Hip rotation

[jis]

Guys,

Im 3-4 months playing tennis now.

I hit both forehand and backhand and I understand my shoulder turns. When i complete my stroke i also know that the my hip is also rotated. But i never understood how i can effectively use the hip rotation while hitting the strokes.

I wanted to know if there are any drills to understand the hip rotation while playing tennis. What part of the body should not move while hitting the stroke. what is the general tendency among starters.

Also noticed once i get tired only my arm moves and other part of the body refuses to move smoothly.
i tend to rotate the whole body, which is pathetic ( i know!)
What movement i have to remember so that i can correct myself and play
decent.

Pour in with your ideas.

thanks,
jis

 

[LeeD]

Every stroke is different. Some use every body part, other's just a few for more control.
Hip rotation usually starts the swing on groundies, pushing off back foot using the big trunk muscles. But some strokes, just arm..:shock:
Throw a medicine ball around, throw a frisbee, throw anything.

 

[BevelDevil]

do the fuzzyyellowballs progressions. Emphasize this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uw35MBuVSw&NR=1

 

[BMC9670]

Guys,

I wanted to know if there are any drills to understand the hip rotation while playing tennis.

A drill I've seen and used with my son:

1. place the racket butt on your hip (fh or bh)
2. have someone toss you some balls - lightly
3. hit the ball using only hip and shoulder turn - don't let the racket butt off your hip

This helps to understand the power that comes from the hip and shoulder turn, and also gets you to move your feet to hit the ball because the strike zone is very small.

Hope this helps.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ Note that hip rotation will precede torso (shoulder) turn slightly - this creates some tension in the core. They don't happen at same time as it does in the 'forehand loop' in table tennis. The differential between the hip and torso is important for many strokes in (court) tennis. For open stance shots the torso is coiled more than the hips. One doesn't need as much hip rotation here since there is already a differential between the hips and torso - the tension in the core is already present - the core is "loaded" by the offset.

Note also that most 1-handed BH, unlike FHs and 2-handed BHs, do not require as much, if any, hip rotation.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

The OP should perform tons of shadow swings (no ball) that emphasize a proper kinetic chain sequence (legs -> hips -> torso -> etc). This should help to build the proper muscle memory. Perhaps something like this will help:

http://www.grailsports.com/company/8board-basics.php
http://www.grailsports.com/8boardtennis/index.php

Even if you don't decide to invest the $$$ on one of these devices, just watching the videos and reading what they have to say can be of some benefit.

 

[BMC9670]

^ Note that hip rotation will precede torso (shoulder) turn slightly - this creates some tension in the core. They don't happen at same time as it does in the 'forehand loop' in table tennis. The differential between the hip and torso is important for many strokes in (court) tennis. For open stance shots the torso is coiled more than the hips. One doesn't need as much hip rotation here since there is already a differential between the hips and torso - the tension in the core is already present - the core is "loaded" by the offset.

Note also that most 1-handed BH, unlike FHs and 2-handed BHs, do not require as much, if any, hip rotation.

Good assessment. While the drill doesn't address the rotational chain altogether or in order, it's a good way for beginners and kids to understand it. After incorporating this with my son as well as some other isolation drills for the shoulder turn, he's using his body better and not "arming" the ball like a lot of kids do.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ Good job. Hoping to see your son in the slams sometime in the future.