Crushing Forehand Power - Tennis Lesson
Summary
TLDRThis video focuses on generating power in your forehand stroke, a crucial ingredient for developing a reliable weapon alongside placement and curve. The instructor emphasizes using the kinetic chain correctly, incorporating a full body swing, and maintaining relaxation throughout the motion. By mastering these three factors - proper energy transfer, length of swing, and looseness - players can unlock effortless racket head speed and harness significant power from their forehand. The video guides viewers through practical drills and techniques to ingrain these concepts, laying the foundation for a formidable forehand shot.
Takeaways
- 🎾 There are three key ingredients for transforming your forehand into a reliable weapon: placement, power, and curve/spin.
- ⚙️ To generate power, follow these principles: 1) Use the kinetic chain correctly from legs to hips to shoulders to arm/hand, 2) Have a long swing with shoulder rotation of 180 degrees, 3) Stay loose and relaxed throughout the swing.
- 🏋️♀️ Relaxation is crucial for power - focus on relaxing your hand, forearm, shoulder, and body during practice swings.
- 🥇 The three elements - consistency, power, and curve/spin - build on each other. Consistency is the foundation, power adds a weapon, and curve/spin completes the package.
- 🎯 Identify which of the three elements (placement, power, or curve/spin) is most important for you to improve at your current level.
- 🔄 Practice the kinetic chain and full shoulder turn with slow, relaxed shadow swings before hitting balls.
- 📏 A long swing runway and full shoulder rotation are necessary for generating maximum racket head speed and power, especially for amateur players.
- 💪 Developing power allows you to compete against defensive players and pushers by having an offensive weapon.
- 🧠 Be mindful of the correct order of operations: legs initiate, then hips, shoulders, arm, and hand.
- 🔁 Consistent practice and repetitions are required to develop these techniques into habits.
Q & A
What are the three key ingredients for a reliable and powerful forehand?
-The three key ingredients mentioned in the script are: 1) Placement, 2) Power, and 3) Curve or shape.
How can one generate easy and effortless racket head speed for a powerful forehand?
-The script suggests using the kinetic chain correctly, having a good length of swing, and staying loose and relaxed during the swing to generate effortless racket head speed.
What is the importance of using the kinetic chain correctly?
-Using the kinetic chain correctly involves transferring energy from the ground up through the body in the proper order, starting with the legs, then hips, shoulders, and finally the arm and hand. This ensures efficient energy transfer and prevents breakdowns in the swing.
Why is a long swing recommended for generating power?
-A long swing allows for a longer runway and full body rotation, enabling the body to flow through the swing process correctly and transfer maximum energy into the ball. It's harder to generate power with short, quick swings for amateur players.
How can one stay loose and relaxed during the swing?
-The script suggests consciously focusing on loosening different parts of the body during the swing, starting with the hand, then the forearm, shoulder, and the rest of the body, until everything feels completely relaxed.
What is the suggested order of importance for the three key ingredients?
-The suggested order of importance is: 1) Placement (consistency), 2) Power, and 3) Curve or topspin. Consistency is the foundation, followed by power, and then the ability to curve the ball.
Why is consistency considered the foundation?
-Consistency is considered the foundation because without the ability to consistently place the ball, it will be difficult to win at any level of tennis.
How does the ability to curve the ball (topspin) help in tennis?
-The ability to curve the ball using topspin, when combined with consistency and power, gives players the potential to be competitive at any level of amateur tennis and against various playing styles.
What is the importance of focusing on one's weaknesses during practice?
-The script suggests identifying which of the three key ingredients (placement, power, or curve/topspin) is most important for reaching the next level of play, and narrowing the focus during practice accordingly for better improvement.
What is the overall goal of the video series?
-The overall goal of the video series is to show viewers how to transform their forehand into a reliable weapon by mastering the three key ingredients: placement, power, and curve or shape.
Outlines
🎾 Introduction to Developing Forehand Power
This paragraph introduces the second video in a series aimed at transforming one's forehand into a reliable weapon. It emphasizes the three key ingredients for an effective forehand: placement, power, and curve/shape. While the first video covered placement, this video will focus on generating power through easy, smooth, and effortless racket head speed. It also previews the upcoming discussion on the court.
🔑 Three Factors for Hitting the Ball with Power
This paragraph outlines the three crucial factors for generating power when hitting the ball: 1) Using the kinetic chain correctly, starting from the ground up through the body in the proper sequence, 2) Having a long swing length that allows the body to flow through the motion correctly, and 3) Maintaining a loose and relaxed state throughout the swing to prevent energy loss. It also introduces the concept of shadow swings at various speeds to practice the full length of swing and relaxation.
