tlm
G.O.A.T.
Here are a few forehands from practice today, my hitting partner is my wife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IyFyvHuR74
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IyFyvHuR74
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Thanks for posting. Looks to me like you have a very effective, if maybe somewhat unconventional, forehand. I see lots of potential in your hitting. Post more vids, preferably with the camera positioned behind you.Here are a few forehands from practice today, my hitting partner is my wife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ55yV8kTzs
Thanks for posting. Looks to me like you have a very effective, if maybe somewhat unconventional, forehand. I see lots of potential in your hitting. Post more vids, preferably with the camera positioned behind you.
It‘s a great basis to work with and a nice forehand.
Two issues... first off, you do not need to reverse every forehand finish. When the ball is low or that you aren‘t forced to move too much.
Secondly, your preparation. You can do two things early: turn your shoulders and change your grip... you can also move toward the ball obviously. One thing that you cannot do is bring the racket back, split both hands and wait. Pros always keep both hands on the racket until they are ready to commit to swinging... once they split hands, it‘s all the way to the ball.
Obviously, you seem to have a nice overall swing. Fixing these small details could be quick and it would bring your game up a notch. Changing the preparation would improve your consistency and power, while using different finishes would grant you with more options.
Here are a few forehands from practice today, my hitting partner is my wife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ55yV8kTzs
well that was weird. haha. no, not your strokes. i mean ....
is that you?? you look 20 years younger or something.
and your footwork is better than i remember. wth? i thought i remember
you as being not so mobile and absolutely no split steps at all. also you used to look more top heavy. no? now you look more balanced.
also your strokes look more solid than before. solid as in consistent w/ better control. your strokes are still... unique... but looks better than before. you're moving quite well there. were you injured before or something? looks totally different.
gotta learn to change your grip quickly for that fh slice.
i'd hold the racquet w/ 2 hands longer if i were you for better control, balance and shoulder turn.
left arm is still out of the picture but i ges it works for you w/ the way you swing.
Thanks Cheetah, ya that is me took that vid today. The last vid I posted was in the summer and I was actually a few pounds lighter then. Also the last vids I posted was hitting with the ball machine, and as weird as it sounds I don't hit or move as good with the ball machine.
I play and move better in a rally. Plus my movement has always been pretty good but not with the machine. Although I know I am not very good I thought I was a little better than you gave me credit for in the last video I posted.
I do like your tips, you are right have to change the grip quicker and hold the racket with 2 hands longer.
rock on.
What do you do for high fh's?
Here are a few forehands from practice today, my hitting partner is my wife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ55yV8kTzs
You are falling backwards. I think that is a footwork thing and your left hand is not involved at all in the shot. Real interesting forehand. It looks like you are working too hard or maybe your wife is just awesome at tennis. Not sure since I can't see that angle. If you do take lessons make the pro teach you footwork drills. It should save you some energy out there.
I would tell you what I often have to remind myself - relax more. And interesting buggy whip forehand finish, I'm curious what it feels like to be on the receiving end of that. Do your opponents find it creates a heavier ball that way?
I would tell you what I often have to remind myself - relax more. And interesting buggy whip forehand finish, I'm curious what it feels like to be on the receiving end of that. Do your opponents find it creates a heavier ball that way?
Here are a few forehands from practice today, my hitting partner is my wife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ55yV8kTzs
whether you use WW or reverse is not a big difference. kvitova also used the reverse all the time and of course nadal does.
but even with the reverse you need to use the body more. you are arming the ball.
just watch nadal, he uses his body like a whip. his body rotates hard and then like the handle of a whip stops and he finishes just with the arm whipping through. this is why he generates so much RHS. he doesn't pull the racket through by using body rotation (which is better than arming but still not high level) but uses the rotation to create stretch and then release it by stopping the rotation and using the whip effect.
you arm the ball more. the striking is good and you produce some nice spin. your footwork needs to improve though, you are not getting really into the corners. you not only lack the footwork but also actual speed as you are often very late. so do some short lateral sprints too as well as footwork drills.
Look at your follow through at 31 sec in the vid. That is the correct way to hit the ball. Across the body.
