1HBH - A contradiction?

[limitup]

A lot of times when talking about the 1HBH, you hear "experts" say to swing with your shoulder. Other times you hear the same and other "experts" saying to pull the butt of the racquet towards the ball. To me these are 2 totally different things. What am I missing here?

[tarkowski]

A lot of times when talking about the 1HBH, you hear "experts" say to swing with your shoulder. Other times you hear the same and other "experts" saying to pull the butt of the racquet towards the ball. To me these are 2 totally different things. What am I missing here?

As a 1HBH player I think this makes sense. You want to make sure that your swing isn't happening at the elbow, but that your arm is straight and operating like a 'pendulum' from the shoulder. When the motion starts, the butt-cap is facing forward and leading in front of the racquet. It is a 'pulling' motion rather than a 'pushing' motion in that the shoulder is pulling the racquet past your waist, towards the ball. As the butt-cap comes past your forward thigh, your arms natural rotation will bring the racquet head square with the ball, and the butt-cap will be at a right angle to it. Extra pop can be had with a slight pronation of the wrist on contact, i.e., a slight (not exagerrated) window washing effect. Best I can describe it...

[FH2FH]

All groundstrokes work this way. Having the buttcap point toward the ball indicates you're making a full backswing. As far as swinging with the shoulder, it's part of the kinetic chain: legs, hips, shoulders. The swing always starts from the ground up; hence the importance of footwork!

[Bagumbawalla]

Groundstrokes are not simple. Every part of your body is moving in some way or another. Much of the force generated in a groundstroke is generated by a fairly complex chain-reaction of events-- weight is shifting foreward through your legs, your hips are rotating into the shot, your shoulder is back, pulling your arm along. It's sort of like the way skaters will form a line and then coil and uncoil and sent the outermost skater whipping off the end of the line. A series of small, graduated movements combine to create a focused force at the point of impact.

Of course, it's impossible to think (or try to control) all these motions every stroke. So, instead, we remind ourselves of the proper mechanics by refering to some of the more overt actions, and they don't really contradict, they are just different reminders for people who need to focus on different things.

Good luck, merry Christmas,

B