Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Fri May 11 23:03:42 2001

>>> jack, with all due respect for you and your teachings, i was very disappointed in your non-answer the last time we covered this topic....i will rephrase my questions and concerns and hopefully you will directly address these concerns.....again, i direct these concerns to you in a most respectful attitude.....i have taken a lot of verbal abuse from virg over at hitting.com in defending you and your teachings, and that is because you do hold many valid theories....but please clarify your thoughts on the following comments.............you say that the lower body's (e.g., the hips) contribution to the swing is restricted to whatever contribution it makes to shoulder rotation......in other words, you don't believe in the kinetic chain...what matters is shoulder rotation.....so...are you suggesting that great "shoulder speed" is what is important?....are you saying that, for example, if a hitter were to sit in a swivel chair and be able to swing the bat with powerful shoulder rotation he could hit the ball well?....or another extreme example....suppose a hitter instead of being in the traditional stance would instead already have his hips 3/4 of the way turned (but without the shoulder being turned)....are you suggesting that by simply swinging with a powerful shoulder rotation he could hit the ball well?.....on the one hand i know these examples are absurb but on the other hand they seem to be a logical extension of your emphasis on powerful shoulder rotation.....again, i plead with you to directly answer my questions...i ask these questions with the utmost respect for you and your teachings, but i would appreciate a complete response....respectfully, grc...... <<<

Hi grc

I think RQL pretty much answered your question with his post. I would only add that the kinetic chain does not produce energy (like electricity) that travels up through the body and out to the bat. The energy developed in the lower body is transferred upward by accelerating the segment above it. The acceleration of each segment is added to the segment above and culminates in the rate of shoulder rotation.

There is no other energy from the kinetic chain that travels out to the bat other that those forces derived from the rate of shoulder rotation and the arms. How effectively these energies are transferred into bat speed depends of the quality of the batters transfer mechanics.

I have made this point many times --- Of what use is a 1000 hp motor ... if the transmission slips??

Jack Mankin