Monday, December 26, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Stephen's Forehands - Front
Stephen has a very interesting forehand. He can generate a great amount of power and spin and every now and again he is capable of some incredible winners. Unfortunately he lacks consistency and I think his major elements to improve will come from the footwork.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Dan's Backhands
Thanks for sharing your backhands here on my blog, Ned. Your backhand has a lot of common elements with the pros. As soon as I've looked at the videos I was positively surprised to see how efficient they were.
To start you have a perfect unit turn during your preparation. I couldn't see any independent movement of the racquet and hand during the preparation, even when I analyze it frame by frame. Your racquet and left hand go at exactly the same speed of your shoulder turn just like any pro. The only difference is that the pro maintains his other hand on the racquet which you can't do.
Where can you improve?
I believe that, part of that answer can be find by watching the 4 different backhands here on my blog.
If we compare the first two shots with the other two there is a major difference between them. That difference is timing. If you freeze the video when the ball bounces on the court on the first 2 videos you can see that Ned still hasn't turned his shoulders completely and if you keep an eye on his racquet hand and racquet head we can see that they keep going back. The forward swing only starts when the ball is roughly on the highest point. As a consequence Ned was forced to close the stance where he brought his right foot across and even back on one of the shots to buy some time. He was rushed on those two shots and he probably hit the ball a bit too far back although is difficult to see it from this angle.
Notice how Ned on the last two videos corrected the problems of the first two videos. Ned seemed to be ready by the time the ball bounced and he was ready to start his forward swing just after the bounce. Because he had more time he stepped in with his right foot and took the ball more in front. As a consequence of that his extension seemed much better where the racquet kept going through the line of the shot for longer.
Of course there is much to be seen with Ned's backhands. Although I have already recorded him again and it will be very interesting have his backhand on the blog again.
To start you have a perfect unit turn during your preparation. I couldn't see any independent movement of the racquet and hand during the preparation, even when I analyze it frame by frame. Your racquet and left hand go at exactly the same speed of your shoulder turn just like any pro. The only difference is that the pro maintains his other hand on the racquet which you can't do.
Where can you improve?
I believe that, part of that answer can be find by watching the 4 different backhands here on my blog.
If we compare the first two shots with the other two there is a major difference between them. That difference is timing. If you freeze the video when the ball bounces on the court on the first 2 videos you can see that Ned still hasn't turned his shoulders completely and if you keep an eye on his racquet hand and racquet head we can see that they keep going back. The forward swing only starts when the ball is roughly on the highest point. As a consequence Ned was forced to close the stance where he brought his right foot across and even back on one of the shots to buy some time. He was rushed on those two shots and he probably hit the ball a bit too far back although is difficult to see it from this angle.
Notice how Ned on the last two videos corrected the problems of the first two videos. Ned seemed to be ready by the time the ball bounced and he was ready to start his forward swing just after the bounce. Because he had more time he stepped in with his right foot and took the ball more in front. As a consequence of that his extension seemed much better where the racquet kept going through the line of the shot for longer.
Of course there is much to be seen with Ned's backhands. Although I have already recorded him again and it will be very interesting have his backhand on the blog again.
Friday, October 14, 2011
My best Forehands - 07/10/11
I've been quite keen to improve my forehand lately and every time that I'm on court I am very conscious about my technique.
After recording my forehands two months ago I've noticed (thanks to Richard!) that when making contact with the ball that my head wasn't still and my eyes were not on the contact point. As a consequence of the head movement forward at the time of contact I was loosing extension throughout the line of the shot.
The greatest thing I've just realized now is that for us to have an efficient extension and therefore creating more effortless power, we need to slow down the rotation of the shoulders just before and just after contact. Maybe when we see the shoulders slowing down just before and after contact is not a conscious thing that the pros try to do when executing the shot, but it is due in part because during that contact phase the racquet head is accelerating much faster than shoulders. Because I was rotating my shoulders forward too quickly around the contact point, or I wasn't generating enough acceleration with my racquet head, I was getting less extension.
These are by far my best shots recorded on video.
My older shots just for comparisson:
10/04/08
18/07/11
Although the first shot it seems that my head is still forward and my eyes are not on the contact point it is just an illusion that has to do with the angle of the footage. Check Djokovic's forehand from the side view.
After recording my forehands two months ago I've noticed (thanks to Richard!) that when making contact with the ball that my head wasn't still and my eyes were not on the contact point. As a consequence of the head movement forward at the time of contact I was loosing extension throughout the line of the shot.
The greatest thing I've just realized now is that for us to have an efficient extension and therefore creating more effortless power, we need to slow down the rotation of the shoulders just before and just after contact. Maybe when we see the shoulders slowing down just before and after contact is not a conscious thing that the pros try to do when executing the shot, but it is due in part because during that contact phase the racquet head is accelerating much faster than shoulders. Because I was rotating my shoulders forward too quickly around the contact point, or I wasn't generating enough acceleration with my racquet head, I was getting less extension.
These are by far my best shots recorded on video.
My older shots just for comparisson:
10/04/08
18/07/11
Although the first shot it seems that my head is still forward and my eyes are not on the contact point it is just an illusion that has to do with the angle of the footage. Check Djokovic's forehand from the side view.
Peter's Forehands - 07/10/2011 (2nd Part)
These following videos shows how Peter hit the forehand after video awareness.
The main goal that I've pointed out to you Peter was to try and improve the turn by keeping the left hand on the racquet longer and to avoid the racquet head to open just before the forward swing.
The first video there is no ball. Sometimes is extremely helpful to record one's technique on a particular swing without striking the ball.
And now striking the ball:
The main goal that I've pointed out to you Peter was to try and improve the turn by keeping the left hand on the racquet longer and to avoid the racquet head to open just before the forward swing.
The first video there is no ball. Sometimes is extremely helpful to record one's technique on a particular swing without striking the ball.
And now striking the ball:
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Peter's Forehands - 07/10/2011
I've coached Peter a few times before but this was the very first one with the video. These first 6 videos give us a good idea at how Peter was striking the ball on the forehand side before video awareness.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Ben's new HOT forehands
Well here it is. After watching the videos for a few minutes, and perhaps just a little bit of thinking off the court, Ben was able to improve his forehands quite considerably. Of course there are some issues here and there, but it is easy to guess that Ben is going to build a very efficient and powerful forehand. Beware!!
These shots were recorded only a week after the previous forehands. Try to find out Why these new forehands look so much better. I'm sure that Ben knows it!
Comparing these shots with the ones from last week we can see that now, Ben has positioned his left foot closer to the baseline while maintaining his open stance (or semi open stance) allowing his hips to turn perpendicular to the net. This is a major improvement and it was essential for Ben to see it before he could changed it so easily.
Watch the next picture and stop the video where Ben's racquet is in a similar position to Djokovic.
In a very similar way to Djokovic, Ben shows the back side of the strings on the power position. Although his left arm has collapsed a bit and he doesn't have the same amount of turn. I think Ben has the right hand more towards his left side of the body, and his right elbow is much lower, while Djokovic has his right hand further back with his arm almost straight and much higher.
Ben is not looking at the contact point. this is a very familiar element to my shot which I corrected just recently (video is coming...).
Yes I agree with Richard, the extension is very short. While extending we want to see the right hand and elbow reaching a point far away in front of the body during the followthrough. Watch the picture:
Ben's forehand is changing every day. It is great that Ben is really keen to have his shots posted. He will be the one to profit more from it...
These shots were recorded only a week after the previous forehands. Try to find out Why these new forehands look so much better. I'm sure that Ben knows it!
Comparing these shots with the ones from last week we can see that now, Ben has positioned his left foot closer to the baseline while maintaining his open stance (or semi open stance) allowing his hips to turn perpendicular to the net. This is a major improvement and it was essential for Ben to see it before he could changed it so easily.
Watch the next picture and stop the video where Ben's racquet is in a similar position to Djokovic.
In a very similar way to Djokovic, Ben shows the back side of the strings on the power position. Although his left arm has collapsed a bit and he doesn't have the same amount of turn. I think Ben has the right hand more towards his left side of the body, and his right elbow is much lower, while Djokovic has his right hand further back with his arm almost straight and much higher.
Ben is not looking at the contact point. this is a very familiar element to my shot which I corrected just recently (video is coming...).
Yes I agree with Richard, the extension is very short. While extending we want to see the right hand and elbow reaching a point far away in front of the body during the followthrough. Watch the picture:
Ben's forehand is changing every day. It is great that Ben is really keen to have his shots posted. He will be the one to profit more from it...
