The human mind needs to be calmed down.
This mind is too fast, thinks too many non-efficient things.
Look, Don’t Think
Be a natural, a tennis whisperer. Observe.
The human mind needs to be calmed down.
This mind is too fast, thinks too many non-efficient things.
If you operate looking, rather than thinking, you’ll be calmer, more efficient.
Just move your head and your upper body to start in one direction.
The outside foot will slide underneath the body, which now, unbalanced, will move on its own.
There will be no need to push hard.
Then find the ball in your favorite hitting spot, feel it, and finish your stroke all the way.
The Edge
Conventional tennis had been thought to be played with the strings meeting squarely the ball.
Modern tennis power emphasis is led mostly with the racquet’s edge.
Think of it in terms of Martial Arts. The edge of the hand is your powerful weapon, and also your defense.
Today’s high power game is more of deflection than straight power. You want spin on nearly every ball.
Lead with your racquet’s edges, top edge for topspin, bottom edge for slice, and you’ll have more control.
Transference
I have tested, for decades, an interesting experiment that has proven helpful to a lot of players, from amateurs to pros.
Rather than trying to position your body at a certain distance from the ball, track the ball with your playing hand or hands as if you were trying to catch it.
Now comes something that is instinctive, dictated by your intention of driving the hand to your favorite end of the stroke. For example, you track the ball with your hand, you see it right where you want it, with a bit of back and forth hand movement you then accelerate your racquet diagonally, that is, up for topspin and across your body for control. You finish the stroke pointing the butt of the racquet to where you sent the ball.
It is an easy transfer of focus where you transition from catch to hit with no doubts or reservations in the blink of an eye.
You may even have your racquet quite loose.
It may seem too simplistic, too left to chance. But by keeping both hands on the racquet while tracking the ball, your playing hand will determine the timing necessary and the details of your stroke. Just make sure you finish the stroke all the way.
Focusing initially on the hand, rather than on the racquet, can develop several abilities. One is something that you most likely learned at a very young age: the skill to catch a moving object while YOU are on the move as well and then throw it away.
Another resulting advantage is the simplification of the thought process. There is a hand and there is a ball you want to catch. Nothing else matters. I’d like to venture that there is no thought necessary at all. You are free to go about it as you please.
It is nothing complicated, nothing rushed. Your lower body may be in an emergency, running fast. It will tend to look for efficiency to help you execute your primary intention, which is your stroke. Let your body teach you. Feel it and don’t force it in authoritarian ways.
The details on how to maximize your control and power are in other sections of my work.
Give it your best try and let me know the results.
Cool, I keep saying and others disagree that Tennis is in the brain, we all have the same equipment, the difference is the mind. I do disagree big time with point 2, that's what these guys do teach, but not all shots should be topspin, we need flat shots, slice, sidespin, the whole gallery, but yea cool
Can people please be civilized and can TT not delete these types of threads?
Let the discussion grow, let people debate. The more different types of coaching philosophies we have on here the better, even if you don't agree with anything mentioned. This is getting beyond ridiculous.
You use the edge on those shots in point 2 as well, except maybe the flat, lack of spin that is
not too common really with better players.
Biggest part for many who have some info, is to know what to leave out.
Can people please be civilized and can TT not delete these types of threads?
Let the discussion grow, let people debate. The more different types of coaching philosophies we have on here the better, even if you don't agree with anything mentioned. This is getting beyond ridiculous.
If they leave out flat shots they are not "better players", they may think they are though.
Be a natural, a tennis whisperer. Observe.
The human mind needs to be calmed down.
This mind is too fast, thinks too many non-efficient things.
If you operate looking, rather than thinking, you’ll be calmer, more efficient.
Just move your head and your upper body to start in one direction.
The outside foot will slide underneath the body, which now, unbalanced, will move on its own.
Lead with your racquet’s edges, top edge for topspin, bottom edge for slice, and you’ll have more control.
those shots of federer seem to indicate that he does "extend" through a Little and the across happens after the ball has left the strings (which would mean that the across has absolutely Zero effect on the hit ball).
Across, up, and extension happen together as the arc is 3D. You cannot artificially separate them.
Across, up, and extension happen together as the arc is 3D. You cannot artificially separate them.
that's what I was saying. there is no "across" in a Tennis shot. it is just a natural continuation of the arc around the Body. of course you could actually fight against the arc by extending. and you could also cut the off by actively pulling the arm in (active pull across).
but to me it Looks like neither is Happening- there is just one arc around the Body.
Can people please be civilized and can TT not delete these types of threads?
Let the discussion grow, let people debate. The more different types of coaching philosophies we have on here the better, even if you don't agree with anything mentioned. This is getting beyond ridiculous.
It's fine if you decide not to take advantage of pulling across, but for those
who have learned to add it, there is quite a gain to be realized. For you to tell
those who know how to use it that it doesn't work is like telling someone with
a 6 speed, that they only have 5....It won't fly. You can continue to sell it to
those who also think there are only 5 speeds in some cases though...at least
till the give it a fair chance and see that the 6th gear is actually there.
I realize if you are satisfied with your Fh, there is little reason to push for more.
I'm not even sure if I disagree with you.
I certainly do hit "across". I just don't know if across means active use of the arm to pull across or letting the rotational nature of the stroke carry the racket across.
I'm also against trying to extend the arm through the ball as this means disconnection from Rotation.
