Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Feb 29 21:15:04 2000

>>>Jack or anyone else,
I'm having some of the same troubles that this guy's(bob kwasny) son is having. I seem to use my arms to try and accelerate my hands, rather than body rotation. I've been working on trying to keep my front arm across my chest at contact(through vidoe), but for some reason I just have lots of trouble with it. I took a swing in batting practice yesterday, and it was the first time I think I've ever felt the arms follow my body completely, and my lead arm across my chest. I'm just wanting to know if there are any good drills to get used to my hands being accelerated by the body?

P.S. How can i get used to my hands feeling like they're just lagging? Do you have as much bat control when you swing like that?<<<

Hi Zack and Bob

Overcoming old muscle memories and habits is really tough. As I pointed out in the post below, keeping the top hand back and pulling the bat head around with the lead shoulder and arm is almost impossible to learn in the batting cage. --- You must let the muscles in the arms relax. With extension mechanics the arms carry so much of the load they become tense just picking up a bat. Also, don't explode. Think of smooth, loose, ever accelerating motions.

Read: “Wrist action or Torque” and the post below. Hitting a bag instead of practicing in the cage is critical. --- All this will all become clear when you see the video. Hope this helps for now.

Jack Mankin

>>>Teaching torque mechanics in the cage or even with dry swings is very difficult. You can’t tell if the batter was in the correct position at contact or not. I have found it is far better to have the batter expend the bat’s energy into a heavy bag (I use a 75 lb. punching bag). At contact all rotation and torque energies should have been expended. Therefor, without a follow-through, the body and limbs should be in the relaxed stationary mode. If the shoulders or hands are still moving (driving), I know he has a problem with his mechanics and timing.

At contact the back forearm should be horizontal and pointing at the pitcher (“L” position). Torque is developed very much the same as rowing a boat. The back hand serves as the “oar lock.” The lead shoulder, arm and hand pull the knob end of the bat around the back hand ( See “Wrist action or Torque”). This action accelerates the bat head into the bag.<<<