Craziest forehand I’ve EVER seen (big mistake)

Summary

The video script discusses a common issue in tennis where players struggle with a weak forehand despite their efforts. It introduces a case of a 3.5 level player experiencing this problem and explains how improper body mechanics, specifically an early lead with the elbow, disrupts the kinetic chain and results in a less powerful shot. The coach demonstrates various drills, emphasizing the importance of body positioning and the sequence of body movements in generating a more efficient and powerful forehand. By following these drills, players can improve their technique and achieve greater success in their game.

Takeaways

• 🎾 The importance of proper contact position in tennis is crucial for a powerful forehand.
• 🏆 A 3.5 level player often has a weak forehand due to incorrect body positioning at contact.
• 🤔 A player's forehand weakness can be misleading if their body mechanics are off.
• 👀 Observing a player's hips and shoulders at the point of contact can indicate their skill level.
• 📈 High-level players like 4.5 level and professionals lead with their bodies, not just their arms.
• 🔄 The kinetic chain in tennis swings should start with larger body parts leading the way.
• 🚫 Small body parts taking the lead, like the elbow, can result in a weak kinetic chain and less power.
• 📊 The coach used video analysis to diagnose and correct the student's forehand technique.
• 💡 Drills involving pulling with the body instead of pushing can lead to improved forehand power.
• 🌟 Shadow swings and underhand tosses help practice body leading without the pressure of real balls.
• ✨ After practicing, the student showed significant improvement in smoothness and efficiency of her forehand.

Q & A

What was the main issue with the student's tennis forehand technique?

The main issue with the student's forehand technique was her contact position. Instead of using her body to generate power, she was initiating the swing with her elbow, which led to a weak kinetic chain and made it difficult to hit powerful shots.

What is the significance of the 3.5 level player's contact position?

The 3.5 level player's contact position is significant because it represents a common issue among players at that skill level. Typically, their hips and shoulders are not facing forward at the point of contact, which indicates a lack of proper body activation and timing.

How does the contact position of a 4.5 level player differ from a 3.5 level player?

A 4.5 level player's contact position shows a more advanced technique. The body, particularly the shoulders and chest, are facing forwards, and the hips have pivoted and turned to face forwards by the time the ball touches the racket, indicating better body activation and timing.

What are the key elements of a professional player's forehand technique?

Professional players lead with their body, ensuring that their shoulders and hips are facing forwards at the point of contact. This allows for efficient energy transfer and powerful shots with less effort.

Why is it important for the body to lead the forehand swing?

It is important for the body to lead the forehand swing because it allows for the generation of racket head speed and energy transfer with minimal effort. This efficient use of the body's kinetic chain results in powerful shots and reduces strain on the arm and hand.

What was the first drill the coach used to help the student correct her forehand?

The first drill involved the coach holding onto the student's racket and waiting for her to initiate a pull using her shoulders and hips. This helped the student feel the correct initiation of the swing with her body leading the movement.

How does the shadow swing drill help in improving the forehand technique?

The shadow swing drill helps by allowing the player to practice the correct body movements without the pressure of hitting the ball. It reinforces the idea of pulling with the body and leading with the larger muscle groups, which translates to smoother and more efficient strokes.

What was the effect of the drills on the student's forehand after 45 minutes?

After 45 minutes of practicing the drills, the student's forehand showed significant improvement. Her body was leading the way, her arm followed passively, and she was hitting the balls with more force and power, but with dramatically less effort and better overall technique.

What advice does the coach give for players looking to improve their forehand?

The coach advises players to focus on leading with their body and keeping their arm passive during the forehand swing. By following the drills and focusing on the correct body movements, players can improve their technique and efficiency, leading to more powerful shots with less effort.

How does the coach ensure the student is on the right track during the drills?

The coach uses video analysis to check the student's progress and ensure she is not falling back into old habits. This helps to provide visual feedback and confirmation that the body is leading the swing as it should.

