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According to Dr. Yeager's DVD, the center of mass should be shifted to the front leg when the stride ends and rotation is about to begin. That may be efficient in terms of biomechanics, but I've heard pros and Rudy Jamarillo saying that it should occur after the stride foot comes down and COP should move along with hip rotation. Which one is right?
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What if a college program exists where all players are taught to have the same swing. Very linear similar to Akinori Iwamura. Some of the players may have had a more rotational swing, although a belief in the importance of the hands as well. Assuming that a player is able to adjust (there is no way that the power exhibited prior to adopting this new approach is possible, although gap to gap pop is expected).

If a player is forced to change a productive swing and adopt a different swing very different than what those that were following him are accustomed to, but is able to produce (with diminished power) how will this generally be viewed?

I can see it both ways... ie. a player is skilled enough to change his swing dramatically and still produce, all be it at reduced power numbers. Or, what happened to this kid , his swing is all screwed up, we better move on...

purely hypothetical of course...
quote:
Originally posted by floridafan:
What if a college program exists where all players are taught to have the same swing. Very linear similar to Akinori Iwamura. Some of the players may have had a more rotational swing, although a belief in the importance of the hands as well. Assuming that a player is able to adjust (there is no way that the power exhibited prior to adopting this new approach is possible, although gap to gap pop is expected).

If a player is forced to change a productive swing and adopt a different swing very different than what those that were following him are accustomed to, but is able to produce (with diminished power) how will this generally be viewed?

I can see it both ways... ie. a player is skilled enough to change his swing dramatically and still produce, all be it at reduced power numbers. Or, what happened to this kid , his swing is all screwed up, we better move on...

purely hypothetical of course...




After a good friend of mine went to a Division III school and was forced to change his swing or sit the bench, I believe it is important to ask that question during recruiting. I would also be watching the school's games to see if a certain philosophy is evident and if you agree with that.
quote:
Originally posted by Coachric:
They are both right. Its all simantics as usual. The weight is in transfer as the front foot comes donw. It should be somewhere between 50/50 and moving to the front leg as the body flows to rotation. All swings are rotational whether the player moves forward or not, as has been discussed here many times.




The more weight that has been transfered before foot plant, the less power you will have when you reach ball contact on off-speed pitches and the less you will be able to adjust your swing, IMO. Some great athletes will be able to time the weight shift to the fastball, but it will be much easier for a Pitcher to disrupt their timing, again, IMO.
Floridafan - That would be a very tough situation for a player imo that was a very good hitter going in. Especially a guy with power who had already proven he could hit quality pitching. Now your telling him to change everything and if he struggles he is going to have some serious doubts about where he is at and what he is doing. Even if he has some success a power guy is a power guy. Alot of it is a power mentality. Guys that hit for power have intent to hit with power. Just like guys that throw hard have the intent to throw hard.

Some kids are happy with a single on a grooved pitch. Other guys are ****ed if they dont mash it for a ****. IMO I can not stand cookie cutter coaches - guys that try to clone all of their hitters. But thats just me.
I've got this from baseball-fever.com in justthefact's post
quote:
The Need To Clear the Hips by Dr. Michael Yessis is President of Sports Training

With the start of the U.S. Open today many golfers and golf fans will be watching their favorite pros. Most of them will be watching to see how far the ball goes, where it lands in the fairway, rough or on the green. Few however, will be looking closely, with an analytical mind, to how they execute the swing. For those of you who do I recommend that you look closely at how well they clear the hips. This is an action (really two actions) that they all execute — some much better than others well. The key elements to watch for are explained in the following article that I wrote for Senior Golfer.

To have an effective swing it is necessary to clear the hips. This is a recommendation that has little dispute among teaching pros. However, what constitutes clearing the hips, the roles that the hips play and the need for hip action in the total sequence of joint actions that occur in the swing are often misunderstood.

Clearing the hips consists of two major actions. First is weight shift (weight transference) followed by forward hip rotation. For a right handed golfer to execute weight transference, it is necessary to contract the muscles on the right side of the hips to push the hips forward while they remain level to the ground. This action is known as hip joint abduction. The more forcefully you drive the hips forward, the greater is the weight shift and the ensuing power that can be generated for eventual transfer into the hit.

Too much weight shift, however, can be a detriment as it may interfere with the following trunk rotation and arm actions or with balance. But it is generally agreed that weight should be shifted forward and that most of your weight should be on the forward leg during the downswing. This is needed for several very important reasons.

When you shift the weight onto the forward left leg, it then becomes the axis for hip rotation which begins as weight shift ends. When you then rotate the hips with the axis in the left leg, you will get maximum force generated in this action. If you only shift the weight partially so that it is equally distributed between both feet, the axis of rotation becomes your spine (middle of the hips) and the amount of power generated by the hip rotation is halved.

When your weight is over the forward leg, the medial rotator muscles of the left hip joint contract to rotate the entire pelvis forward. As a result, you produce a long hip lever which, in turn, creates more force. This is analogous to using a long club versus a short club. The longer the club (which acts as a lever), the more the force that you can generate.

When your weight is shifted half-way so that the spine is the axis of rotation, the medial rotators of the left and the lateral rotators of the right hip joint contract to rotate the hips. In this case, your right hip rotates forward while the left hip rotates backward. Thus you have a shorter effective lever which is not capable of generating maximum force. In this case, it is half of what can be generated with a full lever hip turn. When your weight is shifted half-way so that the spine is the axis of rotation, the medial rotators of the left and the lateral rotators of the right hip joint contract to rotate the hips. In this case, your right hip rotates forward while the left hip rotates backward. Thus you have a shorter effective lever which is not capable of generating maximum force. In this case, it is half of what can be generated with a full lever hip turn.