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Dennis Forehands
Thanks Dennis for sharing your videos.
Knowing what we are doing is the most important step we can do towards a better habit. If you study your swing and compare it with mine and with Richard's at the end, you will have the power to really understand what you need to do.
In most cases it is not the execution of a certain technique that is difficult, its the lack of awareness and understanding of the technique to master.
I'll analyze it in a few days time to give you time to make your own personal case without any borrowed interpretation
Dennis for all of the videos the first thing that I've noticed is that by the time the ball bounces you were very late for your power position. Your shoulder hasn't reached a perpendicular position to the net, and your racquet is not ready yet for the forward swing.
I think your left hand should be more active during the shoulder turn and should probably try to keep it for a longer time, maybe until your shoulder is perpendicular to the net.
If you look at your swing over and over you can see that your swing although a small swing, has a lot of right arm movement and not enough shoulder turn. The big reason why your shoulders don't turn is because you know that your right arm can compensate for it and you will still be able to hit the ball. Of course the problem with that is that the swing is not generating enough effortless power and therefore your shot lacks consistency.
Don't worry Dennis as you are becoming more aware of whats happening when you're hitting the forehand you will be able to change it in no time.
It is not the execution of a certain technique that is the most difficult challenge when trying to improve our shots. The great difficulty is knowing exactly what we need to change!! We need to know what to do and we need to associate that into a kinesthetic feeling that we can bring back over and over. One of the major errors that we all do while trying to improve our technique is when we try to change our technique not knowing exactly (beyond any doubt) what is the final goal. We jump into conclusions and sometimes change more than we wanted and we feel very lost and then we never try to change again. Ever happened to you?
You are already improving your swing, Dennis.
On your new swing Dennis you will keep the left hand on the racquet longer. Your shoulders will start rotating as soon as you see the ball towards your forehand. You'll swing very early in a unit turn without any rush. You'll notice that throughout the preparation you will be able to keep your racquet moving very slowly. You'll notice that when the ball is about to bounce that your shoulders are a bit more than perpendicular and you'll be able to turn a bit of your back to the net. When the the ball bounces you will notice how your left arm is stretched out as if your left hand is catching the ball. You will be ready to strike it and then just like magic you will hit the best shot ever without much effort...
My swing:
Richard's swing:
Knowing what we are doing is the most important step we can do towards a better habit. If you study your swing and compare it with mine and with Richard's at the end, you will have the power to really understand what you need to do.
In most cases it is not the execution of a certain technique that is difficult, its the lack of awareness and understanding of the technique to master.
I'll analyze it in a few days time to give you time to make your own personal case without any borrowed interpretation
Dennis for all of the videos the first thing that I've noticed is that by the time the ball bounces you were very late for your power position. Your shoulder hasn't reached a perpendicular position to the net, and your racquet is not ready yet for the forward swing.
I think your left hand should be more active during the shoulder turn and should probably try to keep it for a longer time, maybe until your shoulder is perpendicular to the net.
If you look at your swing over and over you can see that your swing although a small swing, has a lot of right arm movement and not enough shoulder turn. The big reason why your shoulders don't turn is because you know that your right arm can compensate for it and you will still be able to hit the ball. Of course the problem with that is that the swing is not generating enough effortless power and therefore your shot lacks consistency.
Don't worry Dennis as you are becoming more aware of whats happening when you're hitting the forehand you will be able to change it in no time.
It is not the execution of a certain technique that is the most difficult challenge when trying to improve our shots. The great difficulty is knowing exactly what we need to change!! We need to know what to do and we need to associate that into a kinesthetic feeling that we can bring back over and over. One of the major errors that we all do while trying to improve our technique is when we try to change our technique not knowing exactly (beyond any doubt) what is the final goal. We jump into conclusions and sometimes change more than we wanted and we feel very lost and then we never try to change again. Ever happened to you?
You are already improving your swing, Dennis.
On your new swing Dennis you will keep the left hand on the racquet longer. Your shoulders will start rotating as soon as you see the ball towards your forehand. You'll swing very early in a unit turn without any rush. You'll notice that throughout the preparation you will be able to keep your racquet moving very slowly. You'll notice that when the ball is about to bounce that your shoulders are a bit more than perpendicular and you'll be able to turn a bit of your back to the net. When the the ball bounces you will notice how your left arm is stretched out as if your left hand is catching the ball. You will be ready to strike it and then just like magic you will hit the best shot ever without much effort...
My swing:
Richard's swing:
Ann Louise's forehands
Thanks Ann Louise for sharing your videos on the blog.
There is so much you can see about your own technique although the video quality is not the best since the footage was recorded at night time.
You've done already a massive improvement on your forehand. Now your left hand holds the racket longer and therefore your shoulder turn has improved quite a lot. Your swing looks much more compact since your racket head now doesn't sweep the ground as before.
I'll be analyzing your swing in the next coming days but for the time being I hope you have time to study your own swing and have your own interpretation of them. I leave my own forehand below your videos so it is easier for you to compare them and maybe help you to find the clues for your own technique.
As always the first thing to analyze in anyone's technique is the Unit Turn, by far the most important element to achieve for any shot in tennis (maybe excluding serve). The Unit Turn is still quite unknown in the tennis world and it is not quite well understood. One of the reasons for this ignorance is that the Unit Turn is not easily seen without high speed video.
To have an efficient swing we need to turn the whole body (feet, hips, hands, shoulders) in a continuous fluid way without any independent movement of any of the parts. The biggest difference between a swing of a pro and a swing of a common social player is the Unit turn. For players who have an efficient Unit Turn, the speed of the racquet head, during the preparation phase, is exactly the same as the speed of the shoulder turn.
Players should intend to move their racquet as slow as possible (at shoulder turn) while turning their shoulders without moving their arm and the racquet independently. This is the number one element to improve in 99% of all social players.
Let's see what's happening with your forehand, Ann Louise:
On most of the shots you waste precious time with the shoulders still parallel to the baseline. By the time you start turning the shoulders you already seem late. Your racquet then begins to go back faster than the turn of the shoulders, although it is much better than before because now you are holding on the racquet throat with your left hand and that forces your swing to become more compact with a better unit.
You will be improving your forehand when you succeed to shorten the use of your right arm independently from the rest of the body. If you freeze the video when the ball bounces you will see that your shoulders stopped rotating more (roughly perpendicular to the net), but your right arm kept traveling back more for quite a big journey.
Imagine your forehand of the future. When the ball bounces you will reach your power position. Your shoulders will be positioned a bit more than perpendicular and your racquet hand will not go back more from that point...
You'll get there, you just need to imagine it first.
There are more things about your forehand. The next thing you need to imagine is to hit the ball with topspin.
You have been working on it already and I can't wait to record you again...
My swing:
There is so much you can see about your own technique although the video quality is not the best since the footage was recorded at night time.
You've done already a massive improvement on your forehand. Now your left hand holds the racket longer and therefore your shoulder turn has improved quite a lot. Your swing looks much more compact since your racket head now doesn't sweep the ground as before.
I'll be analyzing your swing in the next coming days but for the time being I hope you have time to study your own swing and have your own interpretation of them. I leave my own forehand below your videos so it is easier for you to compare them and maybe help you to find the clues for your own technique.
As always the first thing to analyze in anyone's technique is the Unit Turn, by far the most important element to achieve for any shot in tennis (maybe excluding serve). The Unit Turn is still quite unknown in the tennis world and it is not quite well understood. One of the reasons for this ignorance is that the Unit Turn is not easily seen without high speed video.
To have an efficient swing we need to turn the whole body (feet, hips, hands, shoulders) in a continuous fluid way without any independent movement of any of the parts. The biggest difference between a swing of a pro and a swing of a common social player is the Unit turn. For players who have an efficient Unit Turn, the speed of the racquet head, during the preparation phase, is exactly the same as the speed of the shoulder turn.
Players should intend to move their racquet as slow as possible (at shoulder turn) while turning their shoulders without moving their arm and the racquet independently. This is the number one element to improve in 99% of all social players.
Let's see what's happening with your forehand, Ann Louise:
On most of the shots you waste precious time with the shoulders still parallel to the baseline. By the time you start turning the shoulders you already seem late. Your racquet then begins to go back faster than the turn of the shoulders, although it is much better than before because now you are holding on the racquet throat with your left hand and that forces your swing to become more compact with a better unit.
You will be improving your forehand when you succeed to shorten the use of your right arm independently from the rest of the body. If you freeze the video when the ball bounces you will see that your shoulders stopped rotating more (roughly perpendicular to the net), but your right arm kept traveling back more for quite a big journey.