What is the role of the kinetic chain in a forehand swing?

The kinetic chain in a forehand swing is the sequence of body movements that transfer energy from the ground up through the body and into the racket. A strong and unbroken kinetic chain allows for efficient energy transfer, resulting in powerful shots.

Outlines

00:00

🎾 Understanding Forehand Weakness in Tennis

The paragraph discusses a common issue faced by a 3.5 level tennis player where despite trying hard, they struggle to execute a powerful forehand. The coach examines the player's contact position and notices a poor technique that contradicts the principles of biomechanics and energy transfer. It's highlighted that the player's body mechanics, particularly the shoulder and hip positioning, are not aligned with the expected norms for their skill level. The coach uses examples of higher-level players to illustrate the correct body positioning and movement during a forehand swing, emphasizing the importance of the body leading the racket for optimal performance.

05:02

🏆改正Forehand Swing的练习方法

本段介绍了针对前一段中提到的3.5级球员的Forehand Swing问题的一系列练习方法。首先，教练通过手动引导球员使用身体而非手肘来引导挥拍动作，以此帮助球员感受正确的挥拍起始动作。随后，教练让球员尝试在没有球的情况下进行影子击球和简单的下手抛球练习，专注于用身体引导挥拍。通过这些练习，球员的挥拍动作有了显著改善，身体开始正确地引导挥拍，手臂和球拍的动作变得更加流畅和自然。最后，教练通过视频反馈确保球员没有回到旧习惯，并鼓励球员继续关注身体的引导作用，以实现更高效和轻松的击球。

Keywords

💡Tennis Forehand

The tennis forehand is a fundamental stroke in the sport, where the player swings the racket with the palm facing forward to hit the ball. In the video, the focus is on improving the power and technique of the forehand shot, particularly for a 3.5 level player who perceives it as a weak shot.

💡Contact Position

The contact position refers to the body alignment and racket placement when the ball is struck in a tennis shot. It is crucial for generating power and control. The video emphasizes the importance of having the proper contact position to achieve a strong forehand.

💡Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the study of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms. In the context of the video, it pertains to the body's movement and energy transfer during a tennis swing, which is essential for an effective forehand.

💡Kinetic Chain

The kinetic chain is a sequence of body movements that transfer energy from one body part to another during an action, like a tennis swing. It is important for maximizing power and efficiency. The video discusses how a weak kinetic chain leads to a weak forehand.

💡Racket Head Speed

Racket head speed is the velocity at which the racket head moves through space during a swing, directly affecting the power of a shot. The video aims to improve racket head speed by correcting the forehand technique.

💡Push vs. Pull

In tennis, 'push' refers to initiating a shot with the arm and hand, while 'pull' involves using the body to lead the racket through the swing. The video emphasizes the importance of pulling with the body for a more powerful and efficient forehand.

💡Shadow Swings

Shadow swings are practice movements that mimic the actual tennis swing without a ball, used to improve form and muscle memory. The video includes shadow swings as part of the drills to help the student practice the correct body movements.

💡Underhand Tosses

Underhand tosses are a practice method where the coach lightly tosses the ball underhand for the player to hit, allowing for slower, more controlled practice of strokes. The video uses underhand tosses to help the student practice leading with the body.

💡Coaching Drills

Coaching drills are specific exercises designed to improve a player's technique or address weaknesses. The video provides a series of drills aimed at transforming the student's weak forehand into a stronger shot.

💡Body Activation

Body activation refers to the engagement of the body's muscles and kinetic chain in the correct sequence to generate power and control in a movement. The video stresses the importance of body activation for an effective forehand.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency in tennis refers to the ability to hit the ball with power and control using the least amount of effort. The video aims to improve the student's forehand efficiency by correcting her technique.

Highlights

A 3.5 level tennis player struggles with a weak forehand despite trying hard.

The student's contact position was unusual and did not align with typical 3.5 level players.