Thus, when you have full weight shift (a strong, full hip slide) prior to hip rotation you can create more power. This in turn equals greater distance. If you look at most long ball hitters you will see that they have full weight shift before rotating the hips.

Dr. Michael Yessis is President of Sports Training, Inc. a multi-faceted company specializing in biomechanical/kinesiological analyses, and specialized training and specialized equipment for explosive speed and quickness. Dr. Yessis is Professor Emeritus at California State University, Fullerton. He is a clinical advisor and a member of the editorial board for the American Running Association.

Dr. Yessis received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He was the first to show the relationships between muscular strength and endurance in his research. He taught on the university level for over 35 years in the areas of biomechanics (technique analysis), kinesiology (muscle and joint movements) and exercise science. In addition he was Editor-in-Chief of the Fitness and Sports Review International.

Dr. Yessis is the foremost U.S. expert on Russian training methods He has been to Russia multiple times, worked with their coaches such as Yuri Verkhoshansky, and has translated and published Russian training articles in the Fitness and Sports Review International for over 29 years.


I find it interesting. Seems like it advocates "weight shift BEFORE hip rotation" aka option 1. Thoughts?
It's a word definition thing like most of this stuff....There is weight shift before and during rotation....

The hips don't move together....The front hip rotates open during the stride....The back hip rotates open when it unloads....

Some weight shifts during the stride...How much?...Not too much to unload the back hip....



Last edited by BlueDog
quote:
Originally posted by Stonecutter:
I've got this from baseball-fever.com in justthefact's post
quote:
The Need To Clear the Hips by Dr. Michael Yessis is President of Sports Training

With the start of the U.S. Open today many golfers and golf fans will be watching their favorite pros. Most of them will be watching to see how far the ball goes, where it lands in the fairway, rough or on the green. Few however, will be looking closely, with an analytical mind, to how they execute the swing. For those of you who do I recommend that you look closely at how well they clear the hips. This is an action (really two actions) that they all execute — some much better than others well. The key elements to watch for are explained in the following article that I wrote for Senior Golfer.

To have an effective swing it is necessary to clear the hips. This is a recommendation that has little dispute among teaching pros. However, what constitutes clearing the hips, the roles that the hips play and the need for hip action in the total sequence of joint actions that occur in the swing are often misunderstood.

Clearing the hips consists of two major actions. First is weight shift (weight transference) followed by forward hip rotation. For a right handed golfer to execute weight transference, it is necessary to contract the muscles on the right side of the hips to push the hips forward while they remain level to the ground. This action is known as hip joint abduction. The more forcefully you drive the hips forward, the greater is the weight shift and the ensuing power that can be generated for eventual transfer into the hit.

Too much weight shift, however, can be a detriment as it may interfere with the following trunk rotation and arm actions or with balance. But it is generally agreed that weight should be shifted forward and that most of your weight should be on the forward leg during the downswing. This is needed for several very important reasons.

When you shift the weight onto the forward left leg, it then becomes the axis for hip rotation which begins as weight shift ends. When you then rotate the hips with the axis in the left leg, you will get maximum force generated in this action. If you only shift the weight partially so that it is equally distributed between both feet, the axis of rotation becomes your spine (middle of the hips) and the amount of power generated by the hip rotation is halved.

When your weight is over the forward leg, the medial rotator muscles of the left hip joint contract to rotate the entire pelvis forward. As a result, you produce a long hip lever which, in turn, creates more force. This is analogous to using a long club versus a short club. The longer the club (which acts as a lever), the more the force that you can generate.

When your weight is shifted half-way so that the spine is the axis of rotation, the medial rotators of the left and the lateral rotators of the right hip joint contract to rotate the hips. In this case, your right hip rotates forward while the left hip rotates backward. Thus you have a shorter effective lever which is not capable of generating maximum force. In this case, it is half of what can be generated with a full lever hip turn. When your weight is shifted half-way so that the spine is the axis of rotation, the medial rotators of the left and the lateral rotators of the right hip joint contract to rotate the hips. In this case, your right hip rotates forward while the left hip rotates backward. Thus you have a shorter effective lever which is not capable of generating maximum force. In this case, it is half of what can be generated with a full lever hip turn.

Thus, when you have full weight shift (a strong, full hip slide) prior to hip rotation you can create more power. This in turn equals greater distance. If you look at most long ball hitters you will see that they have full weight shift before rotating the hips.

Dr. Michael Yessis is President of Sports Training, Inc. a multi-faceted company specializing in biomechanical/kinesiological analyses, and specialized training and specialized equipment for explosive speed and quickness. Dr. Yessis is Professor Emeritus at California State University, Fullerton. He is a clinical advisor and a member of the editorial board for the American Running Association.

Dr. Yessis received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He was the first to show the relationships between muscular strength and endurance in his research. He taught on the university level for over 35 years in the areas of biomechanics (technique analysis), kinesiology (muscle and joint movements) and exercise science. In addition he was Editor-in-Chief of the Fitness and Sports Review International.

Dr. Yessis is the foremost U.S. expert on Russian training methods He has been to Russia multiple times, worked with their coaches such as Yuri Verkhoshansky, and has translated and published Russian training articles in the Fitness and Sports Review International for over 29 years.


I find it interesting. Seems like it advocates "weight shift BEFORE hip rotation" aka option 1. Thoughts?




There are timing and location adjustments on almost all pitches in the baseball swing that won't allow for early weight shift. Since the ball is on the ground and stationary, the timing adjustment is very small so the weight shift and location of contact is consistent in a golf swing. The loft on the club makes it neccessary to swing down to get the ball to go up, it is not the case with a baseball swing.

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