Imagine your forehand of the future. When the ball bounces you will reach your power position. Your shoulders will be positioned a bit more than perpendicular and your racquet hand will not go back more from that point...
You'll get there, you just need to imagine it first.
There are more things about your forehand. The next thing you need to imagine is to hit the ball with topspin.
You have been working on it already and I can't wait to record you again...
My swing:
Monday, September 12, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Natural Learning
What is natural learning?
Natural learning is the most extraordinary learning process we can ever find in our lives. It explains how we learn to walk, talk, run, etc. Yes we take these things for granted but if we had to learn them as adults we would certainly struggle!
Young kids can learn to speak a new language in three months without any structure and that is quite amazing if we take in consideration the thousands of different combinations of words and sentences used in their newly learned language.
I used to believe that you need to be taught to read and to wright and so you need learning structure. I don't think that anymore!, as a passive observer of my home-schooled eight year old daughter I was surprised to see that she is learning to read and wright in Portuguese and English without any single instruction and without any structure or method. Our only task as parents is to give them the tools and to answer their questions if they have some. We don't ever correct them unless they ask us to do so.
It is a pity that kids as they grow older start loosing track with their own natural learning way as they get used to being told what to do and how to do it. Slowly they become passive learning adults without any responsibility for their learning.
But what about structure?
I think that structure only serves the teacher because it creates a simple method that is unquestionable, rigid, and doesn't demand from the teacher constant search for the best learning tools for the student. Structure doesn't serve the student who is hungry for knowledge and experimentation. Structure shows the student that there cannot be any innovation and that you have to do it in a certain way. Structure kills creativity. Structure makes learning boring.
Is there a natural learning process for playing tennis?
Yes there is. These are a few ideas that have been working for me:
Stop judging your skills and techniques, just notice them.
Take your time, relax (it is not a sprint it's a marathon).
Know what you are doing (record yourself on video).
Know what you want to do with a certain skill(watch the pros and study their swings).
Compare your technique with other players (without judgement).
Understand that you are an unique person with a unique technique.
Listen to everyone (even coaches) but only act based on your own instincts and experience.
Stop being a passenger on your own car, jump in the driving seat!
Don't let the outside pressures (like competition or social status) affect your skills.
Throughout the years as a tennis coach I've been changing my own philosophies about the learning process for my students and for my own game.
I see so many players on court who feel stressed and frustrated with their shots. The more they complain of course the least they improve. They are prisoners of their own habits.
As a coach I try to make players understand that they are unique. They are also their own masters and should develop an independent view about their own shots. I really think that the time for the players to "buy" everything the coach tells them is over. Just because I am a coach you don't have to believe me. You need to check other players and the pros and then see if my interpretation matches your interpretation.
Natural learning is the most extraordinary learning process we can ever find in our lives. It explains how we learn to walk, talk, run, etc. Yes we take these things for granted but if we had to learn them as adults we would certainly struggle!
Young kids can learn to speak a new language in three months without any structure and that is quite amazing if we take in consideration the thousands of different combinations of words and sentences used in their newly learned language.
I used to believe that you need to be taught to read and to wright and so you need learning structure. I don't think that anymore!, as a passive observer of my home-schooled eight year old daughter I was surprised to see that she is learning to read and wright in Portuguese and English without any single instruction and without any structure or method. Our only task as parents is to give them the tools and to answer their questions if they have some. We don't ever correct them unless they ask us to do so.
It is a pity that kids as they grow older start loosing track with their own natural learning way as they get used to being told what to do and how to do it. Slowly they become passive learning adults without any responsibility for their learning.
But what about structure?
I think that structure only serves the teacher because it creates a simple method that is unquestionable, rigid, and doesn't demand from the teacher constant search for the best learning tools for the student. Structure doesn't serve the student who is hungry for knowledge and experimentation. Structure shows the student that there cannot be any innovation and that you have to do it in a certain way. Structure kills creativity. Structure makes learning boring.
Is there a natural learning process for playing tennis?
Yes there is. These are a few ideas that have been working for me:
Stop judging your skills and techniques, just notice them.
Take your time, relax (it is not a sprint it's a marathon).
Know what you are doing (record yourself on video).
Know what you want to do with a certain skill(watch the pros and study their swings).
Compare your technique with other players (without judgement).
Understand that you are an unique person with a unique technique.
Listen to everyone (even coaches) but only act based on your own instincts and experience.
Stop being a passenger on your own car, jump in the driving seat!
Don't let the outside pressures (like competition or social status) affect your skills.
Throughout the years as a tennis coach I've been changing my own philosophies about the learning process for my students and for my own game.
I see so many players on court who feel stressed and frustrated with their shots. The more they complain of course the least they improve. They are prisoners of their own habits.
As a coach I try to make players understand that they are unique. They are also their own masters and should develop an independent view about their own shots. I really think that the time for the players to "buy" everything the coach tells them is over. Just because I am a coach you don't have to believe me. You need to check other players and the pros and then see if my interpretation matches your interpretation.
The role of the coach
What is our role as tennis coaches?
“As coaches it is not our job to answer questions, but to ask questions. The players should not learn form our experiences but from their own. In fact we do not need to add anything, we just have to encourage and nurture what is already there.” Enrique Guldberg, Elite tennis academy, Spain.
To read the full article, click on the link below :
http://elitetennisacademy.weebly.com/1/post/2011/04/what-is-the-coach-job.html
“As coaches it is not our job to answer questions, but to ask questions. The players should not learn form our experiences but from their own. In fact we do not need to add anything, we just have to encourage and nurture what is already there.” Enrique Guldberg, Elite tennis academy, Spain.
To read the full article, click on the link below :
http://elitetennisacademy.weebly.com/1/post/2011/04/what-is-the-coach-job.html
Thursday, July 21, 2011
James De Klerk's backhands - 21/7/11
BEFORE VIDEO AWARENESS:
From the start I knew James had some important aspects to improve on his backhand. The video helps us both to know exactly what he needs to change.
From watching the footage I noticed two major aspects in Jame's backhands:
The first is an inefficient full turn and the second is an excessive loop of the hands during the unit turn and full turn. I won't over analyze it because James is already changing his backhand. It should take him a few more weeks of practice to incorporate a few major changes...
The elements to imrove: Inefficient shoulder turn on the power position due to too much independently use of the hands and arms during the full turn on the preparation.
This last video is the type of shot that James will avoid with a better preparation. Why was James so terribly late for that one? He was late because he took his racquet back independently from his shoulder turn. Notice how the maximum shoulder turn was just a little bit more than 90 degrees to the net. Notice as well how the speed of the racquet head as the racquet goes back is probably twice as fast as the shoulder turn. Racquet head at shoulder speed is what we all want...
AFTER VIDEO AWARENESS:
Lots of changes in just a few minutes of awareness:
Racquet head higher and closer to the body on the ready position.
Much greater shoulder turn and less looping action of the hands on the preparation.
These videos show a much more compact backhand and James is already on the right track. I am very interested to see James's backhands in a couple of months...
From the start I knew James had some important aspects to improve on his backhand. The video helps us both to know exactly what he needs to change.
From watching the footage I noticed two major aspects in Jame's backhands:
The first is an inefficient full turn and the second is an excessive loop of the hands during the unit turn and full turn. I won't over analyze it because James is already changing his backhand. It should take him a few more weeks of practice to incorporate a few major changes...
The elements to imrove: Inefficient shoulder turn on the power position due to too much independently use of the hands and arms during the full turn on the preparation.
This last video is the type of shot that James will avoid with a better preparation. Why was James so terribly late for that one? He was late because he took his racquet back independently from his shoulder turn. Notice how the maximum shoulder turn was just a little bit more than 90 degrees to the net. Notice as well how the speed of the racquet head as the racquet goes back is probably twice as fast as the shoulder turn. Racquet head at shoulder speed is what we all want...
AFTER VIDEO AWARENESS:
Lots of changes in just a few minutes of awareness:
Racquet head higher and closer to the body on the ready position.
Much greater shoulder turn and less looping action of the hands on the preparation.
These videos show a much more compact backhand and James is already on the right track. I am very interested to see James's backhands in a couple of months...
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
My Forehands 18/07/11
These are my forehands recorded yesterday.
It is amazing the awareness I have after watching my shots on video. I feel empowered to change the swing completely if I want to although for me it is still my best shot. In this post I'll try to address the commonalities and differences between my forehand and the forehands of the pros.
