders (hips)

When you talk about determining the shape of something as ethereal as a forehand swing you had better pay attention to the base from which it is swung. The swing starts down below as the shamanic Ben Hogan suggests and it works it way up the body.

The consideration with respect to modern tennis is this...if you design and build your swing on open or even semi open stance you are limiting yourself to one option. Heavy topspin. Having the ability to apply heavy topspin is obviously an asset...but the ability to flatten the stroke out enhances ones chances of hitting for depth and penetration. In order to hit this kind of ball you will need to be able to perform your swing on a platform of a closed or neutral stance. Which comes first the chicken or the egg? In this case it must be the closed and neutral stances with an eastern grip because as you are finding out...once you go western you can never go back.

This being the case there is only one player in the game today from which to emulate. His name of course is Roger Federer...The Once and Future King. When he leaves the game the void is going to be so immense that you will hear a giant sucking sound as the air makes leaving a giant balloon. The vacuum that his absence will create in the professional game will be as profound as the difference between a world with cell phones...and one that was without.

Once again...it is the "Forehand Not Gone" video. A beautiful work of art that I never tire of seeing or listening to. Even the words of the song ring in my ears to haunt me as a message to all of those beautiful women that I loved...and lost. A wistful tear can form in my eye when I think of them. But oh well...I am, or rather was a tennis player. Past tense...like them. Of all people I should realize that love means nothing. It is the irony of life in the end...at the end of the night. Good old Ferdinand.

Where was I...oh yes. Roger Federer hitting from less than perfect position. Because the base of his swing is built on the foundation of a closed or neutral stance he is compelled to swing his forehand with his feet, body and racquet lined up when he begins his move forward to the ball. Hitting from a less than perfect position...is an art. I am sure that you will agree with me when you look at this video. This is a beautiful enigmatic piece of work courtesy of John Yandell. Who is the artist of the song...btw John?

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/music_videos/federer_fh_not_gone/index.html

In the music video "Forehand Not Gone", Roger Federer is hitting four forehands from less than perfect position. Notice though that he dutifully attempts to create perfect position at the moment of impact.

fh 1...backing up, left foot plants first and as he swings into the ball the right foot is backing up in line with the front

fh 2...moving to his right, right foot plants first and left comes swinging into line as he swings into the ball

fh 3...backing up, left foot plants first and right foot slides backwards into position as he swings into the ball

fh 4...backing up, left foot plants first and the right foot slides backwards into position as he swings into the ball

In the video Roger is swinging at four forehands and in three of them he is running around his backhand to his left. Since his momentum is carrying him to his left he plants his left foot first to assure himself that he has ample room to make his swing yet at the same time his right foot is backing up to bring himself into alignment with the ball. You see also that he must make a last moment adjustment by taking to the air to create just a bit more room to make his swing. Yet his head and body are perfectly still at the moment of impact.

In the single ball that he is moving to his right, at the last moment he plants his right foot a bit forward towards the net from his left foot as he tries to take the ball a bit earlier and at the same time his left foot is moving towards the ball so that at the moment of impact he is in as close to proper alignment with the ball as humanly possible.

The music video is simply a perfect example of how the forehand should be played when perfect position on the ball is not possible. Normally when I am watching Federer in a match, I like to watch just him without taking my eyes off him to watch the ball or his opponent. Coincidentally, I heard Rod Laver suggest the same thing. For instance, in the music video one can really appreciate the grace and perfect balance that Federer has when he is in the moment of truth...and that is when he has his body aligned to make his move on the ball from “get in position”. Even when he is actually in the air, off the ground, he is somehow able to achieve nearly perfect stability as he is swinging and this is evidenced with the still positioning of his head. He has the ability to achieve the Hoganesque lower body movement to the ball to initialize his swing...even with less than perfect position.

Another absolutely stunningly, brilliant music video...John. Catchy tune, too. The music coupled with the maestro's footwork and low center of gravity create...poetry in motion. Be still my beating heart!

[GeoffWilliams]

Oh I know! It's always been my Achilles heel!

I am working on it. At the beginning of 2013 in January I was weighing in at 291 pounds!! For others, that's 20 Stone 11 Pounds or 132.2kg.

Since the middle of January however I've lost 63 pounds, or 4 stone 7 pounds, or 28.6kg. I'm now weighing in at 228 pounds. My goal is to hit 182 pounds so 46 pounds to go and I'm hoping that I'll hit this by the time 2013 is out!

But you're right, it's the most important thing I have to improve over anything else.

Go on a gruel diet, and eat not much else until you lose the weight, and then stay on a caloric restriction, and don't eat many calories. Got to retrain the hormone balances, and maintain discipline like a mad dog. When you do that, you will start to feel fast and powerful in your every day walking around moments. Myamoto Musashi said, "The stance: stay on the balls of your feet, shins tensed, knees bent, weight slightly forward, as if ready for a battle, at all waking moments.", meaning, every waking moment, in a ready position. But then, his life was at stake in duels, and he was 61-0. Cheating and psych jobs were all fair game. Fought with two swords, one in each hand. How many players have even tried this stance all day? No one.

[stotty]

Diet

On the diet issue.

It's all about what's going in versus what's being used up. Use up more calories than calories going in and you are sure to lose weight. Diet products are the con of the century in my opinion. The maths are simple.

The problem dieters have had thus far is they have no way visible way of monitoring the "whats going in versus what's going out" issue on an accurate daily, or better still, hourly, basis. But I recently heard Addidas are bringing out a digital watch or bracelet where you can. If this is true it will be a breakthrough for dieters. You eat 500 calories for breakfast...by lunch time you may have used up 800 calories...be handy and encouraging to know such a fact.

[don_budge]

Dieting...

