Skip to main content

I figured there had to be a place for this discussion.

Many aspects of human movements in sport can be readily understood by Newtonian rigid-body mechanics. Many of these laws and biomechanical principles, however, are counterintuitive to a lot of people. There are also several problems in the application of biomechanics to sports, so the application of biomechanics in the qualitative analysis of sport skills by many coaches has been limited. Biomechanics scholars have long been interested in developing principles that facilitate the qualitative application of biomechanics to improve movement performance and reduce the risk of injury. This paper summarizes the major North American efforts to establish a set of general biomechanical principles of movement, and illustrates how principles can be used to improve the application of biomechanics in the qualitative analysis of sport technique. A coach helping a player with a tennis serve is presented as an example. The standardization of terminology for biomechanical principles is proposed as an important first step in improving the application of biomechanics in sport. There is also a need for international cooperation and research on the effectiveness of applying biomechanical principles in the coaching of sport techniques.

How deep can this get?

In the kinetic link and according to the principle of summation, one segment speeds up when its preceding segments slows or stops, so the hands can follow along for a longer period of time because rotation is more efficient in delivering the bat to the ball. This allows a later release of the bat head which not only affords a way to generate more bat speed with the larger segments, but also prevents the batter from committing his hands too early on off-speed pitches.

More ?

Swinging the bat is a skill that is unique to baseball. Players need good lower body and core strength to develop power in the swing. These muscles need to be trained rotationally in a high-velocity, explosive manner.

Swing or Period of Muscle Contraction.

Strong hip and leg muscles will initiate the swing (stride/weight shift), the core area then sequentially transfers the rotational speed to the torso and the arms to complete the swing (swing, hip turn). The efficient transfer of force from the lower body to the upper body, known as the kinetic chain principle, requires that there be muscular balance for optimal sequential transfer of forces.

Strong lats, triceps and forearms will help to continue bat acceleration through ball contact.
Last edited {1}
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

I would also look at the law of conservation of energy.

A great study of the kinetic link was done by Chris Yeager. If you want to see a high speed film analysis of the pro swing done in super slo-mo it is great to watch and you can really understand it as he relates the principes of physics. He doesn't spend much time on the the types of energy, but you will learn a great deal about how to impart the most amount of energy possible to the ball at impact. The keys are: front leg function, back leg function, timing, use of hips, and back elbow function.

I wish I had found Yegear before the so called "hitting coaches" in my area taught my son to "squash the darn bug."
That's all we need: Another concept to
analysis paralysis of hitting!

- Conservation of Momemtum
- Whip Effect
- Stretch ..Reflect
- Elastic Reflect
- Rubber Band Effect

This argument only works, however, if we
accept the assumptions that the environment is static and our understanding of it complete, or that we have discovered the 'one best way' to deal wth all the possible eventualities.
These assumptions, however, are unrealistic.

In other words, how about a frickin break!
Last edited by Bear
quote:
Originally posted by Bear:
That's all we need: Another concept to
analysis paralysis of hitting!

- Conservation of Momemtum
- Whip Effect
- Stretch ..Reflect
- Elastic Reflect
- Rubber Band Effect

This argument only works, however, if we
accept the assumptions that the environment is static and our understanding of it complete, or that we have discovered the 'one best way' to deal wth all the possible eventualities.
These assumptions, however, are unrealistic.

In other words, how about a frickin break!


Physics needs a static environment? I guess there is no need for physics or science then when it comes to sports due to their dynamic nature. Not sure your comments even make sense since we are talking about the way the human body moves. We dont know "one best way" which is why biomechanics is brought into the picture so we can try and learn the "one best way".

In other words, how about a frickin break!
The Law of Conservation of Energy simply stated is that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can change from one form to another.

Think of Potential Energy as the amount of 'work' that could possibly be done and Kinetic Energy as using that Potential Energy in the performance of 'work'.

The goal of establishing the most possible Potential Energy is in finding or developing the best stance in the batter's box.

Potential Energy - The raising of the bat and the stretching of the muscles that will bring the bat down and forward is done by flexing the opposing muscles to the muscles we wish to contract in the swing. This position has established some degree of potential energy to be used in the swing.

Kinetic Energy - Stride/weight shift in conjunction with swing launch to a contact point directly over the center of the plate begins the developement of bat speed to the point of desired contact.

When stride/weight shift ends, the upper body and the bat speed up if the bat path is circular.

The effective thrust of hip turn in conjunction with the already established circular motion of the bat further increases bat speed.

Since the initial thrust of the bat to extension, using gravitational and muscular propulsion, causes the primary forward momentum of the bat, I choose to call this method a 'top down approach'.

Thus it would be gravity plus arms, aided by the stride/weight shift ending and the additional thrust of hip turn offer the greatest propulsion of the bat head with the least amount of time and energy used in the accomplishment of the task.

In reality, the 'best' swing style will always be the one that garners the best results for a particular batter.
Last edited by Quincy
quote:
In reality, the 'best' swing style will always be the one that garners the best results for a particular batter.


We are not talking about style. Style and technique are two different issues. Style is what is comfortable with the person. Technique is what makes the action most productive.

You can see thousands of different styles at the mlb and collegiate levels but most techniques from launch till contact are very close to identical among the players.
Last edited by Gameth
'Style' and 'Technique' are merely two 'terms' for the 'method' employed.

Methods used to attain a desired result vary in their outcomes, time or energy required to attain that result.

It is universally accepted that the 'best' method is the one that requires the least amount of time and energy in attaining a desired result.
Last edited by Quincy

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×