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: