Posted by: Mickey (drmick3@cox.net) on Thu Apr 21 14:21:01 2011

> >>> I want to apologize, somewhat, for an earlier post in which I
stated
> that I did not see the value of THT from a "practical" point of
view,
> since I thought the muscles in the forearms were minuscule compared
> to the torque created by the hands continuing back AS the lower body
> started to rotate back toward the pitcher.
>
> After reading almost everything about THT on the website, I came
> across something Jack posted in "Wrist Action or Torque," Then, I
got
> it! <<<
>
> Hi Mickey
>
> First, let me apologize for not responding to your posts earlier.
THT is a tough concept to visualize and I wish I had better writing
skills to describe it. Glad to hear the mechanic is starting to work
for you. As you point out, the pulling rearward with the back-forearm
is an important component of the torque that accelerates the bat-head
rearward.
>
> Note; For those that are not familiar with the bats rearward
acceleration, the following video may be helpful.
> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/profile?
user=MrBatSpeed#p/a/u/2/1f2SwCoFRgI">Rearward Acceleration -- Good &
Poor</a>
>
> However, there is a second and equally important component to
applying THT. As the video below shows, the rotation of the back-
forearm as the elbow lowers also contributes significantly to THT.
>
> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/profile?
user=MrBatSpeed#p/u/3/pQ4wvLnKXug">Understanding THT</a>
>
> Jack

Hi Jack,


Jack,

Subject: New THT experiment clearly showing your discovery & Light
Bulb going off in wrong place, making it right!

First, thank you so much for the two video links you gave me
explaining further the existence of top-hand torque (THT), including
the bat's rearward acceleration. For those interested:

Rearward Acceleration -- Good & Poor (http://www.youtube.com/profile?
user=MrBatSpeed#p/a/u/2/1f2SwCoFRgI)

"However, there is a second and equally important component to
applying THT. As the video below shows, the rotation of the back-
forearm as the elbow lowers also contributes significantly to THT."

Understanding THT (http://www.youtube.com/profile?
user=MrBatSpeed#p/u/3/pQ4wvLnKXug)

Second, let me clarify the earlier discovery/error I made in my
earlier post. The light-bulb clearly went off in the wrong place but
it was right anyway! I was trying to understand THT, but I later
realized your link to "Wrist Action or Torque" was discussing bottom-
hand torque (BHT), not THT. Here's the link to that for those
interested in BHT:

http://www.batspeed.com/research08.html

However, the following statement in my earlier post is clearly
correct: "I discovered that its one thing to just turn the hands back,
and its another to keep the hands back AS the lower body turns
forward. It's even a second [third] thing to CONTINUE PULLING BACK
WITH THE TOP HAND at the same time as the lower body starts forward."

I agree its hard to use words to clearly and thoroughly explain THT.
So, I tried an experiment, and I'd like you to try it out and see if
it adds anything, comment, etc.

PERFORM THE FOLLOWING MOVEMENTS AND NOTICE WHAT HAPPENS.

1) Without a bat, stand up straight and grip your bottom-hand THUMB
like its a bat, letting your top-hand thumb just point straight up so
you can use it, visually, to identify when THT starts to take place.

2) Hold your arms comfortably out in front of you, so that the top of
your top-hand thumb is about in line with your nose.

3) Now, move the top-hand elbow up so that its forearm is parallel to
the ground.

5) Next, use the top hand to slowly pull the thumb back in the
direction the elbow is pointing (backstop).

6) Watch the top of the top-hand thumb. At first, it easily points
straight up, perpendicular to the ground, as the elbow continues to
move straight back toward the backstop with the forearm staying
parallel to the ground.

7) As you continue moving backward, at some point the upward pointing
thumb will begin to curve (arc) toward the dugout, move closer to the
ground, AND point rearward toward the catcher (THT with the thumb
representing the bat and the angle its pointed).

8) IF you stubbornly refuse to give in, straining your top-hand
shoulder (and shoulder blade) by forcing the thumb to stay pointed
straight up, further and further; eventually, you'll start to see the
thumb arcing toward the dugout and down despite yourself, VOILA, THT!

9) If you are less stubborn, you'll stop fighting the lead shoulder's
resistance, the right hand will give up, and VOILA, the pointed thumb
will arc from vertical, simultaneously moving toward the dugout, down,
and rearward toward the catcher!

In the experiment, ALL OF THIS TAKES PLACE WITHOUT ANY LOWER BODY
INVOLVEMENT WHATSOEVER.

If the elbow is not up OR something else other than the right hand
pulls the bat, arms, and torso inward toward both the backstop and the
dugout, optimal generation of THT will not take place.

For the longest period of time I credited this movement of the bat
(thumb) to the initial movement of the lower body first, automatically
reversing the hands going back, flattening out the bat somewhat and
bringing the elbow down into the slot. I saw no need to complicate
things by introducing another factor of FOREARM ROTATION to manipulate
during a fast-moving swing. This experiment proved me wrong! There is
an additional force that I can now feel, trying to pull my hands
apart,

Furthermore, I'd like to point out an additional discovery I made:

If the thumb being gripped were a bat, and that bat could feel, it
would notice that as the right hand moves the elbow back, pressure
starts to built up on the pitcher-side of the gripped thumb as well as
in the fingers pulling that thumb in the opposite direction.

It feels like the thumb, by resisting (because of lead shoulder
resistance), is pulling in one direction and fingers in another, My
hands just feel like they want to come apart as the opposite forces
build up. If my gripped thumb were a bat I'd be experiencing TORQUE!

At this point, I'd be willing to theorize that torque builds up on the
bat until you see movement. Then its called THT. Its sort of like a
four-handled lug wrench being rotated to loosen a wheel nut. You keep
applying more and more opposite force with both hands, but don't see
anything until the wheel nut gives way, Then you see an analogous THT.

I admit I don't have a clue about how to actually measure this in a
bat, but that's a future study that someone more specialized that I
might conduct.

I hope this adds something to the discussion of THT. I have some
additional points to make about THT relating to the muscles that
mitigate against bat drag and dipping of the back elbow, but I'll post
that when I've had more time.