On the diet issue.

It's all about what's going in versus what's being used up. Use up more calories than calories going in and you are sure to lose weight. Diet products are the con of the century in my opinion. The maths are simple.

The problem dieters have had thus far is they have no way visible way of monitoring the "whats going in versus what's going out" issue on an accurate daily, or better still, hourly, basis. But I recently heard Addidas are bringing out a digital watch or bracelet where you can. If this is true it will be a breakthrough for dieters. You eat 500 calories for breakfast...by lunch time you may have used up 800 calories...be handy and encouraging to know such a fact.

Use a smaller plate.

[jryle1]

In regards to the diet I follow a very specific diet.

Since the middle of January I have training at a "CrossFit" gym. For those of you who don't know what or haven't heard of CrossFit, I suggest checking it out on YouTube and checking out Rich Froning. He's the Roger Federer of CrossFit.

Anyway, most CrossFitters follow a "Paleo Diet" which has been made famous by Loren Cordain among others.

Me personally, I follow a version of this Paleo Diet that can be found on www.bulletproofexec.com which is a great site that I recommend people check out for Nutrition and Diet.

It's a gluten free, wheat free, high fat, medium protein, low carb diet. Similar actually to what Novak Djokovic is on.

The thing is, I don't worry about calories because when I stick rigidly to this diet I lose weight effortlessly along with the CrossFit training.

The biggest problem I have is sticking to it rigidly and not cheating all the time by eating bad foods. If I can avoid eating crap I lose the weight easily.

It's just having the willpower to not eat poorly and to stick to the diet. Otherwise I have the diet sussed. Have done an awful lot of research on it. The key thing is discipline.

[don_budge]

Pizza? No thanks...I will have the Perfect Service Motion to go.

In regards to the diet I follow a very specific diet.

Since the middle of January I have training at a "CrossFit" gym. For those of you who don't know what or haven't heard of CrossFit, I suggest checking it out on YouTube and checking out Rich Froning. He's the Roger Federer of CrossFit.

Anyway, most CrossFitters follow a "Paleo Diet" which has been made famous by Loren Cordain among others.

Me personally, I follow a version of this Paleo Diet that can be found on www.bulletproofexec.com which is a great site that I recommend people check out for Nutrition and Diet.

It's a gluten free, wheat free, high fat, medium protein, low carb diet. Similar actually to what Novak Djokovic is on.

The thing is, I don't worry about calories because when I stick rigidly to this diet I lose weight effortlessly along with the CrossFit training.

The biggest problem I have is sticking to it rigidly and not cheating all the time by eating bad foods. If I can avoid eating crap I lose the weight easily.

It's just having the willpower to not eat poorly and to stick to the diet. Otherwise I have the diet sussed. Have done an awful lot of research on it. The key thing is discipline.

Very impressive. It's called covering all of the bases. All of this experience is adding to you teacher's calling. To make this kind of metamorphosis is beyond the scope of most human beings. So is playing tennis.

I was having this discussion the other day with the veterinary nurse the other day. Frankie was out cold because he was too stressed to get his nails clipped so we sedated him. She had recently come back from a Safari in Kenya and was talking about being an intern there...an adventurous young lady. She and the cute veterinarian are both doing the Paleo Diet. Eat like a cave man is the theme. That appeals to me. I have diet more or less reduced to it's simplest terms...well the occasional what not.

The only thing that I changed in my diet is going from snacking on peanuts to cashews. Little things matter sometimes...like in tennis.

But back to your development to teaching jryle1...this business in your service backswing. When you set up in your videos initially you are pointing your racquet at your target but then you lower the unit of your arms and racquet and assume the Federer position. I like you initial position initially and that is more or less what I teach. What are you going to teach? Are you going to teach that Roger Federer idiosynchratic move or are you going to teach a standard fundamentally correct service motion?

You move your arms very nicely together throughout your whole preshot movements. The flow of your energy is really quite nice. But then you interrupt the whole thing with that hesitation at the bottom of the backswing. Perhaps the biggest motivation for a perfect service motion is rhythm. The question is...can you hang on to that rhythm through thick and thin? Will nervousness somewhat alter the cadence? If your entire backswing is based on something akin to gravity the answer to those questions will be yes and no. If you have some kind of mechanical friction built into your motion the reverse just may be true. Maybe not all of the time but sooner or later it just may catch up to you at a most inopportune time.

Federer used to be the best at serving out matches. Then for some reason he faltered on a couple of big occasions and he has never really been the same since. When he was young and fearless he maybe was getting away with something that was less than fundamentally perfect...but then again he is Roger Federer. He has had his share of problems recently...as a coach you look at all of the possible sources of trouble.

[klacr]

http://www.tennisplayer.net/bulletin...?t=2116&page=2


When you talk about determining the shape of something as ethereal as a forehand swing you had better pay attention to the base from which it is swung. The swing starts down below as the shamanic Ben Hogan suggests and it works it way up the body.

The consideration with respect to modern tennis is this...if you design and build your swing on open or even semi open stance you are limiting yourself to one option. Heavy topspin. Having the ability to apply heavy topspin is obviously an asset...but the ability to flatten the stroke out enhances ones chances of hitting for depth and penetration. In order to hit this kind of ball you will need to be able to perform your swing on a platform of a closed or neutral stance. Which comes first the chicken or the egg? In this case it must be the closed and neutral stances with an eastern grip because as you are finding out...once you go western you can never go back.

don_budge
Where have you been my whole life? It's hard for me to be so dogmatic about my teachings as they are always changing and evolving, just like the game itself. But I'm certain on one thing and your paragraph I quoted is it. You should have been my coach. You still could be. Trip to Sweden soon. Nice post.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton