Fluid Motion Factor (FMF)...Steve Yellin

[don_budge]

Muscle Memory versus Fluid Motion Factor...Steve Yellin

I was in the bunker practicing my sand shots today. This is the second time...I think I mentioned it in an earlier post. Interesting though. The same guy was there both times practicing. Today we started talking.

Long story short...he mentioned this fellow Steve Yellin. He said he is a tennis guy. This stuff is about golf. I make no apologies. Here's a paper...I haven't read it yet.

https://www.hernco.com/golfclub/FluidMotionFactorBook.pdf

Here is a video that I watched. I will be looking for more on this fellow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sITLogz1Bkg

[don_budge]

Great video don_budge! Stop thinking!

Yes...it's interesting. It is all about performance in the end. How to make it feel good. What Steve Yellin is proposing is rather interesting. Sort of a process to get out of one's own way. This man at the golf course that I was practicing in the bunker with spoke of some gadgets with sensors that were somehow measuring how the player felt as he was performing his motion. At first...you know me...I rejected it out of hand as mumbo-jumbo. But when he told me that Yellin was a tennis guy he sort of got my attention.

I haven't had time other than to post the intro video and the article written by Yellin to do more research. This fellow did mention that he traveled to the south of Sweden to connected to this gizmo and he seemed to think that it was somehow valid. In the end my open mind prevailed and I have committed to do some sleuthing. In between practicing the golf and taking care of the animals. Walking the dogs...etc.

[bobbyswift]

Really interesting stuff for tennis. I grew up practicing with Steve back in the day in Hollywood Florida. A great junior in Florida and a good college player. I am thinking of contacting him to see what he can do with high performance tennis players.

[gzhpcu]

He said it all started with tennis...

[gzhpcu]

Is this not similar to

[ferli001]

This is all very interesting! On this topic, do you guys know of this approach and book? I have just started reading it. https://www.scottaford.com/book/

[bottle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pisD1RPj61A

[arturohernandez]

I read it and stopped halfway. It sounds like a version of the inner game to me.

I am a cognitive neuroscientist and based on the brain science and having played and experimented with the concepts described I have come to the following conclusions:

1) We can access something like the zone but it is very rare. Even with practice and even with breathing and all the rest it is still somewhat difficult to reach.

2) There are other grittier states that lead to good tennis but don't have the same feel of the zone. I often feel a battle that I just have to continue. It is not that I am paralyzed but that I am somehow kind of annoyed. And then I take out on the ball and the opponent. There is aggression but it is controlled.

3) There are lots of non-optimal states. Angry, frustrated, lethargic, tired, overheated, etc.

I don't think that athletes that do things on command are in the zone. I think if you asked Federer how often he is in the zone he would say that it is not all the time. In fact, it may be rare even for him. Is he more focused or able to play at his best often? Yes.

But you might remember McEnroe's quote about everyone choking. Under pressure everyone breaks down. I think that chasing the zone is a fallacy.

The reasoning is very problematic. People report the zone, therefore it is the zone that caused them to be better.

What if performing better caused them to be in the zone. I mean what if we enter this altered state after doing something well.

Self-report is notoriously unreliable.

I think that Toni Nadal's ideas are a very nice counterpoint to this view. Basically, the whole idea is that tennis is going to involve doubt and suffering and that we simply have to keep encountering these uncomfortable feelings until they seem natural.

Sampras threw up in the locker room before some of his matches. Wawrinka was shaking before he beat Djokovic in the US Open final a few years ago.

Nadal double faulted and lost a key tiebreaker today. It is not the first time. He did so in 2008 when he won Wimbledon.

The zone is great. We should try to find it as much as possible. We should try to access motor commands on demand.

But on many if not most days we will not find the zone. When that happens we should develop a way to win using grit and by just staying close to our opponents.

[bottle]

Love these remarks, Arturo. And believe they point to a certain amount of foolish romanticism in the whole Gallwey phenomenon. A great guy with tremendously interesting things to say, but I remember remarking to a U.S.P.T.A. friend of mine (who was giving me free lessons at the time) that I wished to rebel against Gallwey (who was at the height of his popularity), and my friend said, "How can you rebel against a cloud?"

[don_budge]

Really interesting stuff for tennis. I grew up practicing with Steve back in the day in Hollywood Florida. A great junior in Florida and a good college player. I am thinking of contacting him to see what he can do with high performance tennis players.

Interesting for tennis and probably more interesting for golf. But on the other hand this stuff might have more significant application for the service motion.

Much of the "Fluid Motion" stuff is probably more applicable for single shots that a player has the time to address the ball and perform some kind of ritual before attempting it. It might be tough to expect players to apply this stuff on the run. What is tennis if not golf on the run?

Seeing as both sports are individual endeavours though there is significant mental gymnastics that are going on that are not going on in team sports. An individual mindset is different from the team player mindset.

The question is always one of performance. Optimal performance. How much of you potential can you eek out of your being on any given day? Certainly there are mental gymnastics to be considered. Fluid Motion. Steve has given a great deal of though to this and even convinced David Ledbetter that it is viable. Ledbetter being one of the more charming snake oil salesmen in the business.

On the other hand there is "Yellow Ledbetter". A song by Pearl Jam. That Eddie Vetter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs8y3kneqrs

It's a haunting tune. Try whistling the refrain in the woods when walking the dog. Don't bother with the lyrics as they are basically indecipherable. Sort of like trying to make heads or tails out of the game of golf on any given day.

[ferli001]

For fluidity and breathing and visualization, I am starting this coming Saturday an online course Yi Jin Jing with chinese qi gong Master Robert Peng. There was a q/a yesterday for the course and I asked him whether the patterns of breathing-movement would enhance athletic performance and competition. He smiled and said yes -- he has golfers who have used this technique with great improvement. I know he is also a tennis fan. Anyway, the course looks fascinating and I will let you know if I see improvements in my game and focus. If any of you are interested in joining the course there are still spots open --folks from all over the world -- see this ambassador link which leads you to the info or google Robert Peng--
https://www.penguniversity.com/?pa=04D09E604E

[arturohernandez]

Interesting discussion. Now, I do think that rhythmic breathing between points is key for tennis. It does have a calming effect and tends to allow one to relax.

I think the serve does benefit from the stillness don_budge mentioned. It is the one shot that approximates golf (I think since I don't play the latter).

It is very different in that the best serves require an extreme fluidity that is not as similar on other shots.

Even the overhead feels a bit tight compared to the serve.

In any case, I think visualization and breathing are very helpful to keep the mind still.

But then we have to engage in high speed movement and get to every ball quickly.

This doesn't seem so still to me.

Maybe in practice we can do it but when someone is trying to make your life difficult it is not so easy.