Why is this true?

jon166 · 06-08-2005, 08:14 AM

Whenever I really focus on hitting the ball, it always hits better than when I'm thinking about my stroke.

I usually thought about " okay jon, time to make your wrist 90 degrees, and hit through it!" this would usually just screw me up a lot, but if I just really just think about hitting the ball, it goes in most of the time with some great power . why is this true?

06-08-2005, 08:17 AM

When you think too hard bad things happen.

Mike Cottrill · 06-08-2005, 08:29 AM

If you do not watch the ball, no matter what you do your not going to execute well.

Gaines Hillix · 06-08-2005, 09:20 AM

When you're thinking about your technique your mind is occupied processing the input from your body, i.e. where is my wrist. You also tend to focus/look there. It's very hard to do that and focus on the ball too. My instructors have all said stay as low as the ball, watch the ball with your head down, eyes on the ball, hit the ball in front of you, follow through the hit and stay focused on that spot until the racquet has traveled about a foot past ball impact.

TennsDog · 06-08-2005, 10:10 AM

If I were to think about what it sounds like you do, I would screw up a lot too. That is a great way to miss shots and screw up your game. You should focus first on the ball and then on the overall effect of the stroke, not every detail of what your body is doing. The only time I even try to think about my strokes at all is when something is wrong and I have need to change it.

BigbangerNYC · 06-09-2005, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon166

Whenever I really focus on hitting the ball, it always hits better than when I'm thinking about my stroke.

I usually thought about " okay jon, time to make your wrist 90 degrees, and hit through it!" this would usually just screw me up a lot, but if I just really just think about hitting the ball, it goes in most of the time with some great power . why is this true?

Our mind can only really focus or concentrate on one thing at a time, so if you tell your brain to think about the mechanics of the stroke during a shot, your brain will do just that and "ignore the ball."

Stroke mechanics should be automatic and this can be achieved by practice and lots of it. Have you ever wonder why the pros are so great at their shots, even shots that seem imposssible to us and for us to make? The answer is that they are so "conditioned" that their shots are a product of reflex, rather than thought. Same thing with ping pong pros, they don't think when the hit that ball (they don't have time to do that!) it's all reflexive due to intense training and conditioning.

Geezer Guy · 06-09-2005, 07:49 AM

I think I read somewhere that in PRACTICE it's ok to work on stroke mechanics, but in a MATCH you should just watch the ball and think about strategy. You practice so that you'll know how to hit a shot. During the match, just relax and let your body do what it knows hot to do. If you think about stroke mechanics in a match, it'll just screw you up.

Kaptain Karl · 06-09-2005, 08:13 AM

jon - Do a Search on "game-based approach" and read everything M. Kahn posts about it. Follow that method of training and you'll avoid the "mental overload" you are presently messing yourself up with. I guarantee it.

- KK

06-09-2005, 09:39 AM

There is an article -

"How we hit things like tennis balls when consciousness takes half a second to arrive"

Abstract:
Benjamin Libet's famous finding that a state of consciousness takes about half a second to form - that's how long it takes the brain to complete all the processing - poses a problem for sports enthusiasts. How does anyone ever hit a ball? Anticipation is the answer - and anticipation is critical to the understanding of consciousness itself.

In this article, there is a paragraph -
.... What this means is that consciousness lags behind reality by up to half a second and so any rapid reactions shown by athletes must be achieved by sub-conscious processing. Given that the time window in which a cricket or tennis player must make contact with a fast-moving ball is about five milliseconds - any sooner or later with the swing and the ball will be mishit - the mystery becomes not that some people are so skillful, but that anyone ever manages to strike a ball at all.

It may be possible to find out the whole article on internet where I got from.

snowpuppy · 06-09-2005, 10:32 AM

just read "the inner game of tennis" and you will find your answers

mistapooh · 06-09-2005, 01:38 PM

^Gahhh, that whole book was like a God-send. Even though I don't get to practice as much as I used to, I feel like I get more out of practice now thanks to the book, as I'm training more efficiently now.

06-08-2005, 08:14 AM	#1
jon166 New User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 40	Why is this true? Whenever I really focus on hitting the ball, it always hits better than when I'm thinking about my stroke. I usually thought about " okay jon, time to make your wrist 90 degrees, and hit through it!" this would usually just screw me up a lot, but if I just really just think about hitting the ball, it goes in most of the time with some great power . why is this true?

06-08-2005, 09:20 AM	#4
Gaines Hillix Hall Of Fame Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 4,240	When you're thinking about your technique your mind is occupied processing the input from your body, i.e. where is my wrist. You also tend to focus/look there. It's very hard to do that and focus on the ball too. My instructors have all said stay as low as the ball, watch the ball with your head down, eyes on the ball, hit the ball in front of you, follow through the hit and stay focused on that spot until the racquet has traveled about a foot past ball impact. __________________ Gaines Hillix MRT

06-08-2005, 10:10 AM	#5
TennsDog Hall Of Fame Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,277	If I were to think about what it sounds like you do, I would screw up a lot too. That is a great way to miss shots and screw up your game. You should focus first on the ball and then on the overall effect of the stroke, not every detail of what your body is doing. The only time I even try to think about my strokes at all is when something is wrong and I have need to change it. __________________ Fear is a waste of time, and pain breeds fear -- ignore pain and live life. Wilson ProStaff 85, Iso-Speed Control crossed w/anything cheap @ 60lbs.

06-09-2005, 08:13 AM	#8
Kaptain Karl Hall Of Fame Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The High Country of Colorado Posts: 5,245	jon - Do a Search on "game-based approach" and read everything M. Kahn posts about it. Follow that method of training and you'll avoid the "mental overload" you are presently messing yourself up with. I guarantee it. - KK __________________ Join PUT-OFF: Players Unwilling To Overlook Foot Faults .. .. .. .. .. The MAN -- Monster At Net .. .. .. .. ..

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