the magical pill - swing the unit

[dozu]

wanted to share this and see if what you experienced teachers out there think of this concept.

beginners and intermediate players have the instinct to move the racket in the swing.... which is kind of natural... after all it's the racket that strikes the ball LOL.

so common symptoms are

- lack of depth control due to choppy motion
- afraid of high balls, because player has to lift the racket up there (but may not be afraid of flat pace, as they can hold on to that racket firm enough to block the pace)
- can't hit running shot, because the body is in the way when player runs wide to the FH side, arm collide with chest, wrist flips over and ball into the net LOLOL
- generally lack of body rotation (who needs the body when I can just move the racket lol).
- lack of racket release ( I have seen in some developing players, but not all)
- choppy volleys, lack of penetration.

In teaching my daughter, and helping some adult/junior players, I find that giving them the concept of swinging the arm/racket unit has been very helpful.

It's like a magic pill, once I remind them, the above symptoms go away, and they start to

- have a smoother swing for better depth control, and better use of rhythm (free acceleration of the racket from mother nature gravity)

- can handle high kicking balls and wide balls better as they toss the whole arm/racket unit into impact.

- better weight transfer on volleys, producing better consistency and penetration.

Combined with the mental picture of swinging this arm/racket unit, and the correct racket path (racket face control), generally players can show immediate improvement.

your thoughts?

 

[papa]

Good observations. Actually, I want my players to use their legs, shoulders & hips more and until they can do this I de-emphasis using the arm much. Most are amazed at first that you can actually hit a ball fairly well without much/if any arm movement. By transferring at much of the stroke to the legs and hips, you lesson the likelyhood of wrist and elbow problems which plague the ranks of lower skilled level players. Your never going to take the arm out of the equation but for the far majority of players at the lower skill levels its used way to much and generally leads to wrist and elbow problems.

With advanced players this isn't a problem of course but even with them, you have to remind the player every once in a while.

 

[dozu]

^^^

I see, so yours is a slightly different approach that achieves the same goal (aka kinetic chain).

I was gonna say that by reminding a player to swing the arm/racket unit, now the unit weighs 15-20lbs for adult men, 10-15 lbs for adult women, and about 10lbs for juniors, which is about 20-30 times heavier than the racket alone...... and the supercomputer (aka brain) can fire the right muscles - legs hips core to move this much heavier unit.

 

[dlk]

Not a teacher, but I have all the symptoms

 

[dozu]

^^^ ok then, take the magic pill and see if it helps

 

[sureshs]

Is this advice only for advanced players or players on an advanced track? Because most club players have trouble swinging even the racquet properly.

 

[dozu]

advanced players already have the kinetic chain are already swing the 'unit'.

the problem for the club players is that they try to swing the racket

 

[maxplymac]

what the hell are you guys talking about?

 

[Limpinhitter]

Swing the unit? That sounds like the title to a porno movie!

 

[maxplymac]

Yandel discusses this topic in depth in Visual Tennis...essentially club players wait too long and separate the unit turn and racquet prep phases. In fact, they should intertwine at a much earlier stage...like from when the opponent makes contact to about the ball reaching net level at the latest.

 

[dozu]

that makes sense.

if the player tries to swing the 'unit', which is 30 times heavier than the racket, then hey will naturally prepare early.

 

[olliess]

Swing the unit? That sounds like the title to a porno movie!

LOL!! Wasn't gonna say it...

 

[olliess]

Is this advice only for advanced players or players on an advanced track? Because most club players have trouble swinging even the racquet properly.

Okay on a serious note -- I think it would markedly help club players who have trouble swinging the racquet properly/consistently.

 

[sureshs]

What do you have to do to swing the unit in specific terms?

 

[dozu]

do this drill.... no racket in hand, arms relaxed, turn your body left and right, arm flies up due to centrifugal force, feel the blood rushing into the finger tips, feel the tug on the shoulder socket.

this is what 'swinging the unit' feels like.

now grab a racket, teach the hand to control the racket face.

The 'palm pushing out' in one of the posts above is really just the anatomically correct position to have a square racket face in relation to the wrist and the forearm.

the hand should lead the racket head in tracing a 'C'....

combined with the unit swing and the correct racket face control, the result is a reliable and smooth FH.

 

[DavaiMarat]

This is described nicely at hitechtennis.com.

