Bat Speed -- Baseball Hitting Forum

Posted by: thom blinn (freeneasy7@yahoo.com) on Tue May 17 07:26:19 2005

> Question/Comment:
>
> >>> I think they both happen. I put more emphasis on the back hip in terms of the force used to 'unfold' the body. The lead leg/front hip plays an equally important role IMO.
> While we both see the same action/motion from the outside view, I feel that the swing originates from the hips and works both down and up. If you 'pop' the hips to start the swing, the back hip drives forward, the lead hip pulls around and the front leg straightens as a result of this.
> "uses the extension of lead-leg to drive the lead-hip around and back toward the catcher" I'd say "drives the lead-hip around... to create lead-leg extension"
>
> We disagree possibly on cause and effect, but we are looking at the same event. I used to teach front heel down to trigger the swing.
> Now I teach to pop the hips from a balanced stance. The front heel rotates into foot plant, but it is a result of the hip action. Looks the same however But I can get consistent results with very little complication/overthink/overteach on my and my students' parts. <<<
>
> Jack Mankin's reply:
>
> Hi Major Dan:
>
> I find that most of the batters I have worked with are already back-side dominant and few use the lead-side effectively. One of the key reasons great hitters like Bonds are so far ahead of the field is because of the BHT (and "hook" effect) they apply from the lead-shoulder pulling back to accelerate the bat-head to contact. For Bonds to get his strong 105 degree lead-shoulder rotation requires the aid from the straightening of his lead leg.
>
> Therefore, I do not think it helpful to think the lead-leg straightens because the hips rotate – Rather, the extension of the lead-leg is a major factor in what drives rotation. --- I want the student to understand that the sole reason they rotate their body (hips and shoulders) is to cause the bat-head to rotate -- that’s what it’s all about. So I teach the student that as they initiate their swing by rotating the lead-heel back, they should also think “rotate the bat-head.” ---Think, “rotate the heel – rotate the bat-head.” From initiation, the muscle groups in the batter’s legs, torso and arms should be working together (in unison) to maximize the angular acceleration of the bat-head.
>
> Jack Mankin
Thanks for the forum
I think one of the reasons people "see" different things in the same motion is because the the body is not only creating and generating speed, it's CHANNELING IT!. Toward that end then, there are countermoves which I call relative movement. On the golf swing, the knees move forward in response to the push off the right foot, then there's a counter-move with the front leg that is clockwise and down like a corkscrew, as more force mounts on the front leg it hunkers down further which promts the leg to straighten which has the neat effect of not only arresting linear forces but sends the left hip backward. My conviction is we all need to ask how energy is channeled. There's movement, stillness and counter movement(reversal of direction).Seeing is believing, but you won't see certain things unless you believe it first. The concept precedes the physical vision. Concieving of athletic movement happens first in the minds eye not only in executing it but also in interpreting it.
Thanks to all
Thom Blinn

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> > Question/Comment:
> > 
> > >>> I think they both happen. I put more emphasis on the back hip in terms of the force used to 'unfold' the body. The lead leg/front hip plays an equally important role IMO. 
> > While we both see the same action/motion from the outside view, I feel that the swing originates from the hips and works both down and up. If you 'pop' the hips to start the swing, the back hip drives forward, the lead hip pulls around and the front leg straightens as a result of this. 
> > "uses the extension of lead-leg to drive the lead-hip around and back toward the catcher" I'd say "drives the lead-hip around... to create lead-leg extension" 
> > 
> > We disagree possibly on cause and effect, but we are looking at the same event. I used to teach front heel down to trigger the swing. 
> > Now I teach to pop the hips from a balanced stance. The front heel rotates into foot plant, but it is a result of the hip action. Looks the same however But I can get consistent results with very little complication/overthink/overteach on my and my students' parts. <<<
> > 
> > Jack Mankin's reply:
> > 
> > Hi Major Dan:
> > 
> > I find that most of the batters I have worked with are already back-side dominant and few use the lead-side effectively. One of the key reasons great hitters like Bonds are so far ahead of the field is because of the BHT (and "hook" effect) they apply from the lead-shoulder pulling back to accelerate the bat-head to contact. For Bonds to get his strong 105 degree lead-shoulder rotation requires the aid from the straightening of his lead leg. 
> > 
> > Therefore, I do not think it helpful to think the lead-leg straightens because the hips rotate – Rather, the extension of the lead-leg is a major factor in what drives rotation. --- I want the student to understand that the sole reason they rotate their body (hips and shoulders) is to cause the bat-head to rotate -- that’s what it’s all about. So I teach the student that as they initiate their swing by rotating the lead-heel back, they should also think “rotate the bat-head.” ---Think, “rotate the heel – rotate the bat-head.” From initiation, the muscle groups in the batter’s legs, torso and arms should be working together (in unison) to maximize the angular acceleration of the bat-head.
> > 
> > Jack Mankin
> Thanks for the forum
> I think one of the reasons people "see" different things in the same motion is because the the body is not only creating and generating speed, it's CHANNELING IT!. Toward that end then, there are countermoves which I call relative movement. On the golf swing, the knees move forward in response to the push off the right foot, then there's a counter-move with the front leg that is clockwise and down like a corkscrew, as more force mounts on the front leg it hunkers down further which promts the leg to straighten which has the neat effect of not only arresting linear forces but sends the left hip backward. My conviction is we all need to ask how energy is channeled. There's movement, stillness and counter movement(reversal of direction).Seeing is believing, but you won't see certain things unless you believe it first. The concept precedes the physical vision. Concieving of athletic movement happens first in the minds eye not only in executing it but also in interpreting it.
> Thanks to all
> Thom Blinn

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