Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Dec 15 13:12:35 2003

>>> I agree this really gets to the heart of the matter which I think of more in terms of how does the hip actually cock and uncock ?

How different is it from one hitter to another.The fact that Jack has not found any other lower body type absolutes either argues for variety(style stuff) or things so subtle that they don't reveal themselves easily on video(?some universal there,but not easily captyred on video),or a mix of both these problems.

I would speculate that hip action needs to be more on off in hitting than the more smooth reversal in golf,even though Williams(SCIENCE OF HITTING) describes it as "metronomic" in both.

To be more on/off,the body somehow needs to create a distinction/discrimination between coiling/stretching just before the hip uncocks(which I believe is the pre-launch THT phase described/"cued" by "rotate the heel/rotate the bathead").This is followed by maximizing separation with the actual "uncocking" of the hips triggered by "heel drop"(drop and tilt phase/triggering of "launch sequence" /don't forget to squeeze/tighten front scap at same time).This leads to maximum separation then initiation as uncoiling starts.Preventing lunging/shift of axis after initiation(?PERHAPS?,mechanically speaking, the axis actually does not have to be set/stop ALL forward motion until the bat head swings out of the arc of the handpath-slightly after initiation ???)requires the "tilt" as well as the blocking action of the front foot with weight between middle and weight bearing portion of front foot,and body already twisted.

The twisting of the body,which started with scap load and continued into toe touch with rotate the heel/rotate the bathead(this second part can start before or after toe touch and needs to be part of "no-stride" along with some ongoing wieght shift/linaer forward motion of center of gravity)is also dependent on good "upper body loading",and I suspect it may be quicker to focus on minimal "counterrotation" of the torso and more "twisting open" of the lower body to create the separation between upper and lower.This is a reason to prefer landing with the front toe/foot open some and goes along nicely with the feeling of triggering launch with drop of the front heel and pull with the front side where the flexed front knee help s create balanced/"centered"/spinal rotation,not offcenter rotation around a fixed/loaked front leg.

STILL,this does not really describe how the swing begins with the hip uncocking.I believe the "REAL" hip uncocking trigger has to do with holding,then using some degree of "pinch"/flex in the front waist/rear lower back that reactively is supported by the front heel dropping(front leg has already opened the foot some since twisting into toe touch with synchronized back arm and front leg external rotation).It is the the extension/"projection" of the spine/hips that creates the "uncocking" with reliable timing boosted by some resistance to/stopping of weight shift.Nyman would describe this body action as "bow-arch".Some "cock" needs to be created and preserved in the hips to trigger this bow/arch at heel drop.

Teaching landing on the toe and then triggering launch with heel drop creates and ability to learn this action and provide some "window" of timing variation,but ultimately,we need to be seeing that the kid is actually learning to cock the hips,then keep them cocked some as the upper body loads and the body twists until it's time to launc by uncocking the hips.

How do others experience "hip cock" ? <<<

Hi Tom

I think you make some excellent points. I agree that during “hip cock” phase, the muscles in the hip and torso area are more responsible for hip movement than the leg muscles. I would also say that in the golf swing where the hips only displace about 40 degrees to contact, that the “hip cock” action accounts for the majority of hip rotation. But in the baseball swing, the hips rotate close to 90 degrees. Therefore, the legs would account for most hip rotation with the "hip cock” action providing a much smaller percentage than with the golf swing.

Jack Mankin