Posted by: BHL (Some Useful Epstein Cues) on Tue Feb 27 18:50:45 2007

> > Jimmy -
> >
> > Don't get me wrong I understand that the back foot starts first, but what always works
> for my athletes is the simple fact of getting the hips through. From a teaching stand point
> this automatically turns the back foot into the upright position (Heel up).
> >
> > I have clips of several big league guys and one of my college clients that plays at Dallas
> Baptist University where they are making contact, the hips are about to finish, and the
> back foot is only half turned. Granted it does come through after contact, but "squishing
> the bug" is a term I don't like to use because some literally turn their foot and the heel
> never comes up. Which causes a shortage in full hip rotation.
> >
> > I know it's right the way what you are telling me, but it's just easier to get an athlete to
> rotate his hips, correctly, than to concentrate on the foot itself.
> >
> > Coach Matthews
>
> Coach,
>
> I hear your point, but the problem that I have with having the hitter concentrate on
> rotating their hips is the tendancy to rotate too soon and too hard.
>
> The hips come through at different degrees depending on the pitch location. When the
> hitter puts too much emphasis on hip turn, his hips will end up working too soon, too
> hard, and too much. The legs help to rotate the hips and the feet help to rotate the legs,
> so this is why I would rather have the hitter work from his feet up instead of just right to
> the hips. This also helps with the natural progression of the swing in terms of rythm.
>
> Jimmy

Hi Jimmy and Coach Matthews,

I have read the arguments of whether one should squish the bug or just just rotate the hips. This proves a point of dissention between Jack Mankin and Paul Nyman. Jack, on the one end, believes that proper hip rotation is the cause of proper lower body mechanics. Paul, inversely, believes that hip rotation causes the pivoting the feet. Some may believe that both actions are simultaneous rather than a product of causality.

While I believe that rotation starts from the ground up, and therefore am firmly in Jack's camp concerning this matter, this does not mean that all of Paul's opinion on this matter amount to useless rhetoric. Paul, for example, suggests one way that his credoes can be combined with those of Jack. If, for example, thinking "ground-up" causes the hips to turn, according to Paul, then that person has found "the right cue." Jack, on the other hand, would suggest that lower body mechanics actually enhance hip turn, and not just a cue.

Personally, I like how Mike Epstein's synergy of lower body and hip movements drills allow an individual to use his or her hips effectively. (Please remember, though, that this is just my opinions.) Here are Epstein's cues:

Here is an example of a cue that has helped me. This is taken from Mike Epstein.

Mike,
I'm now on my fourth time watching the videos and you're right, I am picking up on little things that I didn't notice before.

But this 1-2 heel drop is still puzzling me. I've actually tried it for myself. And I don't feel the heel drop making my hips turn. Is the heel drop more or less a timing mechanism?

Mike's Answer:

No, it 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 have 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.

Hope this helps!

Good luck, continued success, and “get a good pitch to hit!”

-Mike

I hope this serves both of you well.

Best,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com

P.S. In the end, the goal is hip rotation, and the goal is to get it whatever way you can.