Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Sat Oct 21 23:15:19 2006

> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > Mike Epstein teaches rotational hitting also. Does anyone know how his differs from Jack's or if his books and dvd's are any good?
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> If you look up Mike Epstein on the web it appears as though his students are making great strides. It appears he teaches more in using the legs to rotate while using a somewhat wide stance with a small or no stride. His hitters demonstrate good bat speed though the same hand position, prelaunch torc etc is not stressed from lookin at the footage. The hitters appear to use whatever natural hand mechanics they already have.

Hi All,

Here is an Epstein hip cue:

[The front heel drop] is not a timing mechanism; it is a de facto mechanical movement necessary to initiate proper hip rotation.

Try this. When you drop your front heel, lift your rear heel up at the same time (Do NOT “squish the bug”). Move your rear knee slightly down and in and then slightly turn your rear hip “around” the imaginary axis you’ve set up in your stride. Once you have done this a few times and feel comfortable, attempt it doing all the moves simultaneously.

When you drop your front heel, you should feel a “swiveling” of your hips from back to front. Sometimes, and this may very well be true in your case, you have to “help” it along at first. Once the body understands its role, it will take over from there.

I find this advice particularly useful for those who exhibit properties of lunging.

Best,
BHL