A proper tennis swing technique involves the body's activation and timing during the turn.

At 4.5 level, players exhibit a different contact position with the body leading and the racket lagging behind.

Professional players like Caroline Wozniak and Victoria Azarenka demonstrate advanced body positioning and kinetic chain in their forehand.

The laws of biomechanics and energy transfer suggest that the student's forehand technique was flawed.

The student's forehand was unique as her body worked to catch up to her leading elbow.

Initiating a forehand with the elbow instead of the body creates a weak kinetic chain.

A proper kinetic chain involves the body leading the way and the arm following passively.

The coach used a drill where holding the player's racket helped her feel the correct initiation with the body.

Shadow swings and underhand tosses were used to practice body leading without the pressure of contacting the ball.

The student showed improvement as her body started leading the way and her arm followed passively.

The coach emphasized the importance of the body's timing and sequence in achieving a powerful and efficient forehand.

High-level players hit forehands with minimal effort but maximum power due to correct body mechanics.

Following these drills can help players improve their forehand efficiency and power.

The video aims to help viewers improve their tennis game by understanding and applying proper technique.

Transcripts

if you feel like you're trying hard on

your tennis forehand but just can't hit

a powerful shot then you've clicked on

exactly the Right video that's what my

recent student told me was happening to

her but when I took my first look at her

contact position it totally didn't make

any sense if you study tennis swing

technique and mechanics then you know

that this is a really bad position and

for context this is a 3.5 level player

and she came in telling me Ian my for is

so weak it's my weakest shot what do I

do and so when I looked at this I was

like what in the world is happening let

me show you some context so that you

know what I mean here's a 3.5 level

player this is what I normally see at

the point of contact from most of my

students look at where this student's

hips are facing where her shoulders are

facing this is normal and if you are

around the 35 level in terms of tennis

this is probably what you look like

around the point of contact whether you

know your supposed to be doing this or

not doesn't matter there's habits that

are why you're a 3 five player and this

is what's most common around that level

in terms of the level of activation and

the timing of when the body starts to

turn here's another recent student this

is a 4 five level player and I want you

to watch the difference in what the

contact position looks like the body

here is leading it's going first and the

racket is lagging behind and so at

contact his body position is totally

different his shoulders and chest are

facing forwards his hips have pivoted

and turned to face forwards all by the

time the ball touches the racket now

here's a professional level player

here's Caroline Waki on this one look at

how her body is leading and turning

first and so by the time she meets the

ball her shoulders are facing forwards

and her hips are facing forwards as the

ball touches the Racket and now here's

Victoria Azarenka and she's going to

leave the court and actually is moving

slightly backwards but her hips and

shoulders are still leading the swing

and by the time the ball touches the

racket her shoulders are facing forwards

and her hips are facing

forwards so now with with those examples

and that context in mind you understand

how why when I see this forehand and I

hear what she's saying about her

forehand being her weakest shot and I

look at her shoulders and I look at her

hips at the point of contact I'm just

thinking what in the world is go how is

that possible you can't defy the laws of

nature and like energy transfer and

biomechanics and stuff like that so

something else is happening here this is

why this forehand is so kind of crazy

and different and unique let's go back

and now do a little bit of detective

work and go back a little bit earlier in

the swing and I'll show you some full

motion swings here in a second as well

if we go back a little bit Watch What

Happens and remember the four five

player we looked at what we saw were the

big parts of the body leading the way

and the arm and the racket lagging

behind really passively watch the

difference here with this player and

specifically I want you to keep your eye

on her right elbow and watch how that

right elbow actually initiates and it

leads so instead of her shoulders

initiating or her hips initiating it's

her elbow pushing forwards is the first

actor the first Force that's pushing the

racket forwards and it's type of big

tennis movement a serve a forehand a

backhand where we're looking to generate

a lot of Racket head speed and as much

energy with as little effort as possible

what we want to do is pull the racket

through using the body to lead the

