Triggers [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
I hate tennis 'tips'. It is an unreasoning hatred because some tips are convenient, others indispensable. But I have been let down by tips over the years. Some were just black pearls and never really did anything for my game other than reinforce some nasty habits. Other tips, well, some seem to work for a while then stop working. I believe this is because I never knew why I was doing the thing the tip ordained I should do.
To sidestep my prejudice against the word 'tip' I prefer to use the word 'trigger.' A trigger is something you think about doing before you make a strike. Examples are "Step into the ball!" or "Keep your head down!" There is nothing in the text of the trigger that tells you why you should do it, and most triggers order you to do things that are actually wrong. You shouldn't step into the ball; you should establish dynamic balance, which requires constant weight transfers between the feet. At the precise moment, you need to set the front foot and push off onto the back foot thereby starting the backswing proper and planting your back foot firmly against the court so you can explode into the strike. The purpose of all of this transferring of weight is to create energy and momentum in the hips in the form of a power wave which can then be harvested by the upper body as needed to create control, spin and pace. For some people, mostly talented people, "Step into the ball!" is enough to remind them to do all of the other stuff that they mostly do naturally. For the rest of us, it is incumbent upon us to understand what the phrase means. For me, I need several triggers to accomplish the same ends, including; "Bend your knees!" "Don't stop chirping!" "Dig in with the back foot" "Open stance!" I don't need "On your toes!" because if I do the rest of it I will be in dynamic balance, and my weight will naturally move to the balls of my feet. Thus "On my toes?" is more of a query to determine if I have achieved balance. The last thing you want during a match is a lot of yammering going on in your head, but even if you start off in the Zone, you can easily drift out of it. Triggers should be designed to snap you back into the Zone and keep you out of the Pit of Despair.
- Back then forth then back again!
- fixes: loss of control on volleys annd short strokes
- fixes: miss-hits on volleys
- works by: loads control forces
- back must: be immediately before forth
- NO swing!
- fixes: lack of control and misshits
- works by: adding explode to lock and load
- Spindirection!
- fixes: painful arm
- fixes: miss-hits
- works by: separating addressing from controlling the ball
- must: never go directly back on backswing
- up and back or down and back
- Use the other arm!
- fixes: lack of power
- fixes: lack of control/spin
- works by: creating a power wave
- must: create full wave
- back then forth then back