I believe what he references as the 'unit' is the double bend structure (2 L's between the wrist and forearm & the forearm and bicep). This structure is a solid unit swung from shoulder and hip. The only action the arm does is a lifting action but not a 'hitting' action.

This is the key to leverage. Keep the structure solid and 'not' loose goosey. Find the ball with the double bend unit and then push back.

This is the key to a pro forehand. The backhand is very similar too.

 

[dozu]

^^^ quite close

it's 2 L's during the take back, but when the unit swings forward, the elbow can be bent, or straight.

the principle is the same.

 

[sureshs]

do this drill.... no racket in hand, arms relaxed, turn your body left and right, arm flies up due to centrifugal force, feel the blood rushing into the finger tips, feel the tug on the shoulder socket.

this is what 'swinging the unit' feels like.

now grab a racket, teach the hand to control the racket face.

The 'palm pushing out' in one of the posts above is really just the anatomically correct position to have a square racket face in relation to the wrist and the forearm.

the hand should lead the racket head in tracing a 'C'....

combined with the unit swing and the correct racket face control, the result is a reliable and smooth FH.

What about 1 handed BH?

 

[dozu]

What about 1 handed BH?

similar...

for the topspin drive, you swing the 2Ls between the racket and the forearm and between the forearm and the upper arm.... somewhere before the contact the 2nd L is straightened out. This visualization promotes a complete unit turn for the backswing.... because in order to get the 2Ls behind the ball (including the upper arm), you have to turn enough.

for the slice it's similar.

 

[sureshs]

similar...

for the topspin drive, you swing the 2Ls between the racket and the forearm and between the forearm and the upper arm.... somewhere before the contact the 2nd L is straightened out. This visualization promotes a complete unit turn for the backswing.... because in order to get the 2Ls behind the ball (including the upper arm), you have to turn enough.

for the slice it's similar.

How does that specifically help with high balls which was the claim?

 

[HunterST]

So you're saying to swing the racquet using torso rotation and all that stuff rather than using your arm?

 

[dozu]

^^ many recreational players have trouble dealing with high kicking balls.... even to the FH. for 2 reasons that are related.

1) for high balls, if the player lacks body rotation in the forward swing, the upper arm collides with the rib cage and stops... the forearm/wrist flips over and the ball goes into the net.... and they don't understand why they can't get the ball over the net no matter how hard they try

2) swinging the racket means that the player has to lift the arm and move the racket up there... by the time he overcomes gravity and get the racket up there, there is no momentum to overcome the ball.

By swinging the unit, it solves the first problem, because the body will never be in the way to collide with the hitting arm..... for the 2nd problem, player can either take the racket back very high, and let it drop to a 'less high' position and swing thru horizontally, or, normal take back height, let it drop lower, and toss the entire unit to the ball, and follow thru over the head, resulting in a buggy whip FH.

 

[HunterST]

^^ many recreational players have trouble dealing with high kicking balls.... even to the FH. for 2 reasons that are related.

1) for high balls, if the player lacks body rotation in the forward swing, the upper arm collides with the rib cage and stops... the forearm/wrist flips over and the ball goes into the net.... and they don't understand why they can't get the ball over the net no matter how hard they try

2) swinging the racket means that the player has to lift the arm and move the racket up there... by the time he overcomes gravity and get the racket up there, there is no momentum to overcome the ball.

By swinging the unit, it solves the first problem, because the body will never be in the way to collide with the hitting arm..... for the 2nd problem, player can either take the racket back very high, and let it drop to a 'less high' position and swing thru horizontally, or, normal take back height, let it drop lower, and toss the entire unit to the ball, and follow thru over the head, resulting in a buggy whip FH.

Okay, but I'm trying to understand what you mean by "swing the unit". Are you saying to make sure you use both the unit AND the arm, or to keep the arm in a fixed position.

 

[dozu]

refer to post #15

 

[dozu]

So you're saying to swing the racquet using torso rotation and all that stuff rather than using your arm?

refer to post #15

 

[toly]

This is described nicely at hitechtennis.com.

I believe what he references as the 'unit' is the double bend structure (2 L's between the wrist and forearm & the forearm and bicep). This structure is a solid unit swung from shoulder and hip. The only action the arm does is a lifting action but not a 'hitting' action.

This is the key to leverage. Keep the structure solid and 'not' loose goosey. Find the ball with the double bend unit and then push back.