Before trying to point out what I can do to improve my technique, first it is important that I try to understand what I am really doing when I'm hitting my forehand:
I start my preparation with a unit turn. As I've demonstrated with plenty of videos available here on the blog, this is one of the most important aspects of the forehand technique for every single player to master. The unit turn is quite simple to execute. I've seen a lot of players that had never been coached with a unit turn and players who play every day without a unit turn. They have no clue to how much they can improve their swing if they just learn to prepare like the pros...
Starting from the ready position, notice how as soon as I start reacting to the ball, my whole body starts to turn as a unit. We can see my right foot turning to the right at the same time as my left shoulder and hips turn till 90 degrees to the net. We can call this position the unit turn . Try freezing the video when my shoulders are perpendicular to the net. Where is my racquet and right hand? Go back to the start and freeze again at the same picture:
How much have I moved my right hand or racquet from the ready position till that moment?
Although both my right hand and racquet moved, the important part is that they HAVEN"T MOVED INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE BODY!!!
I can still see my hand very close to my belly button just like I had it on my ready position. We can observe as well two key aspects of the preparation on the forehand; The first is that the left hand hasn't moved independently either from the rest of the body and is still holding the racquet by the throat. The left hand on the racquet helps the execution of the unit turn because it makes the preparation more compact. Last on my unit 1, my left foot turns as well to the right with the rest of the body and it stays on the ground enough time to allow my body turn to create spring power from shoulders and hips. So as I start the unit turn my feet are positioned with an open stance.
As I am studying my forehand I am beginning to observe of a lot of little things that I do that I wasn't aware of.
After that position that we called the unit turn, I initiate the full turn that happens after the shoulders turn perpendicular till the power position.
I start elevating a bit more my left hand. Because my right hand still hasn't gone back or upward yet, the racquet becomes more vertical during this phase of the swing (with just a little bit of a forward tilt). This is the moment that my left foot is already crossing over my right foot as I am moving to the ball.
Until this moment my right hand and elbow hasn't moved independently from the rest of the body. It is quite extraordinary that for 0.37 seconds my right hand did not move from the position where it was on the ready position in relation to my upper body. It counts for 35% of the time until contact is done. That's how important is the unit turn!
Finally as my left hand leaves the racquet, my right hand and right elbow start separating itself with the rest of the torso. However it isn't an total independent take back of the racquet although during this time the right hand and racquet seem to travel faster than other parts of the body. As the racquet continues to move back, the right elbow goes a bit back away from the torso and also seems to go towards my back on my left. As all of this is happening my left arm stretches parallel to the baseline which helps the shoulders to rotate maybe another 15 to 30 degrees more.
By the time that my right foot lands on the ground ready for the power position, my left arm is already on an angle about a 45 degrees to the net and remains fully stretched. At this moment the racquet head finally catches the right hand and for the first time in the swing is positioned behind the right hand. This happens as the right hand slows down and prepares the racquet head for the final acceleration to the ball. I have reached what we call the power position.
The full turn itself accounts for 0.6 seconds which represents 0.57 of the overall swing from the ready position till the contact point. So these are the numbers, if the unit turn accounts for 35% and the full turn, 57% we have already 92% of the swing between ready position and contact point. The remaining 8 per cent accounts for the time between the power position and forward swing till contact.
The most interesting aspect of my preparation is that contrary to what I've observed within the pro game, my right hand doesn't have any upward movement at all! It is quite possible that here relies one key aspect that I may to change on my swing to improve it. But I am not certain as well if I need to change it or if I really want to. I am not concerned with my technique, and I am always trying to find a more efficient way to execute my shots. I have nothing to loose, I love to change, but hey isn't it cool that we all have a special way of hitting our forehands?
In this power position, my body is in the lower position since the ready position. My left knee is much lower than my right knee. As the racquet head gets behind the right hand and starts to accelerate forward the left knee starts pushing up and the left foot turns and points to the net. At this moment the hips are turning faster than the shoulders, but by the time the knee caps are leveled at the same height the shoulder seems to turn faster than the hips. This position where both knees are at the same height coincides with what we call the hitting arm position, where the butt of the racquet points on a straight line to the ball. At this moment we can say that hips and shoulders are parallel, but as soon as the racquet accelerates the last few frames till contact the shoulders rotate much faster than hips and they keep rotating faster throughout the followthrough.
Contact was made more in front on shots 1, 3 and 4 because those shot were hit crosscourt.
At the moment I'm still thinking on the replications of what I've observed with my forehand. From the fact that my right hand has no upward movement in the entire swing I can say that is a shot more compact than all of the pros that I have observed. Of course that doesn't mean it is a more efficient technique. On the contrary it might be giving my swing less power and maybe even less topspin, although I'm not so sure about it. Maybe the upward swing is not the important key aspect of the preparation. Or maybe I don't have upward right hand movement because hand and racquet head start already on a high position...
It is amazing the awareness I have after watching my shots on video. I feel empowered to change the swing completely if I want to although for me it is still my best shot. In this post I'll try to address the commonalities and differences between my forehand and the forehands of the pros.
Before trying to point out what I can do to improve my technique, first it is important that I try to understand what I am really doing when I'm hitting my forehand:
I start my preparation with a unit turn. As I've demonstrated with plenty of videos available here on the blog, this is one of the most important aspects of the forehand technique for every single player to master. The unit turn is quite simple to execute. I've seen a lot of players that had never been coached with a unit turn and players who play every day without a unit turn. They have no clue to how much they can improve their swing if they just learn to prepare like the pros...
Starting from the ready position, notice how as soon as I start reacting to the ball, my whole body starts to turn as a unit. We can see my right foot turning to the right at the same time as my left shoulder and hips turn till 90 degrees to the net. We can call this position the unit turn . Try freezing the video when my shoulders are perpendicular to the net. Where is my racquet and right hand? Go back to the start and freeze again at the same picture:
How much have I moved my right hand or racquet from the ready position till that moment?
Although both my right hand and racquet moved, the important part is that they HAVEN"T MOVED INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE BODY!!!
I can still see my hand very close to my belly button just like I had it on my ready position. We can observe as well two key aspects of the preparation on the forehand; The first is that the left hand hasn't moved independently either from the rest of the body and is still holding the racquet by the throat. The left hand on the racquet helps the execution of the unit turn because it makes the preparation more compact. Last on my unit 1, my left foot turns as well to the right with the rest of the body and it stays on the ground enough time to allow my body turn to create spring power from shoulders and hips. So as I start the unit turn my feet are positioned with an open stance.
As I am studying my forehand I am beginning to observe of a lot of little things that I do that I wasn't aware of.
After that position that we called the unit turn, I initiate the full turn that happens after the shoulders turn perpendicular till the power position.
I start elevating a bit more my left hand. Because my right hand still hasn't gone back or upward yet, the racquet becomes more vertical during this phase of the swing (with just a little bit of a forward tilt). This is the moment that my left foot is already crossing over my right foot as I am moving to the ball.
Until this moment my right hand and elbow hasn't moved independently from the rest of the body. It is quite extraordinary that for 0.37 seconds my right hand did not move from the position where it was on the ready position in relation to my upper body. It counts for 35% of the time until contact is done. That's how important is the unit turn!
Finally as my left hand leaves the racquet, my right hand and right elbow start separating itself with the rest of the torso. However it isn't an total independent take back of the racquet although during this time the right hand and racquet seem to travel faster than other parts of the body. As the racquet continues to move back, the right elbow goes a bit back away from the torso and also seems to go towards my back on my left. As all of this is happening my left arm stretches parallel to the baseline which helps the shoulders to rotate maybe another 15 to 30 degrees more.
By the time that my right foot lands on the ground ready for the power position, my left arm is already on an angle about a 45 degrees to the net and remains fully stretched. At this moment the racquet head finally catches the right hand and for the first time in the swing is positioned behind the right hand. This happens as the right hand slows down and prepares the racquet head for the final acceleration to the ball. I have reached what we call the power position.
The full turn itself accounts for 0.6 seconds which represents 0.57 of the overall swing from the ready position till the contact point. So these are the numbers, if the unit turn accounts for 35% and the full turn, 57% we have already 92% of the swing between ready position and contact point. The remaining 8 per cent accounts for the time between the power position and forward swing till contact.
The most interesting aspect of my preparation is that contrary to what I've observed within the pro game, my right hand doesn't have any upward movement at all! It is quite possible that here relies one key aspect that I may to change on my swing to improve it. But I am not certain as well if I need to change it or if I really want to. I am not concerned with my technique, and I am always trying to find a more efficient way to execute my shots. I have nothing to loose, I love to change, but hey isn't it cool that we all have a special way of hitting our forehands?
