Originally posted by johnyandell
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Originally posted by seano
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Originally posted by jeffreycounts
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Originally posted by BrianGordon
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Originally posted by rosesunny
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Originally posted by ten1050
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Originally posted by BrianGordon
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Originally posted by rosesunny
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Originally posted by ten1050
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Originally posted by BrianGordon
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Do you know what a good conversation looks like? It looks like this. Some beautiful questions answered by competent and precise information. From the conversation there are two points of reference to be considered. One is the issue of "SEQUENCING" as opposed to spinning...this is one excellent point and it is solvable with some work. The second is the path of her hand and thus the racquet face from her set up position and the transfer into the down swing...forward swing.
Tennis is...golf on the run. Brian is a gift to the tennis world as he brings to the table the sort of things that are routinely discussed in the golf world. Since golf starts from a static position it has evolved naturally into a technical and teaching evolution. Tennis seems to be lagging behind. But Brian is on to it.
Looking at the two issues from a golfing perspective it boils down to this. First the sequencing issue. If you can get the player to commit to this exercise program for a month...a lot of this can be rectified.
I submit myself as an example. Even though my involvement in tennis has dwindled there are moments when a bit of the old white light wants to come back into my purview. I had a very difficult time learning the sequencing from the right hand side of the golf swing. This is because as a younger person I learned to swing a baseball bat from the left side. But by committing to this exercise program for a couple of months now, since the middle of October, I have vastly improved my rotation and sequencing from the right hand side of the golf swing by a factor of one hundred percent. This is a no brainer. It just takes some work and consistency. By the way...I did this at 67 years old so it won't be any problem for a young athlete. In just a couple of months I am more of a "natural" from the right side than I am from the left side now.
The second issue is a bit more technical and even a simpler explanation will rectify this issue. This is a very, very interesting adaption you are asking the player to make. Because it is so subtle, it can only be understood by reducing the problem to its simplest form. The issue is one of what Ben Hogan refers to in his teachings in the "Five Fundamentals of Golf" as one of plane. The plane of the backswing and the plane of the forwards swing. Brian identifies the problem in that this tennis player does not get herself in position correctly to begin the forwards swing. So the first adaption is going to show her where to set up for the forwards swing. This is not so complicated but the problem is her body will resist the correct forwards motion because the current one is so set in her hard drive.
So the thing to do is focus on the path of the index finger. Show her the proper line to trace with her index finger and then put a racquet in her hand and ask her to duplicate the line she does without the racquet. This is what humans do with their index finger...they point. Once she has a clear understanding what the path is of the finger and with the sequencing exercise program it is only a matter of time before she is able to adapt her new motion to the swing. The sequencing of the body rotation is going to "pull" the hand through the path of the swing quite naturally.
I actually was able to correct one of the fundamental major flaws in not only my golf swing but in just about every golfer by doing just this. It was actually just a bit more complicated because it is a two handed sport and I also had to understand the motion of my left hand...and to do this I focused on the path of my thumb. The action of the left hand is beautifully diagramed in Hogan's book and it was so simple to incorporate this action into my swing after I clearly understood what the path of my left hand look like. Once I fully understood the roles or paths of the right index finger and the left thumb, it was just a matter of getting comfortable with both hands working together and not fighting each other.
In order to get comfortable with the swing, I practice swinging right handed only, with the proper body sequencing and I practice swinging left handed only doing the same. After getting comfortable with the different components it is a most natural motion that swings the golf club as a result. The more comfortable I become with it, it feels as if the weight of the clubhead is swinging my body and vice versa.
Brian is absolutely correct when he says, "in theory the changes would be simple". They are. A couple of months ago I would have agreed with the second part too..."in practice nearly impossible". But with some hard work and with a clear vision of what it is she is trying to accomplish...I think it is doable.
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