🧩 Layering the Key Elements for a Complete Forehand
This paragraph emphasizes the importance of layering the three key elements: consistency, power, and curve/spin. Consistency is the foundation, followed by developing power to create a weapon, and finally, the ability to curve the ball with topspin. Having all three elements is necessary to be competitive at any level of amateur tennis. The paragraph also encourages reflecting on which element is most important for the viewer's next level of play and invites comments and questions from the audience.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Forehand
💡Placement
💡Power
💡Curve
💡Kinetic Chain
💡Length of Swing
💡Relaxation
💡Consistency
💡Topspin
💡Progression
Highlights
In this video series, you'll learn how to transform your forehand into a reliable weapon by focusing on three key ingredients: placement, power, and curve or shape.
For power, it's all about transferring energy through the ball, primarily due to three factors: using the kinetic chain correctly, having a good length of swing, and staying loose and relaxed.
Using the kinetic chain correctly means loading with your legs first, then the hips, shoulders, and finally the arm and hand following through. This is the proper order to transfer energy from the ground up.
A long runway or length of swing is necessary for most players to generate the racket head speed for a powerful shot. This involves making a full half-circle with the hand and a 180-degree rotation of the shoulders.
Staying loose and relaxed is crucial to allow energy to transfer into the ball. Start by focusing on loosening your hand, then your forearm, shoulder, and the rest of your body.
Practice shadow swings at different speeds, focusing on the length of swing and relaxation. This will help develop a smooth, effortless swing that requires less effort.
Layer the three elements: consistency, power, and curve or topspin. Consistency is the foundation, then develop power, and finally add curve or spin.
Identify which of the three elements (placement, power, or curve) is most important for you to reach the next level of play.
Transcripts
hey it's in welcome to video 2 in this
new series which is designed to show you
how you can transform your forehand into
one that is a reliable weapon and it's
only possible if you have all three key
ingredients ingredient number one is
placement reliable placement of your
forehand
number two is power and ingredient
number three is curve or shape so in the
first video we talked about placement
it's all about accuracy and consistency
if you haven't already seen that video
make sure you do so it's going to be a
link right around this one so go check
it out in this video today we're going
to be focusing on power how do you
generate easy smooth effortless racket
head speed so you can have a big weapon
on your forehand side that's what we're
going to be talking about today so
without further ado let's go right to
the courts and I'll show you how it's
done
when it comes to hitting the ball hard
it's all about transferring a lot of
energy through the ball and that's going
to happen primarily due to three
different factors factor number one is
using the kinetic chain correctly and we
talked about that back in the
fundamentals section just talking about
a fundamentally sound traditional swing
using the body in the correct order
create transferring energy from the
ground up through the body through the
big parts of the body and then through
the smaller parts of the body if you're
not if everything is not in order and
you're not transferring energy in the
correct stages in the correct using the
correct process things will break down
and you'll put a lot of energy in with
very little result out so ideally you
want to load with your legs first start
the forward swing with the legs then the
hips then the shoulders and then have
the arm and the hand follow behind this
is the dog wagging the tail as opposed
to the tail wagging the dog which is the
way that a lot of amateur players do it
they'll turn to the side and then their
arm and their hand accelerates forwards
aggressively but the whole rest of their
body hasn't done anything to initiate
that swing you might remember the very
first video where we talked about the
the take back of the racket I talked
about how important it is that you make
a unit turn to bring the racket back
your racket should be pulled back by
your body's coil or turn to the side and
then as the racket starts to drop is
when your body should start the
uncoiling process towards the oncoming
ball if this is broken and you get the
order of operations wrong and you start
doing the work with a small part of your
body first and not the big parts of your
body then you're going to end up working
really really hard for a very very
marginal result I can't overemphasize
how critical and how important this is
number two is length of Swing it's
possible to create big power with a
relatively short and quick swing see
professional players do that from time
to time but it takes incredible
athleticism timing and dynamic strength
to be able to do that for us mere
mortals we need a long runway to be able
to generate the racket head speed
necessary to really create a powerful
response from this position here if
kirby opens her hand up you'll see that
her palm is facing straight towards her
dominant side now I don't know if that
was a right grips right now if she
continues through her swing to her
finish position go ahead and go through
kirby and finish where you normally
would finish you see that now if she
opens her hand up her hand is facing
directly in the opposite direction so
she's made a full half circle here
facing her palm initially at her
dominant side and finishing with her
palm facing in the opposite direction
you also noticed her shoulders have done
the same thing they've made a full 180
degree rotation if you show us a couple
shadow swings at 25% speed now actually
slower than that just real slow and
relaxed so I want you to watch your hand
and watch her shoulders as they rotate
around and make a full half circle this
is really the base the hand and the
torso this is the base of length of
swing on your forehand side so Kirby
showed me a 25% speed now swing just go
through the full swing naturally so this
is quarter speed shadow swings this is
what I recommend you start off with and
as you're moving through these pretty
deliberately paced shadow swings I just
want you to focus on the length of your
swing focus on your hand moving all the
