riding a bike

[luvforty]

one day on the driving range, a teaching pro friend of mine was chatting about golf, and he said golf is like riding a bike, you never forget it.

my golf was high maintenance until last year, when something clicked, and I stopped hitting range balls.... I have reached the 'bike' point... nowadays I can lay off the game for weeks, and start hitting good shots (for my own standards anyway), basically from ball 1.

tennis - after 20+ years of playing, I still have a page long of check points for all the strokes involved.... and it gets to the point where skill erosion outpaces skill gain if I don't play minimum 7 hours a week.

but I have seen one guy who can lay off the racket for months and start hitting good from ball 1.

how do you make tennis like riding a bike?

[BevelDevil]

by having simple strokes.

[luvforty]

yeah, einstein said as simple as possible, but not simpler..... so there is still a limit...

tennis is not a simple sport.

[Ash_Smith]

^^^Tennis is a simple sport, we make it complicated

[LeeD]

"riding a bike"... If you mean get on, go down the street, turn around and get back without falling, yes.... If you mean going for a century on a hilly windy course with 10,000 other bike riders in a semi competitive enviorment, then NO CHANCE.
"hitting a ball"... If you mean hitting it without hurting yourself, somwhere over on the other side of the net, with decent form, yes.....
If you mean getting back to your old game, sharp and solid, no chance.

[sureshs]

Just compare the number of people who can ride a bike with those who can play decent tennis.

Tennis is more like riding a bike on a tightrope in a circus.

[Relinquis]

just hit more through the ball, more volume through contact...

just kidding... my serve 'clicked' when i started hitting with more of a loose arm and more smooth and simple service motion... now i can hit serves more naturally, like knowing how to free throw, or riding a bike or such. once it clicks you have the shot in your repertoire.

of course you can refine it and get better, faster, more accurate and add fancier action or such, but you don't lose the basic shot.

if you're thinking about balance, counter-steering and peddling while you are learning to ride a bike you will find it difficult... once you have actually experienced balance and counter-steering, it clicks and makes sense. most people who ride bikes don't even know about counter-steering!

[luvforty]

yeah yeah yeah - simple tennis, thru the ball all that, i get that.

i wonder if i started too lated.. first picked up racket at 20..

i think after certain age, you can't really deep burn muscle memories no more.

[boramiNYC]

luv forty, I get the impression you have better proprioception than average Joe. check out a book called elements of skill on amazon. it touches on the issue you are curious about and I thought it was an excellent book.

[charliefedererer]

Tennis is not simple for those without great hand/eye coordination.

Tennis is hard.

That is the challenge - and satisfaction from playing a difficult sport.


Golf - you get to hit a stationary object.

Tennis - the ball is moving in all four dimensions, with infinite changes in pace and spin.


My friend at the rodeo was chatting about tennis and said:

"Tennis is like riding a bucking bull. Even though no two rides are ever the same, you never forget the thrill of it."

[user92626]

LeeD's got it right, but strangely everyone ignored his point.

I rode bike until it got too cold recently. Not talking about the general how-to, but it was HARD. In fact I routinely win 8 out of 10 doubles matches but I could not and have not won cycling against my friend in term of speed, distance, pain endurance, etc. There are 5 of us in the group and I am dead in the middle.

Funny after riding for a few weeks, the people I usually play with at the court started to look even more pathetic with their hitting/games. They seemed to get exhausted even faster. Played lesser sets and more ue prone!

[Relinquis]

sorry, but the endurance bike riding analogy doesn't ring true to me...

tennis is more about skill than stamina. that's why its like riding a bike, a skill you acquire, not just somthign you can muscle or suffer through.

[thecode]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

^^^Tennis is a simple sport, we make it complicated

I agree
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[LeeD]

Being a physical cripple, I take exception to people who say endurance and fitness has little to do with tennis.....or even just hitting the ball.
We need E and F so we can get to the ball more than 3 times, to keep from being completely winded after 3 shots, and to get the feet into position to turn the shoulders early on each and every ball.
You cannot hit a ball when you're out of shape and not fit. Period. You can smack it back ONCE, but after that, no matter if you're a 5.0 or a 3.5, that's your glory for the day.
As far a riding a bike..... yes, you can ride to the corner and back. You cannot possibly get close to any decent level of riding...say 60 miles in 4 hours. Your BUTT would fall off.

[user92626]

Originally Posted by Relinquis

sorry, but the endurance bike riding analogy doesn't ring true to me...

tennis is more about skill than stamina. that's why its like riding a bike, a skill you acquire, not just somthign you can muscle or suffer through.

I didn't say it was only endurance. There are tons of techniques if you are serious about biking.


The point I want to make is that it's all about level, as Leed suggested.