Posted by: toti () on Wed Jan 7 00:53:14 2004

hi all
> > >
> > > i experimented with my legs. i started with legs first and then the whole
> kinetic chain. and it worked! tremendous bat speed and power. at the
> beginning it was hard to time the pitch and it looked weird but once you get it
> down you start hitting like jeter. it is amazing. i cant wait to try against live
> pitching. i dont know if i will be able to time pithes this way but i have to try it. it
> feels good and connected now. i still struggle at times with keeping hands
> back as my body rotates.
> >
> > >
> > >
> > Worked with my son today on same thing. Loading the shoulders
> (independant of arm and hand muscles) into a weighted, bent knee, toe
> touch, opening the hips/toe and firing the front side open at heel drop
> launching the bat. Keeping the hands passive until the hip turn brings them
> out naturally. Got a great tip about keeping the top hand in front of the rear
> elbow as the elbow goes to slot position. It all works well when you can pull it
> off. Had him focused on getting the bat barrel out into the contact zone rather
> than swing toward the pitcher. I too thank all for the imput. I feel like we are
> getting there too. Special thanks to Jack and a Happy New Year
> > >
>
> Donny- You might try this and see if it works well enough to try on your son.
>
> Jack uses the top hand only drill as one way of learning the feel of the circular
> handpath/learning to break the habit/feel of "top hand dominance".
>
> rql and others have described how the position of the back elbow varies in the
> slot for inside vs outside.For inside,the elbow is down more and closer to the
> side at launch.For outside/longer swing radius/higher load the back elbow is
> higher and more away from the side.Jack describes how this can come from a
> slightly different angle/direction of torque application between the hands.
>
> After the one hand top hand drill,jack recommends adding BHT with the lead
> arm as you then go to a 2 handed drill.
>
> I would describe THT(?kinesiologically?) as being primarily applied by
> externally rotating the back arm to drop the elbow to the slot.To do this
> requires first getting the back arm internally rotated (hitching hands as the
> front knee turns in with stride lift/ hip cocking) then keeping the back arm
> internally rotated as you "hide the hands" by pinching the back scap("pinch
> and lift" as stride foot goes out).This cocks/centers the bat using the big
> muscles and then you can keep the scap loaded/continue loading as the bat
> uncocks via external rotation of the back arm into the slot.
>
> Given this info,you can practice the 2 handed BHT drill starting with the back
> elbow down and in close to the side for inside location.Back arm will be fully
> externally rotated,and back scap still loaded.This would emphasize BHT
> more.
>
> Then for outside where THT is more important /applied longer prior to
> launch,you can start with the back elbow up and back scap loaded (back scap
> more "preloaded" the wider the stance/smaller the stride),then start your
> swing for the outside location by externally rotating the back arm from this
> position as you set a longer swing radius with the back elbow higher and
> further away from the side when you launch/pull with the lead arm.
>
> See if this makes sense to you.


hi tom


if you pinch the scap, your hand will lead the back elbow, no secret. it happens naturally. another thing not to worry about. it is going to be a short swing as they come. great weapon against any flame thrower.

keep at it with legs. it will help your son tremendously if you work hard enough. it starts to happen naturally as you practice. in the beginning, try to exagerate the move and keep at it until comfortable. then get into the funk ala Jeter.
let me tell you why it works. as you lead with legs, the hips will clear before you launch the hands. so therefore your hands have no obstacle to swing in arc. have you tried to swing with clearing the hips? it is difficult. it doesn´t "feel" natural, aint it. as you clear your hips, your hands get going faster. now, think legs.

toti.