A New Teaching System: Introduction to the Two Handed Backhand

[don_budge]

Yes it was a great post that has stood the test of time. That's the thing with writing about tennis. Will it stand the test of time or will you look at it a few years down the line and wish you hadn't written it. I hereby certify that your piece has stood the test of time...and some.

The test of time. That is a pretty darned good litmus test. I go back and read some of the old stuff. You get the feeling of time traveling a bit. Recalling how the words formed and how you felt at the time. To critically read something from years ago. All in all this forum experience has been a treasure of an experience.

The conversation and comments from all of the participants has been for the most part rather remarkable. It provokes response. You spin to me...I spin to you.

[stotty]

Yes it was a great post that has stood the test of time. That's the thing with writing about tennis. Will it stand the test of time or will you look at it a few years down the line and wish you hadn't written it. I hereby certify that your piece has stood the test of time...and some.

[don_budge]

Did I write this? What a great post in hindsight. I really hope that the backhand video live up to this critique of the serve series. I don't have any doubts that it will. Forum participants helped to make it great. Keep up the good work...everyone.

The Package is coming together nicely...

john...

your series on the serve is really coming together nicely. i remember when you first rolled it out and someone was quasi complaining about your use of an introduction. it is interesting looking back on those comments...and i understood at the time their relevance to the writer without necessarily agreeing. in hindsight we can appreciate that the package deserved a layout...a peek at the synopsis behind your organization.

the sum of the parts is what is developing into the strength of this package. this package is developing synergy. the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. by delivering the lesson piece meal we are getting a sequential shot of a very complicated motion and thus a very difficult thing to describe in it's entirety...particularly in one sitting. like mlogarzo points out in his work with the australian princess...he is taking it step by step. starting at the beginning and working towards the end. and then you work your way backwards until the thing is fluid going forwards and backwards. the tennis serve...it's a beautiful thing when performed as it should be. with perfection in mind.

this installment of your discussion is particularly enlightening and i don't know if i have ever heard the role of the legs and feet so eloquently and yet simply expressed. i think that this series has been a very successful venture on your part. by allowing further contribution from the forum your program is actually lifted off of the video screen...lifted out of the pages of script...into a sort of a reality all of it's own. it has life.

it's been a very interesting experience. the contributions of mlogarzo and licensedcoach by submitting students of theirs enable us...the reader and coaches to decipher from our own experience problems in teaching the serve to students and with the help of comparing with your well chosen model as well as other examples of great serving to further our understanding of one of the greatest and most beautiful motions in all of sports...the service motion.

"why the platform stance", you rhetorically ask. i find it particularly satisfying that you believe in the platform stance for the reasons that you point out. at the risk of saying it...i agree with you. ha ha ha. looking forward to the rest of the installments...having thoroughly enjoyed the articles and the ensuing discussions so far.

i feel that the acid test of educational tools is the amount and the quality of the discussion that they generate after the fur stops flying. just beautiful!

[bottle]

"I feel that the acid test of educational tools is the amount and the quality of the discussion that they generate after the fur stops flying."-- don_budge

Quality, yes, quantity, no, quality of application that might or might not get discussed, yes.

[j81tennis]

Maybe it is possible to avoid a misunderstanding in the term ' both arms stretched' in your intro video 2 handers b-h. You see the picture of Nadal together with the words 'both arms are stretched' while it is clear that both elbows still have a slight angle to maintain flexibility in the elbow joints; the elbows are not straight/locked. In my experience observing some of the double-handed b-h players, they tend to stretch the arm/elbow fully which results in the elbows being locked, stiff with loss of flexibility. I believe it is important to keep some degree of flexibility (not locking - playing with stiff joints) in actually all body segments, especially the joints/ key points of the body in tennis. What do you think? Best regards, Jonathan

[don_budge]

Regarding the Value of the Introduction...from your "A New Teaching Method: The Role of the Legs in the Serve

The Package is coming together nicely...

john...

your series on the serve is really coming together nicely. i remember when you first rolled it out and someone was quasi complaining about your use of an introduction. it is interesting looking back on those comments...and i understood at the time their relevance to the writer without necessarily agreeing. in hindsight we can appreciate that the package deserved a layout...a peek at the synopsis behind your organization.

the sum of the parts is what is developing into the strength of this package. this package is developing synergy. the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. by delivering the lesson piece meal we are getting a sequential shot of a very complicated motion and thus a very difficult thing to describe in it's entirety...particularly in one sitting. like mlogarzo points out in his work with the australian princess...he is taking it step by step. starting at the beginning and working towards the end. and then you work your way backwards until the thing is fluid going forwards and backwards. the tennis serve...it's a beautiful thing when performed as it should be. with perfection in mind.

this installment of your discussion is particularly enlightening and i don't know if i have ever heard the role of the legs and feet so eloquently and yet simply expressed. i think that this series has been a very successful venture on your part. by allowing further contribution from the forum your program is actually lifted off of the video screen...lifted out of the pages of script...into a sort of a reality all of it's own. it has life.

it's been a very interesting experience. the contributions of mlogarzo and licensedcoach by submitting students of theirs enable us...the reader and coaches to decipher from our own experience problems in teaching the serve to students and with the help of comparing with your well chosen model as well as other examples of great serving to further our understanding of one of the greatest and most beautiful motions in all of sports...the service motion.

"why the platform stance", you rhetorically ask. i find it particularly satisfying that you believe in the platform stance for the reasons that you point out. at the risk of saying it...i agree with you. ha ha ha. looking forward to the rest of the installments...having thoroughly enjoyed the articles and the ensuing discussions so far.

i feel that the acid test of educational tools is the amount and the quality of the discussion that they generate after the fur stops flying. just beautiful!

Looking forwards to future instalments on the two hand backhand series.

[don_budge]

I remember when you started your new teaching series on the serve and someone posted that they thought the intro was unnecessary. I think it was because they were highly anticipating the first and following installments. I remember that I wrote that the intro was necessary...for a number of reasons. I just cannot remember what they were. I'll find the old post to see how my old memory is holding up.

[don_budge]

The game of tennis used to be played predominately with the one handed backhand and it has somehow found itself engineered into a two-handed game. Predominately. I believe this is another indication that human beings have the tendency to behave like lemmings and will follow the leader over the cliff.

That being said when I saw this video I became fascinated with the idea of John Yandell pursuing this road to give a careful analysis of the two-handed backhand. Carry on John...looking forwards to this.

Two days ago a couple of my Swedish aquaintences and I were discussing this very stroke and I sort of game an impromptu demonstration on how I would teach it at this point. One guy asked me the same virtual question that John discusses in his introduction. How is the best way to approach this stroke? I ventured my point of view with an accompanied explanation on how to teach it. This is one of the leading questions...how to teach it. In order to teach it you have to understand it. Good stuff John...I don't mind saying so. It's a compliment of the highest order without even hearing what you have to say. Very, very cool.

It will be fascinating going forwards to see how my discussion in the locker room holds up to the scrutiny of your project. Great timing.

[johnyandell]

Would love to discuss "A New Teaching System: Introduction to the Two Handed Backhand"