Thanks for the comment and welcome aboard. Sorry for the rude welcome I see you already received in other thread. What part of the country are you from?
What do you think about the Unit Turn? Seems to me there is a disconnect in how it's used and taught. Any thoughts?
Unit turn - I had to think about this and look up some definitions. I know that I use or used this term quite a bit. I think it was coined to imply that when one turned to the incoming ball, the arms, shoulders, and torso turned as a unit, not just bringing the racquet arm back. This has also been reinforced by some advocating the front shoulder to be tucked in under the chin while watching the ball come in. Since coming across MTM about a month ago - while reworking my strokes after some mild elbow issues - I do not think of unit turn per se unless the ball is either coming straight at me or I am working on some drill. What I do now, again somewhat according to MTM, is have my arms with racquet in front of my chest, watch (find) the ball - sometimes through the strings or at least with racquet in the field of vision - and track it inbound - with my left/supporting hand on the throat (very important), until it bounces or gets very close - at which point I let go of my left had and initiate my swing. Doing it this way i find that my body turns (unit turn?) progressively until I need to stroke. I find that this has allowed me to shorten my stroke quite a bit and approach the ball a lot slower while accelerating up and across just before contact. I used to bring my racquet back earlier and really wind up with a long stroke, but that created a lot of mishits, bad placement, and not much spin. With the newer, or MTM way, I have much cleaner hits, better timing and control, good spin, and just as much or more power. The whole process feels a lot less rushed. So, as far as unit turn goes, It seems that it is integrated into the whole stroke process, rather than an isolated piece.
I have also stopped trying to think about and trying to plant my feet a certain way just before hitting. While I still try to get my outside foot somewhat in line with the incoming ball, I find that my feet get to where they need to for the most part. If not, I adjust. When I used to plant first, I found that I become rigid and was not able to adjust to the ball easily if I misjudged it.
Anyway, I am in east-central Florida.
