Having some fun practicing (video)

[vil]

Me and my partner tried to out hit each other just for change. Down side is rallies are shorter. We are both old school as you can see but I would loved to modernise my shots a bit. I have got a few great tips here in the past but I'm finding, when I simply get into rally I forget what I'm supposed to do. I also know my prep can be a bit late on faster balls.
Anyway, here is the video, if you have any tips feel free to comment.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGQw66fWRvQ

[LeeD]

Lookin very good.
Great backhand prep, but you know your forehand can be late getting into position.
Nice freeflowing strokes.

[vil]

Originally Posted by LeeD

Lookin very good.
Great backhand prep, but you know your forehand can be late getting into position.
Nice freeflowing strokes.

Thanks Leed, it's interesting what you say about forehand. It's usually my strongest shot but that day it felt weird. I felt like I was getting jammed at times. Is my footwork a bit slow to get in a position?

[LeeD]

Not slow at all.
It's late reacting, as if you had trouble recognizing where the ball was going when it goes to your forehand.

[sportsfan1]

Nice top spin 1hbh from dude in blue. Some here don't recommend the pendulum take back, but still pretty good.

[vil]

Originally Posted by LeeD

Not slow at all.
It's late reacting, as if you had trouble recognizing where the ball was going when it goes to your forehand.

I can't really explain it. It's like I'm thinking, "I've got enough time to get in position", scanning where my opponent moves and next I find myself late to be where I want to be. I simply fall asleep. Should I start taking some eye drops? Seriously, I'm glad you mentioned that 'cos I had comments from my first video that my prep is a bit late. I can't download it to my brain for some reason.

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by vil

......................................... We are both old school as you can see but I would loved to modernise my shots a bit. ................................ I also know my prep can be a bit late on faster balls.
.................................................. ...........

Forehand

I believe that the 'current' forehand has some characteristics that you could focus on

The free arm helping with a shoulder turn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oc7U5oJ6ps

Look at the other tennisoxygen forehand YT videos also.

(another thread on this subject http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=423053 )

Rick Macci - Secrets of the Forehand
http://www.tennisresources.com/index...100&vidid=3549

In the backswing, it looks as if you could use more shoulder turn - keeping the free arm on the racket in the backswing helps.

In Elliott's reference, Technique Development in Stroke Production, he breaks down the main components of the forehand and gives the logic of why they are there, for example, to provide stretch loading. One thing that is needed in your pattern is more turn of your shoulders than your hips in the backswing [lumbar rotation by the internal & external obliques]. When the line between the shoulders turns a little more than the line between the hips it stretches the muscles of the trunk. This stretch energy is then used in the forward trunk turn that adds racket head speed to the forehand. Djokovic uses a lot of this corkscrew-like motion. Be careful though as twisting too freely and too much might be rough on some backs. The overall concept is that the body turn adds pace and this is one component of body turn.

I find that if I do this I get more pace and it feels good. The extra shoulder turn adds a timing issue. I'm trying to get this motion into my game forehand now.

For timing I have a tendency to get lazy and decide what to do as the ball crosses the net. This works with low pace balls arriving but not heavier pace balls. I try to start stroke preparation as the ball leaves the opponent's racket.

At the beginning of your video it looked as if you were looping slower maybe more conscious of your forehand form.

[vil]

Originally Posted by Chas Tennis

Forehand

I believe that the 'current' forehand has some characteristics that you could focus on

The free arm helping with a shoulder turn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oc7U5oJ6ps

Look at the other tennisoxygen forehand YT videos also.

(another thread on this subject http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=423053 )

In the backswing, it looks as if you could use more shoulder turn - keeping the free arm on the racket in the backswing helps.

In Elliott's reference, Technique Development in Stroke Production, he breaks down the main components of the forehand and gives the logic of why they are there, for example, to provide stretch loading. One thing that is needed in your pattern is more turn of your shoulders than your hips in the backswing [lumbar rotation by the internal & external obliques]. When the line between the shoulders turns a little more than the line between the hips it stretches the muscles of the trunk. This stretch energy is then used in the forward trunk turn that adds racket head speed to the forehand. Djokovic uses a lot of this corkscrew-like motion. Be careful though as twisting too freely and too much might be rough on some backs. The overall concept is that the body turn adds pace and this is one component of body turn.

I find that if I do this I get more pace and it feels good. The extra shoulder turn adds a timing issue. I'm trying to get this motion into my game forehand now.

For timing I have a tendency to get lazy and decide what to do as the ball crosses the net. This works with low pace balls arriving but not heavier pace balls. I try to start stroke preparation as the ball leaves the opponent's racket.

At the beginning of your video it looked as if you were looping slower maybe more conscious of your forehand form.

You are right, I need more shoulder turn. I actually started doing that by holding the racket neck with my right hand a bit longer. That seems to be working well with my turn plus it makes the take back more compact.
The problem is, once I start hitting harder I tend to forget about it and slip back to my old style. I don't know how to force myself to it consistently. At the begining we were just warming up.

[Chas Tennis]

I added a Macci video on the forehand to my earlier reply #7- a top notch and clearly explained instructional video.

[vil]

Originally Posted by Chas Tennis

I added a Macci video on the forehand to my earlier reply #7- a top notch and clearly explained instructional video.

Thanks, great video! I watched it 'till the end. Some very good points he makes. One thing I need to force myself, is to make the back swing more compact by holding the racket with my right hand a bit longer and secondly, watch the ball all the way to the impact. I get sometimes too carried away and can easily take my eyes off the ball.

