Posted by: Mark H. () on Fri Jul 25 16:11:22 2003

I am aware that the better ones are supposed to initiate the swing with shoulder rotation, but it seems many use the pull the knob que such as Bonds and Delgado, people such as Mr. Lau Jr believe that initiating with the shoulders slows down the swing and that the hands are faster. What are your guys thoughts

No, the swing is initiated with the hips. As far as pulling the knob, well, it depends on what you mean by that. Many or most pull the knob instructors are chasing something close to this: http://www.quickhands.net/pics.html

And this would be the opposite of what Bonds etc does. When he "pulls the knob" late in the swing it is to decrease the radius of the swing not make the hand path more linear. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/gallery/bonds/flash.htm

Nyman has a very clear understanding of this and I believe Mankin refers to it as the arcing handpath.