Forehand

[marty]

Today I tried to stretch my left arm across my body like the pros and ended up hitting late. I don't think I should actively force the hand across the body like the pros. I think I just do it without worrying. Example of what I am talking about here http://www.rowland-hall.org/photos/c...4/Forehand.jpg

[John Yandell]

Only if you want a good forehand. Certainly the choice is yours. The timing of the move has to be prior to the bounce.

[maverick1]

Lately I have been trying to work on what my left arm(I am rightie) does during my forehand. I am doing OK on the easy forehands. But when I am on the run sideways, or when I am running forward and hitting a low ball, I tend to freeze my body and arm the ball. It could be because I am tightening up(choking) on a difficult shot. Or may be I picked up the notion that keeping the body still will allow me to make a better shot. For all I know, this may even be correct on defensive shots when the goal is not to hit with power but to keep it safely in play.
My question is: should I attempt to use the proper mechanics(torso rotation and left-arm motion) on every forehand? I am not aware of a video clip of a bread-and-butter defensive play.

[John Yandell]

Yes. The left arm doesn't change on virtually every shot it's the same.

[marty]

I find the left arm can also block out my sight of the ball.

[John Yandell]

Marty you are a difficult man to help. Like I said it's your game.

[maverick1]

I find the left arm can also block out my sight of the ball.

Yes, At first this happened to me too, but it is a minor annoyance rather than a true obstacle. It was similar to what I experienced when I first served with a hat, and (in cricket) playing with a helmet that had a face grill.

I think these things do block your vision for a millisecond or something of that order, but that doesn't really affect your ability to judge the ball or to hit it cleanly.
I suggest you ignore this distraction and keep playing. I think it won't bother you after you have hit about a 100 shots that way. Try it. All you have to lose is one practice session.
You need to take that leap of faith with any change in technique. Every change makes you worse initially. Otherwise every member of this forum would be playing with Roger's technique after watching the videos for a few hours.

[mntlblok]

I find the left arm can also block out my sight of the ball.

I'm curious as to how your left arm blocks your vision of the ball. One of the things that I think I recall that goes with pointing the left arm is to be able to look at the incoming ball over the left shoulder. I keep meaning to work more on that idea.

Being also a hard man to help , I notice that when I try to line up my eyes, shoulder, and ball that my nose gets in the way of my very dominant right eye. I've kind of wondered if that sort of thing might be related to Agassi's head tilt - as I notice that doing that little bit of head tilt gets my (fairly normal-sized) nose out of the way.

I agree that shooting for that position is hugely valuable. The more I turn, the less I'm inclined to take too big a backswing, and the easier it is to make contact at the proper point out front.

Kevin
Savannah

[marty]

I don't use any sholder turn on the backhand.

[lukman41985]

Is this a joke or something? I'm being serious because you obviously are aware of the errors in your technique.

What's your next post going to be?

"I don't move my feet."

To which someone will earnestly reply, "please refer to the footwork section."

To which you will likely reply: "it's hard to time the split step and I get too tired from moving well."

[marty]

Yea sorry my brains get lazy

[jeffreycounts]

Marty you are a difficult man to help. Like I said it's your game.

LOL