The cue to pull across (and to a certain extent to also actively pull back at impact) works. But does it actually go across only? No of course not. As the swing is circular the swing can be manipulated with a lot of nuance. If you see how djokovic hits when he finishes his fh over his shoulder there seems to be active use of his bicep to pull back the stroke as well as the across aspect. Does the racket pull back and slow down? No. The racket seems to accelerate faster in the arc across. One advantage I've found in focusing on the across aspect of a fh stroke is your shoulders are always centered over your hips. I've tried numerous cues when coaching my 11 year old son and focusing on the across aspect of the stroke and with an emphasis on starting the swing slower then accelerating through impact really helps with pace and spin. One thing I add that Oscar does not really touch on much is the use of the legs. I found that by using the knee bend and lifting into the stroke it adds more racket head speed with out the need to swing any faster.
I am still not certain the active pull back advice by Oscar is right for every occasion. As I taught my son a straight arm forehand when he hits with a normal wiper motion he hits harder than when he actively pulls back. The finish is different as well as spin. My son gets more top spin if he uses the cue to pull back. But the ball is heavier with a normal wiper motion using the straight arm. And the ball has enough clearance over the net regardless. And on wide balls on the run to the fh he is hitting a reverse fh. Perhaps the active pull back cue can be used more effectively to affect the wide fhs on the run? To add more height and spin without resorting to a reverse fh?
Regardless my son prefers to not use the pull back cue as he hits well with a normal wiper straight arm fh. The ball is moving fast and with a lot of spin. And I'm not about to change things at this point after 6 years of working on his fh.
Dominikk, try it both ways, pushing away for disconnection (as you explain) at or near the impact and through it, more linear towards the other player's court, and other times pulling in, across and towards the fence behind you, accelerating through the impact in a major change of direction, and tell us which one works best for you in terms of power, control, spin, amount of effort, etc.
I'd love to hear from your experience with such.
Arche, you are right in present time. But, let's say your son grows to be a tall, powerful hitter, and hits forehands close to or above 100 MPH (normal in today's tour, even in college). Would he be able to pound the ball without any rotation and get it consistently in the court? Would he be able, at those speeds, to have a safe net clearance and not retrain his power in a tight situation? Would he be confident on pounding and attacking the ball no matter what?
The modern racquets, with so much available response and power, have changed the equation quite a bit.
Those are the considerations that make me teach topspin from a young age. It is always easier, as a variation, to resort to hit flatter, forward and harder. Your swing is quite coincidental with the flight of your ball. What is more difficult is to tell the usual flat player TO POUND the ball with topspin and hitting across. It takes new training and countless hours of practice to instill in a player with a forward tendency to exert his effort in a completely new direction than that of the ball trajectory he intends.
I'm not even sure if I disagree with you.
I certainly do hit "across". I just don't know if across means active use of the arm to pull across or letting the rotational nature of the stroke carry the racket across.
I'm also against trying to extend the arm through the ball as this means disconnection from Rotation.
I agree 100%, who are the complainers that keep getting these threads deleted. This is supposed to be a tennis site for tennis discussion, it amazes me that on a tennis site a long time tennis instructor is giving free advise and the threads keep getting nuked.
It makes you wonder if some of the haters are worried that the same instruction that they claim is so wrong could be found to be helpful and ruin their non stop Oscar bashing.
I think most players looking for help take a little something from many different teaching methods, some they will like and some they will think are no good. But it would be nice if we would at least get to make that choice.
And if Oscar is so wrong I do not understand why the same few haters have to jump in and start the trouble. If they know it is wrong just stay out of these threads and stay with what they think is the right way. Isn't that what most normal people would do?
So if you disagree you are labeled a "Hater"?
Aren't others entitled to opinions, or do we just sit back like mindless robots and say "Yes teacher"?
I agree many get very nasty, but a difference of opinion helps people grow. I do a thread and I don't care if others disagree.
Well you must have missed most of these Oscar threads obviously. There have been a few posters that have to jump in every thread that involves Oscar and start useless bickering that leads to the the thread being deleted.
The difference of opinion is fine with me, I agree that it helps to hear different sides and opinions. Even though a lot of it was just obnoxious trouble making that didn't bother me that much, but what did is the thread would just be getting going and becoming interesting and it would be nuked because of the haters starting so much crap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a6WWX5AWUA
notice that in this video EA just talks about options, not valid/invalid options.. also check out his work titled 'power of 3', which is a masterpiece on open-minded golf instruction suited to individual players.
why can't tennis coaches be more open minded.
seems these debates about individual ques are quite pointless.... they are all valid, to the extent that they work for somebody.... they are all invalid, to the extent that they don't work for everybody !
Disagreement is not "hating." Calling people out on their credibility problems by citing evidence is not "hating."
Expalining why certain claims are falacious when presented as monolithic truth is not "hating." Suggesting how these claims may be detrimental to the tennis of players here is not "hating."
But there is a reaction pattern we have seen here over and over again when these criticisms are raised that leads to thread oblivion. It's self inflicted.
On with the love fest!
Mulach,
All reasonable questions you ask. You're late to this debate though by about 2 years. I lost count of how many threads in which I posted video clips, hard data, interviews with other authorities who challenged various points as well as myself, not to mention a ton of very precise reasoning, all that have been vaporized in a haze of denial and...well, let's just stop there before the vapor trial is all that is left.
I am going to duck out here and leave the love fest to the lovers.
Arche had an interesting suggestion.
Ditto. I think I can learn from both Oscar Wegner and John Yandell ... and a lot of other people for that matter. If something (after sufficient work on my part in applying a principle or technical adjustment) helps my game, then, for me at least, it was sage advice.I have an idea. If you started a JY tennis ideas thread I am sure people would enjoy it just as much as this one. I know I would.