There is quite a few things to work on, and will probably take a long time to fix much of what you do wrong. The shot is all arm, and even at the the arm doesnt bring the racekt through the ball just up the back of it. Ideally the racket should finish on the oposite side of the body on every shot.
You should probably try to look at exagerating the shoulder turn or unit turn as in your previous video it is usually when you are square to the court the racket goes straight back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el9IyqMZ5yQ look at the FHs at 0:16 and 0:57, thats what you should be aiming to do on every ball. You'll probably notice that even when you get the unit turn on some of the shots in your video that the racket finishes pretty much above your head, (0:44) however it is far better than the shots where the shoulder turn really lacks (1:00 and 1:03)
When the top players reverse the forehand the racket actually comes across the body first and it is the racket head speed which brings it back to the dominant shoulder. They do not force it over and it is mearly a side affect ofhow fast they are swinging through (crucially not up, like yourself) the ball.
Have fun
All you've gotta add is a huge grunt and we've got a rec level Nadal in the making!
Looks pretty effective, I'm sure you get good spin.
Looks like a forehand influenced by Oscar Wegner.
It's a pretty sweet looking shot when you drive through it and finish over your left shoulder. Actually, I think your footwork, preparation, and start of the stroke look better than before. Maybe it's just the video angle or because of the ball machine, but much less like throwing buckets of mud.
You put so much effort into lifting your body away from the ball and pulling your arm upwards just before impact - and are getting negative usefulness from it.
Try getting a kids baseball (T-ball) bat or taping something heavy to your racket and shadow swinging relaxed forehand strokes. The heavy weight should remind you not to pull upwards. Just let the racket flow through the follow-through. It may not take long for improvement.
As I mentioned earlier I use a reverse finish a lot on rally balls, which I have found that it gives me a lot of consistency, but when I get time and am able to step into the court that is when I use more WW finish. Or like the one that you mentioned over my left shoulder.
Maybe I should use that more force full type swing most of the time. But I have found success in grinding looping top spin on a high % of my shots and then when the time is right step in and go for the aggressive shot.
whether you use WW or reverse is not a big difference. kvitova also used the reverse all the time and of course nadal does.
but even with the reverse you need to use the body more. you are arming the ball.
just watch nadal, he uses his body like a whip. his body rotates hard and then like the handle of a whip stops and he finishes just with the arm whipping through. this is why he generates so much RHS. he doesn't pull the racket through by using body rotation (which is better than arming but still not high level) but uses the rotation to create stretch and then release it by stopping the rotation and using the whip effect.
you arm the ball more. the striking is good and you produce some nice spin. your footwork needs to improve though, you are not getting really into the corners. you not only lack the footwork but also actual speed as you are often very late. so do some short lateral sprints too as well as footwork drills.
It is nice to see an old guy (like me) working on an open stance, modern forehand. When you move to this approach from a linear, step into the shot FH, it always takes some time to hit thru the ball effectively.
While I don't think it's perfect, this video was helpful to me-
Dan Brown Modern Forehand Lesson
You are falling backward as you swing. In this video you can really see that the guy loads the right foot on the unit turn, and then pushes forward as he rotates and whips the racquet around.
This would be an easy fix that would have you hitting a heavier ball almost immediately.
OP, you really should listen to this guy. When i have seen your video, the arming was the first thing i have thought about. You have good strokes but it is like serving with eastern grip, you just can't make it to uber levels because you will always lack the necessary head speed and waste your energy. I think you like to improve, otherwise you wouldn't want for advises.
Most of the forum members don't like it but i think you should really really check pull/push strokes theory and try to change to a pull forehand. You don't have a big, continuous loop, you drop the racquet to the slot, so it will be very easy for you to convert to it. You will just learn to use the hip/torso rotation to push your racquet, not your arm. Also Nadal would not be a perfect idol for everyone but he has a very similar forehand to yours, just the pull version of it, so with just a little practice, you have the opportunity to have a Nadal forehand as dominikk1985 said.
Just shows the basic mentality but i think this will help you to correctly understand the difference. Look how effortlessly he hits the ball with that technique;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNtq393tvo
Well thats good that I am not throwing buckets of mud as much as before. You are correct I do use a lot of effort into pulling upwards right before contact. But I am not sure that it is not useful, I hit a lot of top spin and most opponents do not like the way my shots kick up high on them making them hit in a uncomfortable position quite often.
