Posted by: Pro_Hitter (andygreen29@hotmail.com) on Thu Oct 30 14:14:36 2003

-Jack

I find the idea of the torso being the link in the kinetic chain to be both insightful and helpful. After doing a few dry swings, I think I see your point; however, torso contraction comes subconsciously to me and I believe to almost all "hitters". It's another one of those things that our bodies do on their own when trying to accomplish the task of hitting a baseball.

As we try to level out what comes "sequentially" or in "unison", we must remember that we are speaking of milliseconds but precious ones at that. I think that kinetic chain of which you speak begins from our feet and works its way all the way up through to our hands. The hope and the goal is to not lose anything in the transfer. That is why I agree that understanding these links is so important. To me, the torso is a link that happens naturally. I don't necessarily activate it and that is why I never thought of it. As a matter of fact, there are only a few things I "consciously" activate every swing (and that is how I simplify hitting). Here is what I activate:

1.) Load: I find my scap load to be the link between my shoulder rotation and the movement of the elbow/bat into the slot (getting the bat - "shaft to shoulder" as some call it and I believe you would refer to it as THT). That is my (not just mine of course) design to not lose anything in the transfer from shoulder to hands. I place absolutely no focus on the hands. I wasted too many years doing that.

2.) Hip Rotation: I activate this after the stride foot hits the ground. At the time of pitch recognition, I begin the opening of the front knee which allows my hip rotation to occur. The reason I always say front knee is that I have had the worst problem of coming down on a stiff front side which eliminates my full hip rotation. Thus, I make sure I come down with bend in my front knee (ala Sosa). As the knee turns, the hips rotate, the torso contracts, the shoulders turn, and the hands follow via the scap load link (with THT).

And that is all I think of. I appreciate your insight, and I must confess that I have thoroughly enjoyed this site and the hitting gems that are passed through it. Thanks for letting me participate. As I'm sure you know, very few people truly understand the art of hitting (even at the professional level - a topic I'd be more than willing to discuss if there is some interest) but I see that the people here have a very good grasp and i hope we can continue to sharpen one another.

andy
Phil 4:13


>>> If my thinking is to let everything go in unison, then I try to activate the shoulders, and it is my belief that you should never try to activate the shoulders in the swing, and that is why I consider that "go in unison" to be a dangerous statement. If everything is done from the knee/hips on up, then your shoulders will come naturally and those beautiful hands will soon follow too - very quickly I might add. <<<
>
> Hi Andy
>
> I have often pointed out that energy generated from the legs and hip rotation can not effect bat-head acceleration unless it results in shoulder rotation. For energy from the hips to be transferred upward, the muscles in the torso must also be contacting (in unison). If the torso muscles that contribute to shoulder rotation remain relaxed the hips will simply “free-wheel” and contribute little to generating bat speed.
>
> I would like your opinion on a post from the archives that I wrote on this topic.
>
> Jack Mankin
>
> ##
>
> Re: Re: Re: kinetic chain
> Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com on Tue Sep 25 22:43:25 2001
>
> >>> [quote] --- Although all the muscles are contracting in unison, the hips will still open ahead of the shoulders due to the increased load of accelerating the upper-body mass and overcoming the inertia offered by the bat – not sequential timing.
> [/quote]
> We've discussed this before. THis last paragraph of yours clarifies for me how you think about this issue.
> I don't really have an opinion on whether the torso muscles are fired consciously either sequentially or in unison. I think we both agree on what the finished product should look like.
> My only question is if you have actually had the muscles monitored to see if they are used sequentially or in unison, or if this is just your opinion of what is happening.
> As I said, I have no idea myself. >>>
>
> Hi Major Dan
>
> I have found that we seldom disagree on any of the major batting principles. Our discussions have primarily centered on finding clarity rather than actual disagreements.
>
> My statement regarding “sequentially or in unison” is based on deductions made from observations and applying scientific principles – not test data.
>
> I observed that the momentum of my hips was not transferred upward without contracting my torso muscles. For example, two bowling balls are placed one on top of the other. The bottom ball is spun. If we stop the bottom ball – is any momentum, other than that caused by friction, transferred upward to the top ball? --- I found that if I left my midsection relaxed, my legs could open my hips approximately 70+ degrees with very little tendency for the shoulders to rotate. You could hold the shoulders back with one finger.
>
> I concluded: (1) If the legs drive hip rotation while leaving the shoulders closed, only torso contraction will be left to drive shoulder rotation. (2) For the legs and hips to contribute to shoulder to rotation, the torso muscles must also contract in-unison.
>
> Jack Mankin
>