Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Wed Nov 5 13:44:20 2003

Hip cock is indeed very controversial and hard to communicate.I apologize in advance for the long/brain dump type answer.See if anything rings a bell if you chose to wade through this

I would hope others would weigh in as well.

If you Read the science of hitting,Williams emphasizes the hip action which he likens to golf and describes as resembling a metronome.To me this gives an image of a more smooth back and forth as opposed to a more discrete cocking,maintaining cock,then uncocking.

In hitting as opposed to throwing(it's important in both),I think of it more in terms of sequential/discrete(as opposed to smoth back and forth) body loading and unloading. First the hip cocks,then stays that way as the scap loads(then the back scap stays loaded) and then the spine coils as the back elbow starts to "slot" before toe touch(back elbow has started down,front foot has started to open before toe touch).Then the unloading/"launch sequence" is started by the hip uncocking.The spine coil lengthens to max separation/"x-factor" then uncoils,the handpath then starts ("launch"),the back scap remains loaded until the "L" comes out of the back elbow which can happen before (outside/long swing radius) or after (inside/short radius) contact.

Some people feel hip cock.Some don't.The easiest way I have seen of trying to create awareness of the feel is to throw long toss with a crowhop.When you swing the lead knee up to crowhop,this usually accentuates the hip cock feel.The feel is the same for hitting when you first get to the top of stride foot lift and lead with the heel,and "show the sole" of the foot a little.Nyman uses the "show the sole" description of how the front leg gets positioned in the front hip socket.Another way he describes the positioning of the pelvis is "pinch" in the front waist with elevation of the front of the hip.The traditional description for hitting includes"show him your backside when he shows you his".I like to teach the feel of simultaneous arm and leg internal rotation(all four limbs) as the front waist pinches(lifts front hip/"shows backsi for throwing.

For hitting I focus on internal rotation of the back arm and stride leg together as you pinch the front waist and show the front sole.Of course,this should all become automatic,but for some you just have to really break things down to get it right.

There is another aspect of hip cock that is related to spine action which Nyman describes as "bow arch" for throwing(he doesn't like the same description for hitting as far as I can tell).Again this requires likening the hitting motion to the throwing motion.Nyman describes throwing as mechanically resembling the whipping of a buggy whip.The handle of the whip is flexed back and forth while the arm forms a loop to be whipped.The body/spine action is described as "bow-arch-bow".The spine is like the handle of the whip.In throwing,there is an extra segment as compared to hitting.In rotational hitting,there is no final "bow".No final phase where the head comes forward as the arm lays back and then whips.

In hitting it is only bow-arch,BUT this bow-arch action of the spine is very important for good body rotation.This is also related to hip cock/uncock.When you first lift the stride foot to begin the slight inward turn of the whole body,the spine flexes(begins to "bow").This is then stabilized as/transitions to hip cock where the lower spine in the front is arched(anatomically "extended").Then you proceed to load the scap which arches the upper spine transversely/horizontally,then the spine starts to "arch"/extend from the top down.Keeping the hip "cocked"/pinched in the front/arched in the front lower back during this time allows efficient unloading/"arch" of "bow-arch" to drive rotation.Biomechanically speaking,to get efficient summation of velocity as pointed out by Nyman(Tom's lay interpretation)the kinetic chain works by one link hooking up to drive the next(hip rotation to drive shoulder rotation as a simplified example) when the first)hip link) is at maximum turning velocity/momentum.So all this hip cock/uncock stuff has to do with giving the body a reliable way to boost hip turn velocity to the max as required to optimize timing.Another assist in this is the blocking of forward prgress of the center of gravity by heel drop/weight bearing of the front foot.

Sorry for such a longwinded answer,but it's complex and I haven't found my way through to a simple verbal explanation yet.