~400' BH and ~325' FH Help

[sidewinder22]

A little better I suppose, looks like you are just trying too shift too much weight back and forth and end up making it less efficient. You are starting your backswing by taking a step backward with the rear foot and crouching - you want to keep your foot firm in the ground(the move), so as you turn into the backswing you should be rising slightly more upright braced against the rear leg. Your front foot also leaves the ground too soon, it doesn't look like it's being pulled up from your body turning back and the slight rising up on the rear leg which also helps fall more into the plant from behind you planting on your toes first, then heel. You want to compact your weightshift to make it efficient. Short quick centered weightshift = acceleration/power. More Ride the Bull/Turbo Encabulator.

Watch how efficient and powerful Griffey Jr's swing is from upright closed stance, compact weightshift and effortless swing!

 

[slowplastic]

Excellent videos. I was definitely doing the "feels powerful" loading thing of squatting into the rear hip and pre-lifting the front foot to feel like it'll lead to a big shift. The illustrations of rising in the backswing were great, I can feel how it's more compact/efficient and will help drop into the plant. It makes things feel less lengthy.

 

[slowplastic]

I've been successful trying to keep the nose over toes on the plant, and trying to stride more sideways in the X-step. Also trying to keep left arm forward and in. I've been trying to drop into a closed front side, feeling an actual drop into the heel rather than just pushing straight forward. Is this the right direction or am I missing what I should be doing? One of these shots is a hard throw, the other is a backed off mid 300' or so.

I did feel more consistent tension through my chest and entire right arm though. It feels like my upper arm is all one unit and I have something to swing from now rather than just rotating and flinging freely.

https://vimeo.com/237156182

https://vimeo.com/237156072

 

[sidewinder22]

Too flat footed and collapsed posture, need more ride the bull getting up on your toes. Your front foot is leading the hip and knee in the Hershyzer. Note how GG is up on toes riding the bull in more athletic tilted spiral head over shoulder over knees.

 

[slowplastic]

The first pair of pictures is great, I can feel that I've been getting too much tilt left/right tilt on my spine, from the back of the teepad perspective. My lower body too far back on my heels and shoulders too far over the toes. This helps remind me how to be more stacked over a smaller width...feels quicker/compact when walking through my swing. I've felt this on some days throwing, but this actually makes me realize what it is to get this feeling rather than luck of the day.

What is the second pair of pictures illustrating? Considering I am starting from a bad tilt angle it looks like I am getting to a similar point as GG, although my right shoulder is high and he has a nice tilt. I assume this is the resulting swing plane he gets to because he started correctly, and my right shoulder high position is due to starting poorly? My lower body looks ok to me in the second pair, or am I missing anything?

 

[sidewinder22]

What is the second pair of pictures illustrating? Considering I am starting from a bad tilt angle it looks like I am getting to a similar point as GG, although my right shoulder is high and he has a nice tilt. I assume this is the resulting swing plane he gets to because he started correctly, and my right shoulder high position is due to starting poorly? My lower body looks ok to me in the second pair, or am I missing anything?

You are flat footed. GG is in a better titled spiral/tug of war/door frame position over toes and rear knee under hip and shoulder. Try moving your stance more inside the door frame/wider arm/hand and lower the hand position so your shoulder drops/folds back like a pendulum.

 

[slowplastic]

What are thoughts on the first right/lead foot sideways step going into the X-step...pressure on the toes or heel-toe ok? I see many pro's do it both ways. McBeth, Wysocki, and Koling seem to have pressure just on the toes of the right foot. Eagle, Simon, and Drew Gibson step heel-first going into the X-step. From there the left foot behind step is toe pressure and then into a closed plant in all cases.

 

[sidewinder22]

The only thing that really matters it how you stride off of it.

 

[Hoeschel]

I think staying on the balls might be easier because it kinda forces you into an athletic position. I bruised my right heel pretty badly playing soccer two weeks ago. So bad that it still hurts when walking slowly. I did not have a problem finishing the soccer match however because when i'm running, or switching directions quickly, i'm never on my heels.

Look at Rogers feet:

The only time his heels touch the ground is when he is hitting.

When you are moving you are pushing of the balls anyway. Staying on them sets you up to be somewhat balanced and athletic so that even when trying to be slow and smooth its easier to keep your body tension.

 

[slowplastic]

^I know one of my balance issues is being too far leaned left when viewed from the back of the teepad. My left hip/thigh are past my knee, and my spine is tilted leftward. It causes me to want to drift leftward in my X-step and I get a false closed feeling, rather than striding laterally and closing more at the end. I agree with you about the athletic balance on the toes thing, and feel that starting this way would make me stay this way. Just once I saw that several of the top throwers do the heel-toe step with the right foot, I wanted to know if this would lead me down the wrong path if I tried it as a way to stop myself from leaning too far past my toes in my X-step. I don't want to "overcorrect" something and start making an all new mistake.

 

[Hoeschel]

This is just a hunch and probably language related because i'm not a native english speaker but when you are referring to your toes do you mean the "fingers" on you feet or the balls? If you look at federer again he also is never on the foremost part of his feet but slightly behind. I just tried stepping back and forth between my feet and when my weight is too far forward on the feet i'm also moving slightly forward (or left when watching from behind). Doing this with power would probably exaggerate that motion.

