Lessons I Learned This Weekend

[Bernerchiro]

Trying to feel the fused torso. Isolated it a bit taking out the wrist putting force into the handle and just trying to turn properly. Does this look correct?

[Teacherman]

Fusion is there. But he’s two legged rotating.

[Bernerchiro]

How would you describe the timing of the turn around the rear hip relative to the front leg getting down(maybe heel is better)? And relative to the bat starting rearward?

I think I may be off a bit in my timing where I’m starting the barrel rearward too late after my from foot is down, creating a 2 part swing.

There may also be a difference between the feel versus what actually happens.

Just trying to make sure I’m clear, thanks!

[Teacherman]

A high level swing at a well timed fastball will feel like you launch from one leg and then the lead leg lands.

Notice I said ‘feel’

[Bernerchiro]

Really trying to put it together fused up top while staying one legged. Experimenting with a few different setups and strides. Feels like I'm from the back leg but curious your thoughts.
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[Teacherman]

Yes. Rear legged. Nice improvement

[MIKER]

So how do we not rotate the hips but yet we emphasize belly button to the pitcher?

I cant grasp how you resist rotation, then bb to pitcher is emphasized?

Is the dont rotate que meant for the on set of the swing? Like dont do that first?

Thanks for access to the site. My heads spinning with all of these drills and knowledge.

[jryan15]

So how do we not rotate the hips but yet we emphasize belly button to the pitcher?

I cant grasp how you resist rotation, then bb to pitcher is emphasized?

Is the dont rotate que meant for the on set of the swing? Like dont do that first?

Thanks for access to the site. My heads spinning with all of these drills and knowledge.

It has taken myself and my DD years to learn this and only through prayer has answers came, but the way that the body rotates in the swing is far more simple than anyone realizes.

To start, you need to know that the job of the gluteus maximus is to extend your hip. When a high level athlete jumps, the biggest boost they get is when their glutes pop and their rear hip explosively extends. The thrust from the middle is what elevates them... High level jumping does not come from pushing your feet against the floor... Truth is, the glultes are the key to everything in the athletic world...

So onto hitting, when you coil your rear hip, it creates a misalignment in the hip joint. When you are coiled and your glute fires, it tries to extend your hip, but the hip is misaligned so it can't just extend. As the glute starts to extend your coiled hip, the misaligned hip will straighten itself out as it extends. This correction process is what will turn your body around and get you BB to the pitcher... The longer you pullback (ie let the hip extend), the more your body will continue to rotate around. An inside pitch takes a deeper pull back and will rotate you more than you need to for an outside pitch. Your brain will work all this out on its own so it's kind of a no teach, but good to know when analyzing your swing.

That's the magic. Teacherman's explanations and teachings will help you become more one legged and will lead you to a position in which this process should work... If you just play around with coiling your rear hip and then use your glutes to extend your hip, you'll see what I'm talking about. The next phase is to swing and feel it happen when your glutes fire against your coiled hip.

If you try and turn up top via shoulders or by using your core to turn your body, your glutes won't fire and the coiled hip won't turn you around.

One caveat is that some people's glutes don't fire just right so TM's instruction won't work. If you find that your rear hip is not responding (probably not an issue for most HS age athletes since most non-glute people wash out of sports before then), then there is a long road of trying to get your glutes to fire better.