In this power position, my body is in the lower position since the ready position. My left knee is much lower than my right knee. As the racquet head gets behind the right hand and starts to accelerate forward the left knee starts pushing up and the left foot turns and points to the net. At this moment the hips are turning faster than the shoulders, but by the time the knee caps are leveled at the same height the shoulder seems to turn faster than the hips. This position where both knees are at the same height coincides with what we call the hitting arm position, where the butt of the racquet points on a straight line to the ball. At this moment we can say that hips and shoulders are parallel, but as soon as the racquet accelerates the last few frames till contact the shoulders rotate much faster than hips and they keep rotating faster throughout the followthrough.
Contact was made more in front on shots 1, 3 and 4 because those shot were hit crosscourt.
At the moment I'm still thinking on the replications of what I've observed with my forehand. From the fact that my right hand has no upward movement in the entire swing I can say that is a shot more compact than all of the pros that I have observed. Of course that doesn't mean it is a more efficient technique. On the contrary it might be giving my swing less power and maybe even less topspin, although I'm not so sure about it. Maybe the upward swing is not the important key aspect of the preparation. Or maybe I don't have upward right hand movement because hand and racquet head start already on a high position...
Friday, July 8, 2011
The trap of the light racquets
It is quite amazing how so many people play with racquets that are not only unsuitable for their game but also unsafe and can cause injuries. In general these racquets are light and heavy on the head. On the contrary the pros play with heavy racquets and light heads.
There is a marketing trap that wants us to believe that there is a beginner's racquet an intermediate racquet, and an advance racquet.
The truth is that it doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a pro you should play with the best racquet posible. That racquet should be heavy overall (above 300g) and light on the head with a balance of less than 330mm. My racquet's weight is 330g and it's balance is 310mm. I would play with a racquet weighing 370g if it was available on the market!
When someone walks into a store to buy a racquet he is probably gonna get the lighter one on the shop. He thinks that because he is playing with a racquet with the same brand as Federer, that his new racquet can't be that bad and sometimes he may even believe that his racquet, "with the latest technology on the market", is even better than the one Federer uses!
Social players all over the world play with extremely light racquets with heavy heads. These racquets have weights below 270g and have the balance above 340mm. Watch these players, they have inefficient techniques and most of them have elbow straps because of their tennis elbow.
Light weight racquets sells, heavy don't.
Light racquets brake easily and you may have to buy another one, heavy racquets don't brake.
Light racquets are unsafe because most of the impact is transfered to your wrists and elbows, Heavier racquets gives you more protection. If two cars have a front collision, in which car would you like to be driving, in the light car or the heavy car?
There is a marketing trap that wants us to believe that there is a beginner's racquet an intermediate racquet, and an advance racquet.
The truth is that it doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a pro you should play with the best racquet posible. That racquet should be heavy overall (above 300g) and light on the head with a balance of less than 330mm. My racquet's weight is 330g and it's balance is 310mm. I would play with a racquet weighing 370g if it was available on the market!
When someone walks into a store to buy a racquet he is probably gonna get the lighter one on the shop. He thinks that because he is playing with a racquet with the same brand as Federer, that his new racquet can't be that bad and sometimes he may even believe that his racquet, "with the latest technology on the market", is even better than the one Federer uses!
Social players all over the world play with extremely light racquets with heavy heads. These racquets have weights below 270g and have the balance above 340mm. Watch these players, they have inefficient techniques and most of them have elbow straps because of their tennis elbow.
Light weight racquets sells, heavy don't.
Light racquets brake easily and you may have to buy another one, heavy racquets don't brake.
Light racquets are unsafe because most of the impact is transfered to your wrists and elbows, Heavier racquets gives you more protection. If two cars have a front collision, in which car would you like to be driving, in the light car or the heavy car?
Monday, June 27, 2011
James's Forehands - Part II - 16/06/11
One week later James and I went back on court to improve his forehands. The main thing was to raise the right elbow with the unit turn. I think it looks much better...
After the turn, James has his shoulders perpendicular to the net. He can turn another 30, or 40 degrees more. To do that he needs to stretch his left arm more on the power position and he needs to open his stance more and getting his left knee lower. Notice how on his last step, James steps forward with his left foot. Instead he could have stepped towards his left increasing his open stance and getting lower, ready for the forward swing. Of course to do that he would need to move in closer to the ball.
This second video is an interesting footage. This is the video James needs to watch to know where to go next. This was the only forehand that I've recorded that James had a shoulder turn of about 110 or 120 degrees to the net and his hips were perpendicular to the net on the power position. Although James didn't really attacked the ball and his swing seems to be a bit too big because the position of his right hand is too far to his left side, its still a great shot and the one that going to change every forehand that James will hit in the future.
On this forehand James has elevated much more his right elbow, roughly shoulder high. He kept the left hand on the racquet longer and he had a much bigger turn. His shoulders went much more than perpendicular. Just before the power position (moment before the forward swing) his left arm is back because he kept it longer on the racquet while turning his shoulders. If James can have roughly the same sort of turn with the left arm straight for the power position would be even better. And again the left foot is too close to the right foot while striking the ball and as a consequence he is too upright and unbalanced.
The third forehand resembles a bit the first one. The elbow was a bit lower. The left hand got away from the racquet earlier and the turn wasn't as big as on the second shot. One improvement from the first forehand was that on this shot James used his left foot, on his last step, to increase his stance. Although the left foot went too far back which makes it very difficult for James to have his hips perpendicular to the net.
This is another point where James can be aware on his forehands. Compare the hips position on his forward swing on all of the videos. On the second video the hips were perpendicular to the net, but videos 1 and 3 weren't.
On this last video, James started with a higher elbow, but not as high as the second video. James again couldn't have the same turn as on that 2nd shot and his hips didn't get perpendicular to the net.
After having a good look at James's forehands we know already with more certain what James needs to do next.
James future forehands will have the same shoulder turn of video 2 , his hips will be perpendicular or more at the start of the forward swing, his left arm will be stretched out and he will have a wider stance. Besides, he will be hitting his forehands with his right hand more on the right side of the body.
This next picture is from shot 2. Watch the shoulder turn and hips perpendicular. If James can have the same turn while having the left arm out and straight his forehands will get extremely hot! Watchout!
This is me on the power position. Check the shoulder line, hips, left arm, left knee.
After the turn, James has his shoulders perpendicular to the net. He can turn another 30, or 40 degrees more. To do that he needs to stretch his left arm more on the power position and he needs to open his stance more and getting his left knee lower. Notice how on his last step, James steps forward with his left foot. Instead he could have stepped towards his left increasing his open stance and getting lower, ready for the forward swing. Of course to do that he would need to move in closer to the ball.
This second video is an interesting footage. This is the video James needs to watch to know where to go next. This was the only forehand that I've recorded that James had a shoulder turn of about 110 or 120 degrees to the net and his hips were perpendicular to the net on the power position. Although James didn't really attacked the ball and his swing seems to be a bit too big because the position of his right hand is too far to his left side, its still a great shot and the one that going to change every forehand that James will hit in the future.
On this forehand James has elevated much more his right elbow, roughly shoulder high. He kept the left hand on the racquet longer and he had a much bigger turn. His shoulders went much more than perpendicular. Just before the power position (moment before the forward swing) his left arm is back because he kept it longer on the racquet while turning his shoulders. If James can have roughly the same sort of turn with the left arm straight for the power position would be even better. And again the left foot is too close to the right foot while striking the ball and as a consequence he is too upright and unbalanced.
The third forehand resembles a bit the first one. The elbow was a bit lower. The left hand got away from the racquet earlier and the turn wasn't as big as on the second shot. One improvement from the first forehand was that on this shot James used his left foot, on his last step, to increase his stance. Although the left foot went too far back which makes it very difficult for James to have his hips perpendicular to the net.
This is another point where James can be aware on his forehands. Compare the hips position on his forward swing on all of the videos. On the second video the hips were perpendicular to the net, but videos 1 and 3 weren't.
On this last video, James started with a higher elbow, but not as high as the second video. James again couldn't have the same turn as on that 2nd shot and his hips didn't get perpendicular to the net.
After having a good look at James's forehands we know already with more certain what James needs to do next.
James future forehands will have the same shoulder turn of video 2 , his hips will be perpendicular or more at the start of the forward swing, his left arm will be stretched out and he will have a wider stance. Besides, he will be hitting his forehands with his right hand more on the right side of the body.