 

[sidewinder22]

This is just a hunch and probably language related because i'm not a native english speaker but when you are referring to your toes do you mean the "fingers" on you feet or the balls? If you look at federer again he also is never on the foremost part of his feet but slightly behind. I just tried stepping back and forth between my feet and when my weight is too far forward on the feet i'm also moving slightly forward (or left when watching from behind). Doing this with power would probably exaggerate that motion.

Technically you are correct, toes would be "fingers". When we say to be more on or toward the toes, we mean off/away from the heel on the balls or insteps.

 

[slowplastic]

My problems aren't all fixed, but I have been making progress with my balance. I got the chance to get higher framerate video yesterday, so even though I have a good idea of my issues I wanted to post this since it is much better footage than I've been getting.

I've been feeling more upright and up on the toes. Dropping more into the plant. Yesterday when this was shot I was getting my elbow forward better...I tried to mimic how a lefty baseball swing would feel and that made my elbow problems easier to identify. But because I'm not closed enough in my shift I was griplocking shots relatively often.

I think I am still drifting my right foot too much to my left, I think it needs to be more under my right hip in the Hershyzer manner as I am turning back the pelvis, and then turn the right femur in more at the very end. This should help me load more and get more "drop" shift. I also need to turn deeper and later into the rear hip...I am getting more comfortable with with the upright posture so I can start working on that again without as much worry of tipping over. I also think I need to rise/extend more once my plant leg has dropped, I just end up on the bent front leg/knee and it doesn't extend at all during the throw. Does that sound about right?

https://vimeo.com/239188195

 

[sidewinder22]

Yeah looking better, still striding funky and not able to drop lower while more upright/less stride.

 

[slowplastic]

Yeah looking better, still striding funky and not able to drop lower while more upright/less stride.

Is the pop up onto the left toes/that left step ok, and mostly the plant step that is the funky part? Drop lower/more upright/less stride all makes sense with how the last step is looking vs. pro's.

Will I consciously be thinking about clearing the right hip back and extending, or if my balance is better will that sort of start to happen?

 

[sidewinder22]

Is the pop up onto the left toes/that left step ok, and mostly the plant step that is the funky part? Drop lower/more upright/less stride all makes sense with how the last step is looking vs. pro's.

Will I consciously be thinking about clearing the right hip back and extending, or if my balance is better will that sort of start to happen?

The left step looks fine, just looks a little off balance drifting left/not sinking/loading/squatting stacked into your rear hip enough.

I'd say it more happens, may need to think more about resisting/the move part 2.

 

[slowplastic]

Sinking/squatting into rear hip is a great wording. That helped me visualize how after I have popped "up" to my left toes in the X-step, to better load into that hip. I won't be able to throw for a couple of days but I think that will help me turn/load without tipping.

 

[slowplastic]

I think I figured something out, haven't got to throw with it yet, but let me know if it sounds right. I think I have been drifting left too much trying to get nose over toes by having head over foot. My head felt like it was balanced between my shoulder blades and over my plant foot. Having the head over feet this much made me feel closed, but I am not balanced because I drift left, my left shoulder jerks ahead in follow through, and my head does not stay in place.

Comparing my normal right handed baseball swing (pretty proper) to a lefty swing, I realized my head was way too much over toes. When I balanced my head over my lower back instead, my swing would open up in front of me and way more balanced. In a RHBH throwing motion I feel like my head is over the middle of my lower back...my spine I guess but to me it just feels like the inbetween my lower back. When I swing like this my rear leg extends fully out behind me, and I feel like the front edge of my left hip/pelvis wants to face the target immediately.

Does head over lower spine make sense, and left hip wanting to pop forward feel right? I'm not feeling a big right side clearing or rising but it seems to be happening. Again, have not had the chance to throw. I realize "upright and balanced" has been the constant advice but I hadn't been able to figure out how that felt.

 

[sidewinder22]

Maybe, hard to tell what you are describing or feeling. If it feels more like a mirrored righty baseball swing, then you are probably on the right path. I was a much better pitcher than batter, but matching the mirrored rear leg pitcher feeling really helped, I would even go through a full lefty windup just trying to mirror everything.

 

[slowplastic]

I haven't updated for a while, but I finally started on a new concept. Today was my first day throwing with it, so it's just the start. I had been thinking about the weight transfer from rear foot to plant foot, and have the momentum/tension lead my arm...that's why my arm would collapse and my swing plane would go up and dip, because it lagged. I'm now feeling how to anticipate my transfer/push behind me so it directly helps and impacts/counters at the hit point.

So essentially my weight transfer is timed a little differently and it feels like it engages at the hit point better. It was slippery today and the discs would get slippery, so I wasn't throwing super hard, but it was feeling like I had better leverage. I could still throw mids and fairways average distances and it felt smooth.

Also at the end I experimented with my left arm drive direction, normally I would pull it toward my torso at the shift and it would go out and around my body. I later was driving it more at my spine, it felt like I was almost directing my left arm's momentum behind the brace to counter instead. There are two videos from the side view, one with my normal left arm direction and the one where it's toward my spine, the difference is my head doesn't snap forward during the throw as badly. I think this left arm direction will help keep my torso more balanced around the spine? Or am I just band-aiding a poor balance issue that should be fixed with footwork or posture?

In the behind view, is my balance too far on my left toes/not stacked enough in that stride?

https://vimeo.com/252625257

Normal left arm direction, where my head drifts forward:

https://vimeo.com/252624951

Left arm directed more toward spine:

https://vimeo.com/252625164