My even more improved straight arm forhand with video.

Just an update...

I believe I have been learning/hitting straight arm forhand for a year now, and it is a bumpy road, up and downs... But now I am pretty confident of my forhand, and it has become a huge weapon, I am happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2D2A4oUERM

1 question tho. I have noticed that both Nadal, Djokovic and many other double handed backhand players, their non-dominate hand always hold racket throat area when in ready position between each shot. Why they do that? I can understand single handed backhand doing it, but... My non-dominate hand always, always on racket handle and in backhand grip(i am somewhere between continental and eastern-forhand ). Is taht because making take-back as low as possible(to get below the ball)? Can somebody explain this? Thanks in advance!

Keeping the off hand on the throat helps build a stronger unit turn for forehands and stabilizes the racket for slices and volleys. On returns of serve, there is no time to slide the off hand down to hit a two handed topspin backhand, so the player will assume the ready position with both hands on the grip. Nadal is the exception; he returns with his off hand on he throat and slides it down to hit a backhand.

if you want you can do the unit turn in the 2HBH grip there is really no disadvantage.

however the throat grip will give you a bit more spacing between the arms and thus allow for easier running and a more relaxed hitting. they are probably doing it for conveniance issues.

I believe that having that off hand on the upper throat is great for reinforcing the exact position of the racket face related to the grip of the primary hand.

I use a 2hbh and I have my off hand on the throat of the racquet in the ready position. I believe it is a more comfortable posture with the elbows farther away from the body and you can feel exactly where the racquet face is.

I only watched the beginning of your video, do you change techniques in the middle? I am not sure your arm is straight at contact. Could be my mistake.

EDIT : I tried to stop your video at contact and I am still not sure. I could be wrong but it is probably not important. Forehand looks fine. Who are you modelling it after?

dominikk1985 said:

if you want you can do the unit turn in the 2HBH grip there is really no disadvantage.

however the throat grip will give you a bit more spacing between the arms and thus allow for easier running and a more relaxed hitting. they are probably doing it for conveniance issues.

Click to expand...

I believe it actually has been proven bio mechanically to assist in shoulder rotation. At least that is what I was told by professor Bruce Elliott. Luke Seville made this change while still in juniors.

Thank you guys for clearing things up... I have experiment throat grip little bit, don't feel any difference, maybe need to try more.

PhrygianDominant, I think in that video, I have few, very few forhand are straight arm, most times are not 100% straight. I don't think I am modelling after anybody right now. I was trying to get Federer's forhand tho. But after all these years with double bent, i have developed my own swing pattern and I don't think I can change it... So I just apply straight arm discipline to my current swing pattern. I know it is not perfect but It seems work out pretty good so far. 1 of my old tennis partner, we have not played together for a long time, thinks my stroke are so much smother than before... And I used to record my hitting sessions all these years, when I compare, my current forhand is a clear winner... more smooth, more power and more spin...

HodeClassicMP said:

Just an update...

I believe I have been learning/hitting straight arm forhand for a year now, and it is a bumpy road, up and downs... But now I am pretty confident of my forhand, and it has become a huge weapon, I am happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2D2A4oUERM

1 question tho. I have noticed that both Nadal, Djokovic and many other double handed backhand players, their non-dominate hand always hold racket throat area when in ready position between each shot. Why they do that? I can understand single handed backhand doing it, but... My non-dominate hand always, always on racket handle and in backhand grip(i am somewhere between continental and eastern-forhand ). Is taht because making take-back as low as possible(to get below the ball)? Can somebody explain this? Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

looks good! only thing I see is, your forehands have a high trajectory off the stringbed. this tells me two things:
1. you might be hitting the ball too late, as in it's getting too close to your side at contact point. solution: time the shot so you contact the ball more out in front of you.

2. you aren't applying as much topspin as you should. in seeing your video, your racquet head speed as your frame approaches the ball is rather slow. i think you could probably swing a little bit faster.
Your follow through is great, so it seems like you have the potential to swing out more, but you're holding back right up to contact point and then cutting loose. it needs to be the opposite of that. you should really swing out prior to hitting the ball.

more topspin = a faster change in direction of the ball, and lower net clearance. this can produce a faster, heavier ball.

good luck!

HodeClassicMP said:

Thank you guys for clearing things up... I have experiment throat grip little bit, don't feel any difference, maybe need to try more.

PhrygianDominant, I think in that video, I have few, very few forhand are straight arm, most times are not 100% straight. I don't think I am modelling after anybody right now. I was trying to get Federer's forhand tho. But after all these years with double bent, i have developed my own swing pattern and I don't think I can change it... So I just apply straight arm discipline to my current swing pattern. I know it is not perfect but It seems work out pretty good so far. 1 of my old tennis partner, we have not played together for a long time, thinks my stroke are so much smother than before... And I used to record my hitting sessions all these years, when I compare, my current forhand is a clear winner... more smooth, more power and more spin...

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are focusing on what is important. I also had a double bend, and after trying to learn straight arm, I settled on less bend. Well done.

looks solid to me. but, one tip..

prepare earlier with the your left hand on the throat untill at least 90 degrees.

2 advantages:
- more power from your core
- as a result it is much easier to step into the ball (closed stance) which suits your straight arm more.

OP, your forehand looks pretty decent to me. I personally don't care if you do straight-arm or not. I think the most important thing is that you create space. You don't crowd the ball. That is excellent.

I also like that you are preferring to hit an open-stance forehand. It allows you to be a little more "slappy" and put more pace on the ball.

The big weakness I see is your contact point. A ton of these balls you are hitting shoulder/neck high.

I think you need to try to hit more out in front. Don't only choose to give the ball space to the side. Give the ball space in front of you, also. That will give you a lot more topspin and a lot better position to hit the shot.