There are a lot of tennis players, for example Federer, Nadal, Verdasco, Gonzalez etc. who don’t follow this theory. Maybe that’s why they are the best. See picture below please. There is no solid double bend structure used. The elbow straightens out during the swing. By using very fast wrist flexion, the wrist travels around 55° (ϕ1 – ϕ2 = 110° - 55° = 55°).

Federer forehand

 

[dozu]

^^^ the 'unit' doesn't have to be a static double bend. The elbow can straighten out, like federer does.

The idea is to envision swinging this unit much heavier than the racket, and therefore let the brain issue orders to the right muscles - legs hips core, to fire up the kinetic chain.

 

[Limpinhitter]

similar...

for the topspin drive, you swing the 2Ls between the racket and the forearm and between the forearm and the upper arm.... somewhere before the contact the 2nd L is straightened out. This visualization promotes a complete unit turn for the backswing.... because in order to get the 2Ls behind the ball (including the upper arm), you have to turn enough.

for the slice it's similar.

I'm currently arguing about this point in the "1hb western grip" thread. IMHO, the elbow should be essentially straight before the foreward swing, not as part of the foreward swing. I think that the swing should be from the shoulder with full and free upper body rotation. JMHO, of course. I know Federer doesn't do it that way, but, some of the all time great topspin 1hb's were hit that way, including Laver, Emerson, Hoad, Edberg, Becker, Lendl among others.

 

[dozu]

^^^

this is off topic now, as the purpose of this thread was to emphasize on swinging the arm/racket unit, regardless of if the arm is straight or bent.

However, after reviewing some clips of the players you mentioned.... I think usually players tend to have 'symmetrical' rhythm between the FH and BH, among the players you listed, Fed prolly has the take back closest to his body for his FH, and I think that's the reason that his BH take back is so close to his body, and also with his left elbow low (unlike Henin's chicken wing left arm).... but these are all world class BH's, the only difference is the rhythm... and I actually Feds style is more suited for the modern game, because if the arms are bend and closer to the core, it's faster to make unit turns to respond to today's fast paced pro game.

 

[Limpinhitter]

^^^

this is off topic now, as the purpose of this thread was to emphasize on swinging the arm/racket unit, regardless of if the arm is straight or bent.

However, after reviewing some clips of the players you mentioned.... I think usually players tend to have 'symmetrical' rhythm between the FH and BH, among the players you listed, Fed prolly has the take back closest to his body for his FH, and I think that's the reason that his BH take back is so close to his body, and also with his left elbow low (unlike Henin's chicken wing left arm).... but these are all world class BH's, the only difference is the rhythm... and I actually Feds style is more suited for the modern game, because if the arms are bend and closer to the core, it's faster to make unit turns to respond to today's fast paced pro game.

So, when you say "unit" you don't include upper body rotation as part of the unit?

 

[dozu]

^^^

no, this 'unit' is the arm/racket 'unit', which is different from the 'unit' in the 'unit turn'.

in order to swing this arm/racket unit, the upper body will have to work as part of the kinetic chain.

 

[DavaiMarat]

There are a lot of tennis players, for example Federer, Nadal, Verdasco, Gonzalez est. who don’t follow this theory. Maybe that’s why they are the best. See picture below please. There is no solid double bent structure used. The elbow straightens out during the swing. By using very fast wrist flexion, the wrist travels around 55° (ϕ1 – ϕ2 = 110° - 55° = 55°).

Federer forehand

As Dozu said, the double bend doesn't need to be static completely. Verdasco has a huge straight arm forearm as does Roger. The point is that this structure is presented to the ball by the swinging of the hips and leg rotation (larger muscle groups). The forearm/shoulder simply lifts this structure to the ball but doesn't swing thru it.

I like to imagery that certain instructors use of pushing open a heavy door. You don't swing your arm at the door do you? You'll just end up with a breaking your wrist. Instead use place your arms in a strong bent position (or straight) and push using your waist and legs. The door moves because your using the larger muscles and only using your arm to connect the door to these larger muscles. The double bend creates a strong leverage position.

 

[dozu]

arms falling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpaTymxxzo8

how much hit to apply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-cArHLrxc8

I hope these help developing players understand how the big heavy arm/racket unit's movement is initiated by gravity, and the hand applies a little hitting motion thru impact.

 

[dozu]

notice the 'pushing kid on the swing analogy' to understand where you apply the 'nudge'