Glad you noted the need to 'stop the body' in order to accelerate the arm, elbow, wrist & racket head. Some refer to it as a 'reactive break' - but the concept is to store energy and then 'release' it' thru to the tip - which is how you 'crack a whip' or 'snap a wet towel'. In order to maximize the energy at the tip of the whip (whether an actual leather whip, a wet towel or a racket head' - you need to have a counter balancing force that allows the tip to accelerate thru and past neutral. BTW - it's the same concept with a slingshot, catapult, bow and arrow and/or a cross bow and why everyone talks about 'lag and snap' in modern FHs. But, but, but - to maximize the acceleration thru contact - one has to have a counterbalancing 'reactive' force that allows the 'tip' of the whip - i.e.- the racket head to accelerate thru contact. BTW - it's the same with the FH and the BH. To get 'easy' power - you need to accelerate the racket head independent of weight transfer. Just like with the serve - you want/ need to 'stop the body' shortly after the start of the stroke so that the racket head accelerates thru contact. As such, I took issue with some of your earlier tips of the FH where you (and lots of others) talk about continuing the rotation of the body thru and after contact - which IMO is counter productive as you'll get some extra speed at the racket head/ tip thru centrifugal force - but you won't get the big acceleration/ snap thru the contact zone that you get if stop your forward rotation shortly after the initial 'release' of the stored energy that you get from the wind-up so that the accelerates thru and then past neutral (i.e. - the contact point). If you 'step thru' at contact and/or continuing rotating your core thru and after contact - the racket head/ tip will move at the same speed as the core unwinds + normal faster speed at the tip of the circle - but it won't accelerate thru contact or 'snap' like a whip or wet towel. The foregoing is really the big difference between the so-called 'classic/ old school' FH and the 'modern' FH. The classic FH was taught as taking your racket pretty much straight back and then bringing it forward as you transferred your weight from your back foot to the front foot. Extra power and 'rhythm' was created by accentuating the power at the tip via a 'pendulum swing' but the big switch was when most everyone moved to a 'throwing motion' which allows you to generate racket head acceleration with a more compact swing and somewhat independent of weight transfer. Realize that this same concept is also true with respect to the BH where the good BHs (both one and two-handed) utilize some 'lag and snap' to generate extra racket head acceleration thru the contact point. Perhaps the best example of the whip 1 handed BH is Richard Gasquet's BH where he generates enormous racket head acceleration thru the contact point. You don't see as much whip w/ 2 handers, but all of the good 2 handers also incorporate a bit of lag and snap to accelerate the racket head thru contact. Last point is to emphasize that a 'throwing motion' isn't just a way to hit harder and faster and with more spin; it's also a way to hit your shots more efficiently and with less effort and with easier/ better timing and from more angles and contact points - high, low, on the move, moving backwards and forwards, etc. and with better more spin when necessary and with easier/ better timing since it allows a more compact swing that can be accelerated thru contact super quickly if necessary and w/out the necessity of always being in perfect position w/ perfect footwork and weight transfer. In short, the pros hit their shots this way because it's EASIER and more efficient. The notion that 'classic'/ old school ground strokes are easier to learn and execute is simply wrong. What changed is that people came to realize that a throwing motion isn't just a better/ easier way to serve; it's also an easier, more efficient and better way to hit ground strokes - with the FH being a sidearm throw and the BH being a 'frisbee' whip/ throw.
Thanx Tom. Regarding the point about not pulling the racquet down with the body, a coach of mine once said: "keep the head up until you notice the racquet flash past the contact point. This allows the racquet to overtake the torso (especially when the non-dominant arm is tucked in bf contact).
Man another great insight, Tom - gold indeed. I’ve always felt when I “tried my hardest” in anything - throwing a ball, hitting serves, groundstrokes whatever it’s never my fastest shot - but never really understood why. Your point on the body overtaking the arm - bingo! And that the art of slowing down parts of the body to allow others to take over - that’s a skill often overlooked - good good stuff here. Just changed the way I think about the serve. Thanks can’t wait to try this on court.
@@TomAllsopp haha nice. :) Forgot to mention - always like your borrowing concepts from other sports - the cricket bowling technique connection was cool. Baseball pitchers use their non throwing arm to tuck into their body - the so-called “Chicken wing” move as a reactive break - very different than what you showed in the cricket clip where the bowler’s body was overtaking the arm.
@@jayrussell26 So speaking of other sports I think golf is just the same. Try to tee off the ball as hard as you can and you will shank it 99% of times. The body will prevail and hands will be late. So will the clubhead. For some (not many) people instead the arms will take control and they will most likely have a nasty hook or, worse, a snap. The secret is goin all smooth and fluid all the way. That does not give you a 350 yards drive or a 140 mph serve? Well you gotta live with it and try to improve your club/racquet speed over time. Patience is key. Of course if you want to get serious distance, speaking of a golf drive, or ball speed and spin in tennis, you have to do it at the highest possible speed. But the highest possible speed is determined by the lowest of your skills: technique, eye hand coordination, physical tools and fitness. So your highest swing speed is not obtained when you swing the hardest possible but when, everything involved, you manage do get the highest speed without screwing up your fluidity and coordination.
As an ex-cricketer i believe i sometimes pull down with the body too much, but im always watching the ball at impact. Cricketers are usually very well drilled in watching the ball. One thing i often tell myself just before a serve is keep my head up. Great tips, thanks very much.
Yes, just the same way you explained the forehand;) I also think that if I do the same motions without racquet, they are automatically property constructed...and then the task is not to spoil the feelings with the weight of the racquet
I have been working on this the previous weeks. What seems to help me is delaying the rotation a bit by keeping the tossing arm up longer and higher. Also, serving deuce wide forces me to rotate more into the ball which often results in more effortless power. Learning a new feel is very difficult for me …
Hi Tom, Good video again:) Like the connection you made between looking at the ball and letting the arm take over at the right time. What do you think of the role of the left arm in this case? Most people who over rotate swing the left arm behind the body. What do you think of cathing the racket to combat this? Or even even stopping your left arm under your right arm pit (like you're waving to the camera behind you) to stop your rotation? Best, Paul
