Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Mon May 24 21:15:14 2004

Hi BHL
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> > > > > > > Basically, I would say your description is correct. I would amend the following description. – “Once in that position, the batter initiates the swing by thinking about squishing the bug on the front foot and spinning the back hand around the front hand simultaneously. (In actuality, the former will occur a split instant before the latter). Although the front foot is opened only 45 degrees to prevent the premature opening of the front shoulder, when the bug under the front foot is squished, it will have opened 90 degrees, and the batter will be initiating a swing from a powerful position.”
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> > > > > > > There is no absolute way a batter should plant the front foot. I teach batters to stride to a fairly closed foot. I point out that they should land on the ball of the foot with ample flex in the knee. As they initiate rotation, they should think “rotate the heel – rotate the bat-head.” In other words, as the heel lowers, they should also rotate the heel back toward the catcher opening the foot 45 or more degrees. The extension of the lead-knee aids in driving hip and shoulder rotation.
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> > > > > > > I stress the importance of “rotate the bat-head” as they initiate body rotation. Accelerating the bat-head around the swing plane is the ultimate objective of all swing mechanics. The reason they rotate their body is to rotate the bat-head (first, in an arc back toward the catcher). They should keep this foremost in their minds – not as an afterthought to generating hip rotation.
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> > > > > > > Note: I have yet to find a student who did not automatically rotate the hips 30+ degrees to facilitate rotating the bat-head back toward the catcher.
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> > > > > > > Jack Mankin
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> > > > > > It's me again......Why have the hitter concentrate on his foot when its the hips that govern that foot?
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> > > > > Hi Teacherman,
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> > > > > Mike Epstein once argued that "kinetic energy works upward," which is an undisputable fact.
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> > > > > Note: In this post, I am striving to transcend my pre-conceived notion of mechanics, even though I will always support pulling every pitch. Even if I am agnostic as to whether THT exists in its pure form, I still can use the concept, even if I am hazy about it, to improve my swing.
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> > > > > Teacherman, how does the hips govern that foot? JJA, Tom Guerry, RQL, grc, and SBL all dislose their reasons why they believe a mechanic works / fails to work. I am not trying to be antagonistic here, but I want to know your reason why. Even if my high-profile character clashes with your low-key personality, that does not necessarily mean that we can not engage in meaningful conversation, and learn from each other.
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> > > > > Now, back to the topic: I think that it is time that we discuss "cues" for swing improvement sometime in the middle of next month.
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> > > > > BHL
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> > > > Kinetic energy does in deed work upward. And, it works downward. Because it starts in the middle.
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> > > I believe Teacherman is correct.
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> > Hi Teacherman and Coach C,
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> > When I read your comments, I decided to investigate further, which led me to a series of articles written by Max Ratafor (a.k.a. "Mad Max"). One of his articles touched upon the ongoing "debate about the never ending hip controversy." Serendipitously, the opening section explained why just turning the hip will not facilitate a strong rotation around a stationary axis.
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> > In the article, he argues that closing the feet, and attempting to open the feet with the hips, is a fallacious idea, since "it takes very little force to stop the hips from turning." Also, he argues that even if the foot is open 45 degrees, just using the hips will cause sluggish body rotation, since "no major muscles in the body are connected directed to the hips."
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> > Ratafor then mentions the solution subsequent to mentioning the problem. He seems to agree that opening front foot 45+ degrees to facilitate hip rotation is a plausible solution, but also adds that an overlooked facet of body gyration is "torsion." Specifically, the "torsion" to which he refers is the straightening of the front knee, and "the back knee driving down and around." He clarifies how to produce "torsion" by stating that if one uses his front knee in the correct manner, the back knee act in a reactory manner, and move the way that it is supposed to.
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> > I think this proves that rotation is a "ground-up mechanic."
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> > BHL
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> "I did some research".....Don't you mean you looked for something to support your point???? What other articles did you read?
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> And, I believe I said it started in your middle. Is that hips to you?

Hi Teacherman,

The article did not argue that kinetic energy works upward and downward simultaneously. In fact, it stated that "no major muscles in the body are connected directly to the hips." Hence, if this is the case, then how can the rotating hips create an appreciable amount of upper or lower body rotation?

What we "see" as hip rotation is really the proactive straightening of the front knee, causing the reactive bending of the back knee. Hence, we are left with two opposing forces causing the legs to rotate, or leg torque. At contact, the form becomes transparent: the front leg is "straight," while the back leg is in an "L" position.

One more thing: if the front heel does not drop, none of Max's advice will do any good, since the hips will not lead the hands.

BHL

P.S. Yes, grc does make an observation that the torque position does not occur "immediately" after heel touch; however, this is probably due to both legs attempting to overcome resistance.