way around your body and focus on your
shoulders making a full hundred eighty
degree rotation first facing your
dominant side and then finishing facing
away from your dominant side in the
opposite direction
lastly key number three is your ability
to stay loose and relaxed while you do
things 1 & 2 using the kinetic chain
correctly in the correct order is huge
having a good length of swing so that
your body can flow through its process
correctly in the correct order is also
huge but if during those 2 things your
body gets tight and tense energy will be
sucked out of your swing and will not
transfer into the ball so in the videos
before this we worked on lengths getting
the body to turn all the way getting the
hand to come all the way around so that
they're both facing towards the
non-dominant side and now that we have
that framework and we've started to
develop it as a pattern Kirby go ahead
go to 25% speed please and Kirby's focus
is going to be different now
now that we've trained the full length
of swing and she's consistently going
there we're going to focus on something
different and that's going to be how
firmly she's holding onto the racket and
this is obviously not going to be as
evident to those of you at home but as
Kirby continues he's 25% speed swings
she's going to loosen her grip on the
racket on each repetition until she gets
to the point where she feels like she's
just barely holding on to the racket and
I want you to begin consciously by
focusing on your hand and your grip and
then be aware of your forearm how tight
or how loose it is relax it then move
your focus to your shoulder and then to
the rest of your body so that eventually
should feel like your entire body and is
as relaxed and loose as possible
all right so Kirby come on up to 50% now
half speed she's maintaining that length
of swing and she's going to start again
at the hand really loosen her hand then
go to the forearm really loosen up her
forearms and her shoulder then the rest
of her body until she's completely
relaxed as she makes these swings and
then we'll go up to 75% so this would be
a rally speed swing for Kirby
and again she's going to bring her focus
to her hand then her forearm then her
shoulder then the rest of her body until
everything feels completely loose and
relaxed
now let's actually start to hit some
balls while focusing on the smoothness
and how relaxed you are the length of
swing kind of should be given by this
point granted if you only spend five or
ten minutes on this total then it's not
a new habit yet please keep in mind this
is going to take time and it's going to
take a certain number of repetitions
before all this starts to become second
nature I'm going to drop two Kirby and
she's going to start off with that full
length of swing and her focus now is not
going to be unnecessarily the finish but
on having her body be as loose through
the ball as possible if you miss it it
doesn't matter as long as you're
focusing on just being as relaxed as you
can be so 25% real real slow nice and
we're looking for a completely relaxed
body and I recommend that you follow the
process that we talked about in the
previous video which is start at the
hand just loosen your hand from shot to
shot to shot as much as you can when you
feel like you're as loose as you
possibly can be then focus on your
forearm
relax your forearm as much as possible
then move to your shoulder then move to
the rest of your body if you've never
done this before put in repetitions with
an emphasis on relaxation it will
probably be a really really unique
experience for you and most players have
never done this before
more than likely your experience will be
in amazement at how little energy it
actually takes to hit a solid shot I
mean Kirby if if ten is as much force as
you can possibly put into swinging the
racket what number would you put on the
last like two swings for four out of ten
so Kirby is using less than half of half
of her effort through these shots but
she's hitting a solid you know four or
five rally ball okay show us a 75% swing
please scrooby so pretty much full rally
ball acceleration now and she's going to
now make these swings focusing on first
relaxing your hand
again we're not super concerned with
making these so much is just executing
the length and the relaxation as much as
possible before I sign off for it today
I have a quick concept for you that's
really important kind of help you start
to tie all this together the three
elements that we've been talking about
are all incredibly important it's
important that they're layered on top of
each other I'll tell you what I mean if
you lack consistency you don't even have
that then you're going to have a hard
time consistently winning at any level
of tennis that needs to come first
that's the foundation on top of that we
do need to learn how to develop power if
all you have is consistency without any
kind of weapon at all no ability to
generate racket head speed then the
players who know how to just get it in
over and over are always going to be
difficult for you you can have a lot of
really long rallies you're going to
struggle against pushers or other
defensive players and that's just not a
lot of fun so the third elements that
layers on top of power is the ability to
curve the ball and that's using topspin
once you have all three you really have
the potential to be able to be
competitive at any level any level of
amateur tennis of course it's about the
ability to execute at higher and higher
levels at that point but you at least
will have the ingredients necessary to
compete against just about anybody at
your local courts so that's the order of
operations hopefully that kind of ties
it together for you here a little bit as
we're in the middle of this video series
focused on your forehand in the next
video we're going to be talking about
that curve elements before then I want
you to think about which of the three
elements are most important for you and
again it's just about narrowing your
focus so that you can have better
practice time and be more focused
is it placement is it generating power
or is it curve or topspin which is most
important for you to reach that next
level of play let me know in the
comments down below also let me know if
you have any questions or comments about
what you saw in today's video be happy
to see those and answer them for you
make sure you keep an eye on your email
inbox because we'll be coming out with
the third video very soon which focuses
on curve
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