A New Teaching System: Forehand: Body Rotation

[curiosity]

The quote of Cayer really is interesting. Clearly a "coaching cue," (it couldn't be meant literally), I'd love to know what exactly was on his mind when he said it. Sometimes I think 60% of a good tennis stroke lies in avoiding deceleration during the swing, most of the rest being dependent on timing. In a technical sense, it means keeping the second derivative, rate of increase of the velocity, positive or zero but never negative. Or, to use Sampras' phrase, we need to "start slow to finish fast." Is that what Cayer is getting at? If we use up too much of our UB rotation or shoulder external rotation too soon, we inevitably decelerate well before contact, usually a bad thing leading to wobble and worse.

So many of the elements of the forehand seem designed with this deceleration avoidance in mind: the laid back wrist and external shoulder rotation obviate any yielding of the wrist or shoulder muscles during the swing, i.e. there is only one way these can intentionally go thereafter, to a flexed wrist and an internally rotated shoulder. The initiation of the forward swing by upper body rotation, too, assures that (if the rotation is carried far enough) any forward swing at the shoulder will only increase the RH velocity, since it is laid atop the UB rotation velocity/momentum which first boosted the arm into motion, additively. (This last providing a good reason not to stop UB rotation too soon.)

To borrow a phrase, the forehand (like the serve) has a simplicity which is found on the far side of complexity.

[seano]

Cayer's video is from a 2016 ITF conference, his speech was titled; Technical Training? "It Depends".






















'

[seano]

Sorry, it was a 2016 LTA conference

[stotty]

Cayer's video is from a 2016 ITF conference, his speech was titled; Technical Training? "It Depends".

'

Yes "it depends". It's catch phrase of his. A bit like Macci's use of the word "situational". They both mean the same thing.

I have never heard Cayer explain why he says the shot "starts at impact". I get it's a cue, but a cue for what exactly? If I attend one of his courses, I'll ask.

I am not sure how long full racket head speed is maintained after impact. One imagines it continues for at least a little while after.

Stotty

[Guest]

You can Google Louis Cayer Technical Training? It depends. And watch the video

[bottle]

Or just use the following phrase to carry out this philosophy of
shot: "speed without force to the ball and big muscle groups
from the ball." And of course the force would continue forward
a short way past contact for short power. And what people
call "windshield wiper" would be seen as deceleration coming
after that.

But do the small muscle groups give up during the force-fed
part of the shot? No, I don't think so. I see topspin coming
from simultaneous push on the two ends of the racket, not
from the cranking of a Model T Ford, which again, comes
afterward.