Posted by: Rich (Holland608@cs.com) on Thu Jul 31 20:24:12 2003

I saw where Epstein said barring lead arm is bad but Jack I thought you said it is good. What do you say?
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> Hi Sid
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> I have no problem with the lead-arm being straight in the launch position or during the swing. I prefer not to use the term “barred” because it infers a rigid and tense arm and on inside pitches it may be necessary for the lead-elbow to flex in order to generate a tighter hand-path. Therefore, I have no problem with the principle of “barring the arm” only with the connotations surrounding the term.
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> I will give everyone the benefits I find with having a straighter (“barred” - if you prefer the term) lead-arm. But first, I think it would lead to a good discussion if we heard from those that feel having the lead-arm barred is wrong. So those that think a straight or barred arm is bad, please give the reasons you feel barring the lead-arm has a negative effect on the swing. Or, if you can quote Epstein’s objections to it, I would like to hear them also.
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> Jack Mankin
> Hey Jack,
I always refer to the barred arm as the bicep in contact with the pectoral(chest)muscle which allows the shoulders to rotate the arms no
matter whether bent at the elbow or straight. i teach more of a bent elbow as that lends itself to a more relaxed swing, greater batspeed and a more pronounced hook. a bent elbow also allows the front arm to raise or lower to get ont the plane of the pitch with less effort. all in all it's more natural i believe. thanks for all your work!! Rich