Posted by: Cole () on Tue Dec 17 12:20:45 2002

Williams and others have said to let the hips lead first. How do you do this? I mean when I swing my first reaction is swing and the bat is in my hands not my hips. I guess what I'm saying is that if I consciously start hips first by the time I then start the hands and so forth it's too late to hit the ball.In other words from a mental point of view how do I rid my self of the thought process of hands first and instead hips first?
> >
> > You first must realize that the swing is a core body movement with much less movement from the hands and arms as is generally believed. The hands and arms should be connected to a rotating torso. Their movement is much more a result of the moving torso than their moving independently on their own. Once this concept is understood it is much easier to start the swing with the body/hips/torso with the connected hands coming along with it.
>
> Can someone please answer my question?

The hands are an active part/not passive. The first thing I would do
is tape the swing to see if the hips are leading or not. It's really a natural move and not a new discovery, Williams may be the first to write about it. Babe Ruth cranked the Hips out in front big time. When you view the clip look for a little separation, the hips begin but the hands catch up and pass. It's at the beginning. You must drill off a tee and dry cuts. Stride/Hips turn which lights the fuse for the second stage booster the shoulders/arms/hands/stick. It all blows by the hips. Your anwser is to drill it, and it will become 2nd nature. But First make sure you are not already cranking them. Try a very heavy bat and notice how you get the bat going, I bet it's Hips first. Drill it 100s of times before taking to the game or even BP.