As I mentioned earlier I use a reverse finish a lot on rally balls, which I have found that it gives me a lot of consistency, but when I get time and am able to step into the court that is when I use more WW finish. Or like the one that you mentioned over my left shoulder.
Maybe I should use that more force full type swing most of the time. But I have found success in grinding looping top spin on a high % of my shots and then when the time is right step in and go for the aggressive shot.
I just wish it was as easy as it looks, watching your locknroll video makes it look like I should be able to go right out and copy the way he shows. But it is not that easy, but I am determined to make the change.
Doing it is easy. Changing habits is hard.
rock on.
What do you do for high fh's?
Shore up the footwork a bit
Bend zee knees
Hit that fh at 31 secs over and over again
In fact, just ball machine hitting that fh.
Quit the reverse fh-its holding you back and i think you'll injure yourself eventually
yo cheetah, want to play a match next week?
sry for the thread jack btw
Shore up the footwork a bit
Bend zee knees
Hit that fh at 31 secs over and over again
In fact, just ball machine hitting that fh.
Quit the reverse fh-its holding you back and i think you'll injure yourself eventually
tlm,Well I took your advise yesterday while practicing and tried to keep hitting that same forehand with the going across follow through. It seemed to work pretty well so I will continue tonight and try and get it ingrained.
tlm,
It really just depends on how you want to shape the shot. I was very impressed
with many of the comments on the 1st page, but think many of the more
critical ones on the 2ond have a different shot shape in mind. I don't expect
most of them want to be on the receiving end of most of those high kicking
shots. You probably draw short balls by the bucket loads when playing points.
Am I right that you are looking for very good net clearance, with heavy spin to
bring the ball back down aggressively. I think you are doing a bunch of stuff
right to that end. I'm not a big fan of hitting so many bolo Fhs, but sometimes
that is what it takes to shape the shot. Sometimes it comes from being a bit
late too though. The more you move the contact forward, the lower you will
tend to be on your finish to a point.
Imo you should focus mainly on 2 items to smooth out the shot a bit.
I'd like to see you use that off hand better on the take back, with stretching it
across to the side fence on separation, and
I'd suggest to focus on getting a more stable balance for the stroke.
From there, you can see how things are and adjust as required, but these
2 things will smooth things out a bit and enhance your control on the shot.
I think the stretch across will help with balance as well.
I agree with cheetah on how you look more mobile and less stiff, so
your work is really paying off!
tlm,
It really just depends on how you want to shape the shot. I was very impressed
with many of the comments on the 1st page, but think many of the more
critical ones on the 2ond have a different shot shape in mind. I don't expect
most of them want to be on the receiving end of most of those high kicking
shots.
I agree and then I disagree. I would love to get balls like that because I know how to attack them. I think at a lower level of tennis, high kick is a very nice weapon, but it's not uncommon to see them. I have been practicing taking high bouncers out of the air, and it is eye opening how much time can be taken away from the opponent when you take them high.
It's a lot of energy with little reward to hit like that IMO. There is nothing wrong with TLM learning to hit through and drive the ball more.
I agree and then I disagree. I would love to get balls like that because I know how to attack them. I think at a lower level of tennis, high kick is a very nice weapon, but it's not uncommon to see them. I have been practicing taking high bouncers out of the air, and it is eye opening how much time can be taken away from the opponent when you take them high.
It's a lot of energy with little reward to hit like that IMO. There is nothing wrong with TLM learning to hit through and drive the ball more.
5263 Come down here and hit and send me topspin kickers and Ill do it for you. Still waiting on some vid of you or the vid of the match you were supposed to play that never happened.
Rafa hits the heaviest ball in the world. It is insane to mimic that shot unless you are young and have great technique.
I guarantee you that ball is not kicking at all like Rafas. I can tell by his off balance and falling backwards that the ball will not have enough on it to bug a better player.
I know what you said. Id like to see you do, i dont know, anything? Im sure a lot of people echo that sentiment here.
Stop being passive agressive in every thread. You came in here to start something, made no sense, and contributed nothing that will help the op.