parade to lead the charge forwards and

keep the arm and the Hand really passive

and relaxed when the arm and the Hand

take over and go first I like to call

that a push whereas when you look at

high level players professional players

they are pulling with their body first

so this player is initiating with a push

which is not unusual three five players

that's normal but what's what is unusual

is this player then after leading with

the elbow in the hand her body actually

is working to catch up and actually

arrives in the right position by the

time she makes contact which is pretty

wild but the damage has already been

done when the elbow jumps out out to

this early lead it's already initiated a

weak kinetic chain it's broken the

kinetic chain and when the small parts

of the body take over and take the lead

the big parts of the body can try to

catch up but they've already lost the

race so here's her in full motion making

this push swing if you're a very

experienced coach and you've studied a

lot of biomechanics and kinetic chain

and like how the body is supposed to

work you can you can get kind of a

glimpse of it happening but it's so hard

to catch for sure what's happening in

that quick quarter of a second or half

of a second without slowing it down and

using video so here's the first drill I

took her through to start using a pull

instead of a push what I'm doing here I

I've used this a lot in the past with a

lot of success but I'm pulling I'm

holding on to her racket gently and

waiting for her to give me a little bit

of pull or

resistance using her shoulders and her

hips now in real life this is

exaggerated this is just to get her to

feel what it would be like to initiate

with her body and feel a little bit of a

stretch kind of coming from her shoulder

maybe a little bit from her oblique and

then I'll let the racket go when I feel

a little bit of a pull and then she goes

through the rest of her motion so after

doing a couple of those and and letting

her feel that I let her go ahead and

start to swing without the stretch like

without me manually kind of making her

do it so here's a couple of those swings

where I'm asking her to basically

recreate that same feeling of that

stretch taking place but now without me

manually kind of enabling it and see if

she can lead with her body correctly and

now you can see like there's a huge

difference here in these swings because

now the big parts of her body are

leading and pulling her arm in her

racket behind her and so there isn't any

catching up that her body has to do

because it's truly leading the way the

whole time just like it was for those

professional players that we looked at a

second ago the third drill we did

together was I had her layer together

some Shadow swings which you're seeing

right here with no ball and then some

really easy underhand tosses where my

the whole Focus her point was for her to

practice pulling with her body and

leading with her body and already you're

starting to see some really nice smooth

swings here with her body actually

leading the way instead of her elbow

jumping way out in the lead now her body

is starting to actually lead the way and

her arm is coming behind and she's

starting to hit shots that are much

easier feeling for her now than than

when she started the fourth drill we did

was simply repeat that same sequence

from back in no man's land and this adds

a little bit of extra challenge the

timing is a little bit more difficult

there's a little bit more time it feels

a little bit more like real life and I'm

just encouraging her to really focus in

on continuing to pull with her body and

keep her arm as passive as possible and

we're checking in with video by the way

making sure she's on the right track and

not sliding back into her old habit and

what we're looking for is her body to

keep leading and her arm to keep

following as passively as possible

before I show you her Baseline swings I

want you to look at her original

forehand swing again and watch for that

elbow and now that you kind you're kind

of attuned and know what we're looking

for look at how her arm is cutting in

line and jumping out ahead of her body

you see it and now I want you to compare

those to these which she did like 45

minutes later and watch the difference

in smoothness and the difference in

fluidity and she was hitting these balls

you can see her kind of commenting and

smiling here she was hitting these balls

with as much force and power as she was

before but with dramatically less

efforts dramatically more efficiency

it's because now her body is moving in

the right order and her arm isn't having

to work so hard this is how all highle

players hit their forehand this is how

the best players at your local courts

are able to look like they're trying so

little but hit the ball so hard if you

follow these same drills I'm really

confident you can start to move in that

same direction thanks for watching I

hope this is a really big help keep up

the good work on your game back at

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