A New Teaching System: Forehand: Technical Characteristics: Part 2

[John Yandell]

Wook,

Yes! It is more than worth mentioning and I think is something that is not stressed or even addressed directly in the overview. When I did the articles with Dan I decided that needed to be addressed. It's implicit in all the checkpoints I've developed but needs to be more explicit!

[wookash]

Posture

John,
Great for you to re-address this topic. Im glad you are putting emphasis on the situational aspects of the various finishes. To many other videos show only a single type of forehand and this is misleading and oversimplified. Your videos / analysis are a gold standard!

Can you please comment on posture / balance. I saw it mentioned in an earlier thread. As you breakdown the "checkpoints," posture and a stable torso have to be foundational in ALL strokes. It could probably be argued that maintaining stable posture through the shot is what allows for the efficient kinetic chain to proceed. Do you think its worth including in your video?

You mention Daniel McCain's excellent article on this topic (checkout his youtube site for more). I found it very insightfult

https://www.youtube.com/user/dmccain1/videos

Thanks again on your insight!

[klacr]

Connors' racket stays on edge until the contact and then racket face starts to open a little as he follows through. This the exact opposite of the modern forehand where the racket face closes as the player follows through. And, yes, Connors forehand was very flat, certainly the times when I saw it.

Connors' forehand was something special. There is a complexity in simplicity though. Anyone know the RPMs of a Connors forehand?

I like watching him hit a ball, from bottom to top. Like all great strokes, it starts from the ground up. The feet are intense. Love it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Sounds good, John. Looking forward to it. I'm hoping you will have suggested models for different grips. I usually use a 3-3.

Stotty, thanks for linking the Jimmy Connors forehand. That's another forehand that would be 'good enough for me.'

Interesting how long his racquet face stays open. What do you think about that? Is it related to hitting a very flat forehand?

Connors' racket stays on edge until the contact and then racket face starts to open a little as he follows through. This the exact opposite of the modern forehand where the racket face closes as the player follows through. And, yes, Connors forehand was very flat, certainly the times when I saw it.

[pvchen]

Sounds good, John. Looking forward to it. I'm hoping you will have suggested models for different grips. I usually use a 3-3.

Stotty, thanks for linking the Jimmy Connors forehand. That's another forehand that would be 'good enough for me.'

Interesting how long his racquet face stays open. What do you think about that? Is it related to hitting a very flat forehand?

[John Yandell]

pv,

Those finishes almost don't exist in pro tennis! Look at the current grips article though and you'll see some examples. As the series develops we'll look at how the finishes are in part a function of grip and a part a function of choice. We'll define the options. It's going to be fun.

[stotty]

In the link, aren't those windshield wiper finishes, with the racquet head finishing pointing to the left? I was looking for the finish with the racquet more on edge that John Yandell advocates for club level players, the idea being to get better extension.

I think most pro's tend to have what one TP author called a box type finish. Some can finish almost at waist level, others much higher; it's situational...but most are wipers. Djokovic at times finishes way over the shoulder, which is unusual considering his grip. As for the racket finishing more on edge, you don't see too many of those in the pro game these days. I know John highlights Sampras, but I cannot think of anyone who consistently finishes like that these days...not in matches at least.

How about this for the a simple and straightforward forehand finish...a simple and straightforward shot from start to finish, actually.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/modern_legends/jimmyconnor/jc_forehand/jc_fh_center/jc_fh_center.html?JCFHCenterFront3.mov

[pvchen]

In the link, aren't those windshield wiper finishes, with the racquet head finishing pointing to the left? I was looking for the finish with the racquet more on edge that John Yandell advocates for club level players, the idea being to get better extension.

[curiosity]

Well, that was a solid summary. It's interesting, the way this video fits in with "Your forehand and the Modern Forehand" and "Building the Modern Forehand." This new video left me with the feeling that it would serve as a good warm-up or intro to the detail-laden articles in "Building the Modern Forehand." From experience I can say it's easy to get lost in obsession with a detail. Effective overviews are valuable.

At the moment I'm into what's happening in the very instant before contact, the transition, turning the wiper on, if you will. I'll stay tuned.

[stotty]

Plenty of higher finishes in there... http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/...evelFront5.mov

[pvchen]

Examples of non-windshield wiper forehand models?

Great video, as usual.

Question: Are there any videos in the archives of Federer doing a non-windshield wiper forehand?

thanks

[John Yandell]

No problemo and thanks for noticing.

[ClassicStrokes]

Thanks for the audio fix.

[John Yandell]

Captain!

Good questions.

The upright posture Dan McCain discusses in his articles is key and I do plan to address it. The players sometimes go out of balance at the start of motion to the ball. Going to address that in detail.

As for the head...Contrary to what is assumed the head only get's sideways a fraction of a second before the hit--and does tend to stay that way for a slightly longer fraction after the hit--see the Fed animation in Scott's article. Plan to devote an entire segment in the series to that one...

[captnemo]

Very complete. But what about posture? what about head position? What are the next steps? Where did you get that stuff "research" about the wrist?