This next picture is from shot 2. Watch the shoulder turn and hips perpendicular. If James can have the same turn while having the left arm out and straight his forehands will get extremely hot! Watchout!
This is me on the power position. Check the shoulder line, hips, left arm, left knee.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The myth of the Ball trajectory on the serve - part2
I've been quite curious and interested about the trajectory of the ball after impact on a serve. You can see my previous article about the myth of the upward trajectory of the ball after contact on the tennis serve :
http://andrevazpinto.blogspot.com/2011/03/myth-of-upward-trajectory-of-ball-on.html
In fact what I've been discovering on the tennis court with more and more videos is that the trajectory of the ball doesn't depend mainly on the height of the contact point, but is more dependable on the speed and spin of the ball. That is true of course until a certain extent, there are many different variables all working at the same time, like height of contact, position of the racquet, spin, speed, etc.
If you watch the last video of Adam at 200 frames per second, serving from the side view, you can see that the ball right after contact is getting lower and lower. At least, we can say without a doubt that there is a tendency for the ball to drop after contact. Of course some can argue that we can't really see the ball clearly and that we need to increase the amount of frames per second on the video footage so we can be sure.
It is interesting to see the same pattern of the flight of the ball on James's serve recorded at 1000 frames per second:
http://andrevazpinto.blogspot.com/2011/03/james-serves-at-1000-fps.html
When I showed this footage to one of the coaches one question was raised: 'how can we be sure that the ball is not staying leveled or even going up for a millionth of a second after contact before it starts dropping?'
I think that the best answer to that question is that in fact, from physics we know that it is impossible for the ball right after contact to stay at a leveled height. At a microscopic level the ball is either going slightly up or down. If it was true that the ball after contact first goes goes up and then it curves down it would be extremely easy to see that on camera since the arc of the ball would have to be very clear.
We can't forget either that the ball before being hit on the serve is accelerating downward and it is not on a stationary position.
What about the topspin, wouldn't that be able to create that looping of the ball extremely fast right after contact?
That is not possible, first of all it is impossible to create perfect topspin on the serve as J.Yandell has already demonstrated. There is always a side component on the serve and that makes it even harder to believe that the trajectory of the ball on the serve first goes up and then magically drops straight without we being aware of it not even at 1000 frames per second. Every shot we hit with topspin we create a long arc since we have to hit the ball over the net. For us to create a short arc we would have to be very close to the net and compromise substantially the speed of the shot.
There might be a few exceptions (although I haven't witnessed that on the pro game) but in general the trajectory of the ball after contact on the tennis serve is downward for either first and second serves.
http://andrevazpinto.blogspot.com/2011/03/myth-of-upward-trajectory-of-ball-on.html
In fact what I've been discovering on the tennis court with more and more videos is that the trajectory of the ball doesn't depend mainly on the height of the contact point, but is more dependable on the speed and spin of the ball. That is true of course until a certain extent, there are many different variables all working at the same time, like height of contact, position of the racquet, spin, speed, etc.
If you watch the last video of Adam at 200 frames per second, serving from the side view, you can see that the ball right after contact is getting lower and lower. At least, we can say without a doubt that there is a tendency for the ball to drop after contact. Of course some can argue that we can't really see the ball clearly and that we need to increase the amount of frames per second on the video footage so we can be sure.
It is interesting to see the same pattern of the flight of the ball on James's serve recorded at 1000 frames per second:
http://andrevazpinto.blogspot.com/2011/03/james-serves-at-1000-fps.html
When I showed this footage to one of the coaches one question was raised: 'how can we be sure that the ball is not staying leveled or even going up for a millionth of a second after contact before it starts dropping?'
I think that the best answer to that question is that in fact, from physics we know that it is impossible for the ball right after contact to stay at a leveled height. At a microscopic level the ball is either going slightly up or down. If it was true that the ball after contact first goes goes up and then it curves down it would be extremely easy to see that on camera since the arc of the ball would have to be very clear.
We can't forget either that the ball before being hit on the serve is accelerating downward and it is not on a stationary position.
What about the topspin, wouldn't that be able to create that looping of the ball extremely fast right after contact?
That is not possible, first of all it is impossible to create perfect topspin on the serve as J.Yandell has already demonstrated. There is always a side component on the serve and that makes it even harder to believe that the trajectory of the ball on the serve first goes up and then magically drops straight without we being aware of it not even at 1000 frames per second. Every shot we hit with topspin we create a long arc since we have to hit the ball over the net. For us to create a short arc we would have to be very close to the net and compromise substantially the speed of the shot.
There might be a few exceptions (although I haven't witnessed that on the pro game) but in general the trajectory of the ball after contact on the tennis serve is downward for either first and second serves.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Adam's Forehands
Here we have Adam's Forehands recorded on the 25th of May 2011.
In general I think Adam has achieved already an efficient swing.
He starts his swing with a unit turn. As his turn his shoulders he elevates and pushes back his right elbow making the racquet head tilt down towards the ground. His right elbow is quite high even passing the height of right shoulder. F.Gonzalez is a player who elevates the right elbow higher than his right shoulder while preparing his forehand. At this moment he still has both hands on the racquet. He turns his feet to the side and his whole body gets low. He seems very well balanced and he is ready to attack the ball!
After releasing the left hand Adam starts preparing his power position. (The power position is achieved just before the forward swing when the body is ready to explode to attack the coming ball). It is here that I've found one important element for Adam to improve his forehand. Before reaching the power position Adam drops his right elbow quite considerably as his racquet gets vertical. Although the front video view is not the best to see the height of the elbow on the end of the backswing with help of my software I could see a a little bit of Adam's elbow. (If you can't see it here, you have to take my word for it). Have a look at Gonzalez's elbow at the end of his backswing:
Apart from the drop of the elbow which I think can make a huge difference on Adam's forehand, the other fundamental aspect has to be his extension which is very minimal. His right elbow after contact is going extremely close to the body.
Adam needs to finish his right hand and elbow further in front of the body, even when he his hitting flat. r.
The next picture I am hitting a flatter shot. Notice how my right hand and elbow finish more in front of the body.
The great thing about high speed video is that it gives us a great awareness of what we are doing. The more I watch Adam's forehands and compare it with the pros and even with my own forehand the more I learn about it.
Richard pointed out that Adam seems to be ready to attack the ball but then he seems to push it forward. Its like he is not accelerating through.
From the start after first watching Adam's forehand videos I had a feeling that Adam hits his shots with side spin, although I couldn't prove it even at 200 frames per second. I would need 500 frames per second to be sure. However, after looking at my picture and Agassi's at the contact point and then comparing it with Adam's shots helped to solve the puzzle. See if you can find the difference:
If you observe Agassi's (and mine) right foot position, you can see that it is parallel to the baseline. Adam has already Pivoted the right foot before contact, which means that at contact you already lost some of the power. This was true for Adam's videos 1 and 2. On video 3 Adam has his right foot similar to both Andres on contact.
There is so much more we can say about someone's shots. I think now we can say that we understand much better how Adam's strikes his forehands. The key is awareness, the rest is easier and will come with time.
In general I think Adam has achieved already an efficient swing.
He starts his swing with a unit turn. As his turn his shoulders he elevates and pushes back his right elbow making the racquet head tilt down towards the ground. His right elbow is quite high even passing the height of right shoulder. F.Gonzalez is a player who elevates the right elbow higher than his right shoulder while preparing his forehand. At this moment he still has both hands on the racquet. He turns his feet to the side and his whole body gets low. He seems very well balanced and he is ready to attack the ball!
After releasing the left hand Adam starts preparing his power position. (The power position is achieved just before the forward swing when the body is ready to explode to attack the coming ball). It is here that I've found one important element for Adam to improve his forehand. Before reaching the power position Adam drops his right elbow quite considerably as his racquet gets vertical. Although the front video view is not the best to see the height of the elbow on the end of the backswing with help of my software I could see a a little bit of Adam's elbow. (If you can't see it here, you have to take my word for it). Have a look at Gonzalez's elbow at the end of his backswing:
Apart from the drop of the elbow which I think can make a huge difference on Adam's forehand, the other fundamental aspect has to be his extension which is very minimal. His right elbow after contact is going extremely close to the body.
Adam needs to finish his right hand and elbow further in front of the body, even when he his hitting flat. r.
The next picture I am hitting a flatter shot. Notice how my right hand and elbow finish more in front of the body.
