vin said:
Hey BB,
Did you catch the section titled "Wrist" towards the end of the second page? I'd put some quotes from the article here, but that may not be appropriate. Robert specifically addresses laying back the wrist too much and directly associates it with "slapping".
Okay, but right now I am in the middle of our move to Idaho in two weeks, I will try to get to it.
If you lay back your wrist as far as it will go, or too much, you will need to push your wrist forward during the swing (or over rotate) to prevent the racket head from ending up behind the hand at contact. But that's a backwards way of explaining it since this extreme wrist position is likely an intentional wind up for a wrist snap ... or slap.
Yeah, boy, if he is saying this, I would have to disagree with him. I can understand if someone is mainly swinging from the elbow with a loose wrist and is sort of slapping the ball to get it to go. But I disagree with him that allowing the wrist to go back as far as it can leads to "pushing" your wrist forward or slapping the ball.
Looking at Federer, he has extreme wrist layback, but because he moves his arm from the shoulder/torso/legs with his rotation, tremendous forces are playing on that loose wrist of his which greatly accelerates the racquet right before contact. It is like one big rubber band being stretched.
I have followed your posts on wrist release and I think this is different by being more pronounced. I think the "BB Wrist Release" is more about letting the momentum of the swing push the wrist forward through relaxation rather than the actual contraction of a "slap".
I appreciate you coining it the "BB Wrist Release". But that would not be true. Mahboob was the one that brought this term too us from a tennis conference he attended. All I did was reviewed film and tried to understand it myself.
The educated wrist is relaxed through the entire motion. It is not laid back on the backswing like yesteryear. It lays back when the racquet is thrusted forward. Becuase the racquet is accelerating faster then the elasticity in the wrist can respond to, it stays layed back until the arm slows down which causes the hand/racquet to accelerate through the ball using the wrist as a well oiled hinge. Again, this happens with your head when you step on the gas in a very fast car.
Robert claims that some coaches actually promote the "slapping", and I figure it's because it adds more power if timed correctly, but man does it make timing more complicated!
This I can believe. Just because the wrist is loose, it does not mean you cant feel it or that there is no pressure on the grip. I think the slapping comes from a combination of too loose of a grip with a loose wrist. I know I wouldn't attempt doing it, I am perfectly happy with my forehand. I just need to get my butt out there and get in shape.
So, my point was to support and elaborate on "not forcing it". You don't want your wrist to be so loose that it's floppy, and you don't want to actively pull it back or keep it tight either. Get it in a comfortable laid back position like what you see in the backswing of most male pros and let it stay that way. Sure, the acceleration of the swing will push it back a bit further, but not as far back as the "slap wind up". This, at least, is what has worked best in my experience and I unfortunately have at least a few years of experience in "slapping".
Yeah, you got it. Just relax it and you are fine. You dont need to think about it once you have a comfortable grip on the handle and keep elasticity in the wrist. If you are rleaxed in that area, move on into concentrating on making clean contact with the ball. Your loose wrist lesson is over. Plus, chances are if we filmed your wrist on a forehand, I bet it would look like what the pros are doing.
Does that make more sense?
I will read the article, but you made perfect sense.
It must have been fun meeting Robert! I had the chance to meet him at the US Open ... I was sitting only a few seats away from him. I didn't have anything significant to say, so I figured I'd leave him alone. Same with Bollettieri actually. Some guy was pestering him (Nick) about how to hit a slice serve or something like that. It was sort of funny.
LOL, Nick must of loved that. Robert is a kick. I didnt say much to him as I have no history with him. But John was talking away! lol Like old war buddies.
