Glossary

• angle of attack
  1. the angle between the the direction the racket face is moving and the direction it's face is pointing

• antagonist
  1. the muscle that, when contracted, moves the limb away from the desires direction.
  2. the flexor-pronator muscles in the topspin backhand and the extensor-supinator muscles in the topspin forehand

• analysis paralysis
  1. inability to perform due to cortical interference with the thalmus

• attack angle
  1. in the serve and overhead, the desired 30 degree tilt of the body along the baseline on contact

• backswing proper
  1. the lock phase of the stroke; the relaxed, gravity driven 'down and back' move following the unit turn and pose.
  2. the second pump in the "Double Pump".

• bevel
  1. refers to the flat surfaces on the tennis racket numbered 1-8 (#3 is behind racket, #1 on top)

• chirping
  1. transferring weight back and forth between the feet for dynamic balance
  2. the sound made by the feet on the court surface

• closed stance
  1. standing with your back facing your opponent

• cocked
  1. rotated position of the wrist in the direction of the thumb. syn: radial-flexed
     • a cocked wrist is never fully cocked - usually flexed 10% beyond neutral or 60% of entire range of motion

• complete stroke
  1. a stroke comprising all of the foundational components
  2. a stroke with stored control and spin forces
  3. a complete stroke may be full or short and a full stroke may be complete or incomplete

• continental grip
  1. aka "universal grip" with index knuckle on bevel #2.
  2. usual grip fro serve, two-handed backhand and volley

• counter-kicking
  1. kicking the back foot out behind the front foot to enhance or control shoulder rotation

• counter-rotation
  1. rotating part of the body in one direction to enhance or control shoulder rotation in the opposite direction

• deep shoulder joint
  1. the joint formed by the scapula and the upper chest wall
  2. the joint you use to shrug

• differential diagnosis
  1. altenative diagnoses that might explain a given constellations of signs and symptoms

• dorsiflexed
  1. in dorsiflexion.

• dorsiflexion
  1. (or dorsiflexed) bending the wrist back - the oposite of palmar flexion or just flexion of the wrist.

• eastern backhand grip
  1. classic backhand frip with index finger knuckle at bevel #1

• eastern forehand grip
  1. classic forehand grip with first knuckle at bevel #3

• extensor-supinator
  1. the muscular group in the forarm that turns the hand toward the sky and extends the wrist

• flexor-pronator
  1. the muscular group in the forarm that turns the hand towards the ground and flexes the wrist

• frankenfeet
  1. staggering and clomping around like a monster
  2. indicates static balance or tired legs

• full stroke
  1. like the topspin forehand and stroke with a long backswing and follow through
  2. opposit of short stroke
  3. a complete stroke may be full or short and a full stroke may be complete or incomplete

• modulation
  1. in tennis, the maximum ammount of acceleration applied to the hitting arm
  2. power used to create a wave

• moment of contact (MOC)
  1. the point in time when the racket and ball meet

• moment of inertia
  1. the resistance felt trying to rotate a stick with a mass at the end
  2. the longer the stick, the greater the resistance

• muscling
  1. creating power using brute muscular force instead of balance, leverage and timing

• neutral stance
  1. feet on a line at right angles to the baseline
  2. aka T-stance, square stance, tennis stance, classic stance

• net axis of rotation
  1. the observed orbital path of an object orbiting around two or more axes
  2. in the serve: the orbit of the racket over the top and towards the net post

• netstrap
  1. the act of hitting the ball such that at hits the top of the net, often with a sickening "thwap".
  2. the part of the net that the ball hits

• open stance
  1. standing with your feet on a line parallel to the baseline

• over-modulation
  1. introducing more power into a wave than the medium can handle
  2. in tennis, pulling harder with the shoulders than the forarm and wrist can handle

• palmar-flexed
  1. or just 'flexed', a direction of bending of the wrist in the direction of the palm.

• pathophysiology
  1. the derangment of a process that leads to a given disorder or disease.

• pendulum
  1. in the serve when the racket drops out of the trophy pose and swings behind the left shoulder

• point of contact (POC)
  1. the location in space where racket and ball meet

• pronation
  1. rotation of part or all of the upper limb that ends with the palm facing the ground

• radial-flexed
  1. in the wrist, rotating the wrist in the direction of the thumb. Opposite of ulnar-flexed and the same as cocked.

• reverse roatation
  1. rotation in a direction that takes the racket away from the ball
  2. the backswing proper

• semi-open stance
  1. stance that is somewhere between neutral and open

• semi-western grip
  1. the prevalent pro forehand grip with first knuckle at bevel #4

• shadow swing
  1. a useful practice technique of swinging your racket without a ball while feeling and especially listening to the result.
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• shoulder over shoulder technique
  1. the part of the serve where the hitting shoulder starts low and ends high relative to the tossing shoulder.

• shoulder extension
  1. horizontal rotation of the shoulder in the direction of the spine

• slingshot effect
  1. additional pace added to the ball after the forward acceleration of the racket stops
  2. the reason for the effectiveness of a trebuchet

• slump
  1. an extended period of putrid play with no clear cause

• smart targets
  1. a small collection of targets in your opponent's court which maximize safety and effectiveness

• spacetime
  1. a description encompassing the time and place of an event in space e.g. the moment of contact and point of contact of ball and strings represent together a single point in timespace.

• splash points
  1. the array of bounce locations surrounding an intended target - see Eliptical Error Probable

• supination
  1. rotation of part or all of the upper limb that ends with the palm facing the sky

• syndrome
  1. a specific disease process with a typical set of signs, symptoms, and treatments

• tarda
  1. milder, as in 'a tarda form of the disease'

• timespace
  1. a reminder that locations must be identified in both time and space
  2. example: the moment of contact (time) at the point of contact (space)

• torque
  1. force applied at some distance from a natural center of rotation
  2. a twisting force as in turning a screwdriver

• trigger
  1. typically a helpful tennis "tip"
  2. an easily recalled move, position, intention or notion that invokes good stroke mechanics in the brain. ex: "Pull , don't push, into the ball."

• two-handed backhand grip
  1. a grip comprising a continental grip and a second hand comfortably adjacent to and touching the first

• ulnar-flexed
  1. in the wrist, rotating the wrist in the direction of the pinky finger . Opposite of radial-flexed.

• yips
  1. random, unusual errors often applied to the serve
  2. synonym: gremlins