The great thing about high speed video is that it gives us a great awareness of what we are doing. The more I watch Adam's forehands and compare it with the pros and even with my own forehand the more I learn about it.
Richard pointed out that Adam seems to be ready to attack the ball but then he seems to push it forward. Its like he is not accelerating through.
From the start after first watching Adam's forehand videos I had a feeling that Adam hits his shots with side spin, although I couldn't prove it even at 200 frames per second. I would need 500 frames per second to be sure. However, after looking at my picture and Agassi's at the contact point and then comparing it with Adam's shots helped to solve the puzzle. See if you can find the difference:
If you observe Agassi's (and mine) right foot position, you can see that it is parallel to the baseline. Adam has already Pivoted the right foot before contact, which means that at contact you already lost some of the power. This was true for Adam's videos 1 and 2. On video 3 Adam has his right foot similar to both Andres on contact.
There is so much more we can say about someone's shots. I think now we can say that we understand much better how Adam's strikes his forehands. The key is awareness, the rest is easier and will come with time.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Daniel Strikes again!
Uau that's a great improvement Daniel. Check Daniel's backhand a couple of months ago and see the difference : http://andrevazpinto.blogspot.com/2011/02/daniels-backhands.html
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tony's Forehands
Sorry Tony videos are not so great in terms of light. It is always a challenge to record high speed videos at night time.
However it can still help us to understand better how you are striking that ball...
On the moment the ball bounces your body and racket are not quite in position yet. Your left hand should be stretched across the body, your should have a full turn and your body and racket should be ready for the forward swing. You are late, your power position is reached with the ball already close to you and so you have to rush the forward swing. Check my forehand below on the exact moment that the ball is bouncing.
On your forward swing the racket head doesn't seem to come under the height of the ball and the shot lacks topspin. You seem to be hitting the ball a bit too far back for a neutral stance forehand.
David's Serve side view 500 fps
After you look at this video David, your serve will never be the same. Things to notice on your technique:
The left arm is tossing the ball perpendicular to the net and therefore there is no arc from the right to the left and there is no arc from the back fence to the net. Check my article about the secrets of the toss http://andrevazpinto.blogspot.com/2010/06/secrets-of-ball-toss.html
When you make contact your feet are already coming down, as a consequence there is no leg drive and no "kick of the mule" common to all pros(watch the picture below).
Roddick's "kick of the mule"
The technique you use resembles a volleyball serve. A contact a lot in front of the head, with no much shoulder rotation, with the feet and body already coming down at the time of contact, and shoulders and hips parallel to the net at the time of contact, and with no "kick of the mule" during the followthrough and finish position are all technical elements for the jump serve in volleyball!! interesting hey?
Have you played volleyball before David???
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Why Sampras serves?
After watching and comparing my serve with some of the best players in the world I realized that my style resembles more Agassi's serve.
So why bother to copy Sampras serves instead of following the "other" great Andre ?
Sampras has such a great action and a serve totally different to my own serve.
I am very curios to experiment and see how many elements of Sampras technique I can incorporate in my own serve. I'm not in a hurry and although I have the greatest tool for video analysis I know the changes might take 6 months or even a year, and still not sure if i can make too many of those changes.
I have the advantage of having thirty years experience with the learning process and I that I am not competing, therefore I can change as much as I want to without any pressure, and just focus 100 per cent in the technical aspects I want to change.
So why bother to copy Sampras serves instead of following the "other" great Andre ?
Sampras has such a great action and a serve totally different to my own serve.
I am very curios to experiment and see how many elements of Sampras technique I can incorporate in my own serve. I'm not in a hurry and although I have the greatest tool for video analysis I know the changes might take 6 months or even a year, and still not sure if i can make too many of those changes.
I have the advantage of having thirty years experience with the learning process and I that I am not competing, therefore I can change as much as I want to without any pressure, and just focus 100 per cent in the technical aspects I want to change.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Modelling Sampras serves
The other day I was studying Sampras serves again and I was certain that I would be capable of copying a few aspects of his technique.
During the last year I have been really keen to mimic Sampras great serve, but no matter how much I tried I always found the shoulder turn to be to extreme for me. So I dropped and followed a more "Federer" action with a few good results. But a few weeks ago I was on court and all of a sudden I found a way to turn my shoulders with my back to the net with no strain just by tilting my head back away from the net as soon as I tossed the ball. And one day magic happened I delivered a few serves maybe 5 or 6 with a greater speed and I felt I was getting more spin as well. But it come as fast as it went. One day after with the camera rolling I wasn't able to do it. Was it camera pressure? Probably, and I felt I was rushing the whole process and didn't let the magic happen. However her they are my two serves that look a bit towards Sampras style:
What to do now? well here is the list:
Open the stance a bit more.
Change the grip to more towards continental.
Toss with the palm of the hand towards the sky.
Toss much more towards the net (forward arc).
Bringing the racket up for the trophy position without aid of the wrist.
Have the left hip more towards the net for the trophy position.
Have the right elbow bend just after contact.
It will probably take me at least 6 months to incorporate some or maybe all of these changes into my serve. I'll try to enjoy it every bit and I'll keep you updated...
During the last year I have been really keen to mimic Sampras great serve, but no matter how much I tried I always found the shoulder turn to be to extreme for me. So I dropped and followed a more "Federer" action with a few good results. But a few weeks ago I was on court and all of a sudden I found a way to turn my shoulders with my back to the net with no strain just by tilting my head back away from the net as soon as I tossed the ball. And one day magic happened I delivered a few serves maybe 5 or 6 with a greater speed and I felt I was getting more spin as well. But it come as fast as it went. One day after with the camera rolling I wasn't able to do it. Was it camera pressure? Probably, and I felt I was rushing the whole process and didn't let the magic happen. However her they are my two serves that look a bit towards Sampras style:
What to do now? well here is the list:
Open the stance a bit more.
Change the grip to more towards continental.
Toss with the palm of the hand towards the sky.
Toss much more towards the net (forward arc).
Bringing the racket up for the trophy position without aid of the wrist.
Have the left hip more towards the net for the trophy position.
Have the right elbow bend just after contact.
It will probably take me at least 6 months to incorporate some or maybe all of these changes into my serve. I'll try to enjoy it every bit and I'll keep you updated...
Monday, March 28, 2011
James Serves at 1000 fps
001 1000fps 780rpm 2h DC 24-03-11
003 1000fps 1500rpm 16h30' DC 24-03-11
004 500fps AC 17-03-11
003 1000fps 1500rpm 16h30' DC 24-03-11
004 500fps AC 17-03-11
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The myth of the upward trajectory of the ball on the serve
While analyzing a few of my high speed videos and hundreds of videos from the pros, I begun to question the truth about the serve's upward trajectory of the ball right after contact.
From a long time ago I've heard this coaching "holy truth" about the arc of the trajectory after contact. It was said that you needed to be extremely tall (2,20 m?) to be able to hit the ball directly down.
In fact all the pros seem to hit the ball directly down on first serves. For the second serves, the great majority of players still hit the ball straight down with some exceptions where the ball stays leveled for a few frames before starting to drop.
It is very difficult to be sure about the trajectory of the ball after contact in the pro game because you need a high speed footage and the angle of the recording has to be the right one. Maybe there are a few pros who produce an upward trajectory on their second serves, but I believe that is far from being an advantage. They probably hit it with more spin but with much less speed.
Research has been made by John Yandell about the amount and type of spins that some of the pros generate for their serve, volleys and groundstrokes. For instance Sampras was found to be serving with an average spin of 2500 rpm. According to Yandell, it seems to be impossible to generate perfect topspin since there is always a side spin component on every serve.
From a long time ago I've heard this coaching "holy truth" about the arc of the trajectory after contact. It was said that you needed to be extremely tall (2,20 m?) to be able to hit the ball directly down.
In fact all the pros seem to hit the ball directly down on first serves. For the second serves, the great majority of players still hit the ball straight down with some exceptions where the ball stays leveled for a few frames before starting to drop.
It is very difficult to be sure about the trajectory of the ball after contact in the pro game because you need a high speed footage and the angle of the recording has to be the right one. Maybe there are a few pros who produce an upward trajectory on their second serves, but I believe that is far from being an advantage. They probably hit it with more spin but with much less speed.
Research has been made by John Yandell about the amount and type of spins that some of the pros generate for their serve, volleys and groundstrokes. For instance Sampras was found to be serving with an average spin of 2500 rpm. According to Yandell, it seems to be impossible to generate perfect topspin since there is always a side spin component on every serve.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Ian Foo's Forehands at 500 fps
As soon as I recorded Ian's shots I was extremely surprised to see how much Ian has changed his forehands since last time I've recorded back in September 2010.