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by vil

Thanks, great video! I watched it 'till the end. Some very good points he makes. One thing I need to force myself, is to make the back swing more compact by holding the racket with my right hand a bit longer and secondly, watch the ball all the way to the impact. I get sometimes too carried away and can easily take my eyes off the ball.

My worse problem is not keeping my eye on the ball also, it affects everything.

There are two ways discussed for watching the ball strike:

1) track the ball in and stabilize the head/view on the impact area

2) as the ball is coming in at some point, say, for example when the ball is 6-10? feet away from impact, forget the tracking and switch the view, head stabilized, to the area of impact. See D. Knudson tennis book, Biomechanical Principles of Tennis Technique.

I sometimes watch videos or do stop action on my DVR to see which method the pro's are using most often. I have definitely seen pros track as #1. I believe that they will also break off and switch to the impact area but have not viewed enough for stats. I tried viewing as #2 and liked it.

With the backswing, Elliott describes an angle between 1) the line between the shoulders and 2) the line between the hips as a measure of trunk twist. For the back swing he says to have the shoulders go back farther than the hips as a means of loading, stretching the trunk muscles. Elliott does not describe, I think, the arm forward of the body plane as Macci does. But the main idea seems to be - add power from the trunk. They also both start the forward swing with the upper arm up - elbow raised. ( I think that upper-arm-up is recommended because it gets the lat muscle somehow more involved.) Macci does not discuss muscles and Elliott does. Best book that I have found on stroke technique is Technique Development for Tennis Stroke Production by B. Elliott, M. Reid, & M. Crespo. Available only from the ITF Store for $20.

[Pet]

Hey!!

You have good strokes, but If could play with more topspin in your forehand...

Another thing that I am doing now is facing the raquet to the ground in the first spet of forward swing. I think here is calling ¨pat the dog¨

[vil]

Originally Posted by Pet

Hey!!

You have good strokes, but If could play with more topspin in your forehand...

Another thing that I am doing now is facing the raquet to the ground in the first spet of forward swing. I think here is calling ¨pat the dog¨

I can hit enough topspin if I need to but must admit it's not the same as WW forehand I see some guys hit. That's something I'd loved to learn. I can shadow that swing (I think) but in reality it's nothing like I'm shadowing in front of the mirror. That "pat the dog" thing, is that at the take back or follow through. I imagine you can't hit the ball with that, otherwise you hit it with the edge of the frame.

[LeeD]

At your level, you don't need to see where your opponent is going. You know he has to cover your possible angles, and more importantly, YOU have to hit your shot. Forget about him, focus on the ball.
Nobody at your level runs around helterskelter to all corners of their court. Everyone at your level plays the percentages, covers as much of their court as possible, so you KNOW where they're headed after they hit the ball.

[sunof tennis]

Originally Posted by vil

I can hit enough topspin if I need to but must admit it's not the same as WW forehand I see some guys hit. That's something I'd loved to learn. I can shadow that swing (I think) but in reality it's nothing like I'm shadowing in front of the mirror. That "pat the dog" thing, is that at the take back or follow through. I imagine you can't hit the ball with that, otherwise you hit it with the edge of the frame.

You might have said this before, but what grip do you use on your forehand?

[rkelley]

Originally Posted by vil

I can hit enough topspin if I need to but must admit it's not the same as WW forehand I see some guys hit. That's something I'd loved to learn. I can shadow that swing (I think) but in reality it's nothing like I'm shadowing in front of the mirror. That "pat the dog" thing, is that at the take back or follow through. I imagine you can't hit the ball with that, otherwise you hit it with the edge of the frame.

PTD is at the end of the take back, right before you pull the trigger to start the forward swing. From my own experience, PTD helps you load-up the pronation on your wrist so the racquet whips up more powerfully through the hitting zone, imparting more topspin.

Here's a Federer video that shows it pretty clearly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ImeQaAyFPc

I've noticed that pros who tend to hit flatter, like Del Potro, don't really hit the PTD position as much.

[LeeD]

Oh, your forehand.
I thought you hit very open shouldered so you can recover back to position quicker. You footwork is late, so that part is hard to tell.
Few good players can turn well on both sides, forehand and backhand. Most favor the full turn on one side, then hit more open the other.
Pros are the exception, of course. They are pros.

[ATP100]

Originally Posted by vil

Me and my partner tried to out hit each other just for change. Down side is rallies are shorter. We are both old school as you can see but I would loved to modernise my shots a bit. I have got a few great tips here in the past but I'm finding, when I simply get into rally I forget what I'm supposed to do. I also know my prep can be a bit late on faster balls.
Anyway, here is the video, if you have any tips feel free to comment.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGQw66fWRvQ

IMO, same as last time, hit the ball higher. It will make you better in the long run.

[vil]

Originally Posted by ATP100

IMO, same as last time, hit the ball higher. It will make you better in the long run.

I know I haven't changed that much but it's not like I'm not trying though. What do you mean by "hit the ball higher" ...to clear the net?

[ATP100]

Originally Posted by vil

I know I haven't changed that much but it's not like I'm not trying though. What do you mean by "hit the ball higher" ...to clear the net?

Hmmm, yes, the net is not part of the game. The net puts points on the board. The net doesn't make you hit better, serve better, volley better, It prevents you from these things. I know, sounds crazy, but in 2 hours, if you hit the ball higher, you will hit "X" amount of balls. If you keep hitting the net, you will hit less balls, slowing your learning curve.

P.S. You do hit good, I can just tell, if you choose to, you can be better.