Some of the changes that Ian's has done in the past 5 months, seem to be more similar to how the pros hit their forehands. I'll analyze them with no rush. I' need some time to "digest" these videos and to try to understand the following improvements to be made.
The first video is a forehand return where Ian was returning James De Clerk's first serve (maybe at 130 km/h).
The second video is the following shot of the rally.
17/03/11 - Forehand Return (1st serve)
The interesting aspect to compare between these two videos is that when returning, Ian has much less time available for the preparation of his forehand.
The return of serve is the shot that Ian struggles the most. He tends to hit the ball too far back (late). He needs to improve his footwork and leg drive through the shot, shorten his swing, or even maybe standing further back when returning serves (although standing back wont improve his footwork, just his timing).
17/03/11 - Forehand Inside in
This second video is a masterpiece. Independently of how much Ian has to improve his technique, when you climb so high in relation to where you've started you gotta look down and ENJOY THE VIEW!
It is too early still for me to analyze Ian's forehand. There are a few points here and there on Ian's technique, but before I start "shooting in the dark" I rather wait for the magic to sink in.
Some of the changes that Ian's has done in the past 5 months, seem to be more similar to how the pros hit their forehands. I'll analyze them with no rush. I' need some time to "digest" these videos and to try to understand the following improvements to be made.
The first video is a forehand return where Ian was returning James De Clerk's first serve (maybe at 130 km/h).
The second video is the following shot of the rally.
17/03/11 - Forehand Return (1st serve)
The interesting aspect to compare between these two videos is that when returning, Ian has much less time available for the preparation of his forehand.
The return of serve is the shot that Ian struggles the most. He tends to hit the ball too far back (late). He needs to improve his footwork and leg drive through the shot, shorten his swing, or even maybe standing further back when returning serves (although standing back wont improve his footwork, just his timing).
17/03/11 - Forehand Inside in
This second video is a masterpiece. Independently of how much Ian has to improve his technique, when you climb so high in relation to where you've started you gotta look down and ENJOY THE VIEW!
It is too early still for me to analyze Ian's forehand. There are a few points here and there on Ian's technique, but before I start "shooting in the dark" I rather wait for the magic to sink in.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Daniel's Backhands
Thanks Daniel for sharing your videos with us. You've done the first major step into understanding your own unique way of hitting the ball. That understanding will allow you to improve your backhands at a greater speed.
These are Daniel's backhands. Daniel has improved already his backhand on some aspects since this first lesson I had with him in February.
02/02/11
Unit turn and preparation:
Daniel starts his preparation with a unit turn. His shoulders turn at the same speed of his arms and racket just like any pro. However as soon as the shoulders reach a perpendicular position to the net, Daniel stops the shoulder rotation and drops his racket to the side. When the ball is bouncing on court a pro has his racket perpendicular or more to the court, Daniel has his racket positioned parallel to the net which means that he is still not ready for the power position. By the time his racket goes back the ball is already very close and Daniel is forced to rush his forward swing hitting the ball late (too far back) I believe that this is the most important aspect for Daniel to improve on his backhand.
02/02/11
It is very difficult if not impossible to analyze someone's technique without considering footwork and how it affects our ability to strike the ball. But the same is true in reverse, the way we hit the ball affects the way we move to it.
What can we say about Daniel's footwork?
Although it is hard to know about someone's footwork by watching 4 or five videos, we can still see that Daniel has a tendency to do his split step a bit late, and we can see that on most of his shots he is missing an adjustment step with his right foot before his last step. When Daniel does his last step it seems to be very big and he is not in a "best" position to hit the ball.
02/02/11
On the contact point we can see that his contact seems to be a bit too far back considering he has both his arms stretched (or almost). The reason may be due to his footwork or to his late preparation or both. As a consequence on contact his right wrist it is not laid back and that is responsible for lack of power.
02/02/11
On the last two shots Daniel tried to change a bit his followthrough with his racket finishing over his shoulder. It is something that Daniel will continue to improve. His racket can continue to go through the line of the shot and then finishing up with his right shoulder just under his chin.
02/02/11
There you go Daniel, this was my interpretation of your backhands. There was so much more to be said, but who need more words anyway? The important part is that you study your swing, and know it pretty well. Then you can watch other players and see the way they do it. By the way here is Brenton Bacon's backhands a state league player from Sorrento.
Compare their backhands and tell me if you can see any difference:
07/05/10
07/05/10
These are Daniel's backhands. Daniel has improved already his backhand on some aspects since this first lesson I had with him in February.
02/02/11
Unit turn and preparation:
Daniel starts his preparation with a unit turn. His shoulders turn at the same speed of his arms and racket just like any pro. However as soon as the shoulders reach a perpendicular position to the net, Daniel stops the shoulder rotation and drops his racket to the side. When the ball is bouncing on court a pro has his racket perpendicular or more to the court, Daniel has his racket positioned parallel to the net which means that he is still not ready for the power position. By the time his racket goes back the ball is already very close and Daniel is forced to rush his forward swing hitting the ball late (too far back) I believe that this is the most important aspect for Daniel to improve on his backhand.
02/02/11
It is very difficult if not impossible to analyze someone's technique without considering footwork and how it affects our ability to strike the ball. But the same is true in reverse, the way we hit the ball affects the way we move to it.
What can we say about Daniel's footwork?
Although it is hard to know about someone's footwork by watching 4 or five videos, we can still see that Daniel has a tendency to do his split step a bit late, and we can see that on most of his shots he is missing an adjustment step with his right foot before his last step. When Daniel does his last step it seems to be very big and he is not in a "best" position to hit the ball.
02/02/11
On the contact point we can see that his contact seems to be a bit too far back considering he has both his arms stretched (or almost). The reason may be due to his footwork or to his late preparation or both. As a consequence on contact his right wrist it is not laid back and that is responsible for lack of power.
02/02/11
On the last two shots Daniel tried to change a bit his followthrough with his racket finishing over his shoulder. It is something that Daniel will continue to improve. His racket can continue to go through the line of the shot and then finishing up with his right shoulder just under his chin.
02/02/11
There you go Daniel, this was my interpretation of your backhands. There was so much more to be said, but who need more words anyway? The important part is that you study your swing, and know it pretty well. Then you can watch other players and see the way they do it. By the way here is Brenton Bacon's backhands a state league player from Sorrento.
Compare their backhands and tell me if you can see any difference:
07/05/10
07/05/10
My golf swing
03/12/2009
03/12/09
Why did I post my golf swing?
Well first of all because by watching it enough times I will be improving it. Second because I know a lot of tennis players who are ashamed of their swings and they would never be keen to watch their swing on video. They missing out on the most important tool for anybody to improve any skill: Video awareness.
Because I've posted my swing I have improved the awareness of what I really do. I am ready to watch other golfers and compare their swing with mine. I am ready to learn.
I am not worried if you label my swing as a bad swing. I am not interested if you say it is a good swing. I don't need any judgment because judgments shrink our ability to see what is really happening. I just want to know exactly what is that I need to improve and for that I need to see other golfers.
After 10 minutes of watching some you tube golf videos I have noticed that all of them have less knee bend on the starting position. I've noticed as well that I laid back my wrist straight away in the beginning of my swing and no other pro that I have seen seemed to be doing that. I've noticed that at the end of the backswing the club is more vertical than all the players I observed.
I'm sure that there is much more to improve on my swing, maybe you can add up a few more...
03/12/09
Why did I post my golf swing?
Well first of all because by watching it enough times I will be improving it. Second because I know a lot of tennis players who are ashamed of their swings and they would never be keen to watch their swing on video. They missing out on the most important tool for anybody to improve any skill: Video awareness.
Because I've posted my swing I have improved the awareness of what I really do. I am ready to watch other golfers and compare their swing with mine. I am ready to learn.
I am not worried if you label my swing as a bad swing. I am not interested if you say it is a good swing. I don't need any judgment because judgments shrink our ability to see what is really happening. I just want to know exactly what is that I need to improve and for that I need to see other golfers.
After 10 minutes of watching some you tube golf videos I have noticed that all of them have less knee bend on the starting position. I've noticed as well that I laid back my wrist straight away in the beginning of my swing and no other pro that I have seen seemed to be doing that. I've noticed that at the end of the backswing the club is more vertical than all the players I observed.
I'm sure that there is much more to improve on my swing, maybe you can add up a few more...
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