Bow Squat or IR the rear hip only???

[redhotcoach]

Maybe when he is making an adjustment. Even then I see the same action, just not as visual.

but not when he is hitting his pitch.

 

[Buttermaker]

In both swings he gets to that bow legged look - nice clips! Cowboy up Big Papi!

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Anybody care to opine or discuss how well this approach accommodates a checked swing?

GM, I believe you may not understand the intent of this 'drill'.

I plan to work with it a bit this weekend. Will report back if my understanding is correct.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

[video=vimeo;100906548]http://vimeo.com/100906548[/video]

GM, I briefly experimented with the drill. At the risk of being incorrect I'll share my belief regarding the purpose of the drill.

To answer your question … this ‘approach’ does not accommodate a ‘check swing’ …. Mainly because this isn’t so much an ‘approach’ to perform a complete swing, but instead a drill to help encourage a particular portion of the swing. Once you feel/learn the portion of the swing being targeted, you incorporate that feel into your swing …. At which point you have an ‘approach’ that accommodates a ‘check swing’.

While the instruction is to “whip”, the portion of interest to be extracted has to do with the internal rotation of the rear leg, that pulls a resisting rear hip forward. Basically the rear leg movement following the FbC that heightens the overall 'stretch'. It is about developing this rear leg movement while giving a hitter a simplistic goal of whipping.

Think back to the “deltoid drill”, or better yet the “neck slot drill”. These drills were intended to emphasize lower body usage while taking the arms out of the equation. In a sense, by shutting down the arms the desire was that a hitter would find their lower body to perform the goal.

The same thing with this drill, except the hands are being used to turn the barrel “right now” against the lower back & rear hip … as the resisting rear hip is being pulled forward by the rear leg … and that feel is magnified by the “turning of the barrel”. Like with the “deltoid drill” and “neck slot drill”, the arms are taken out of the equation … and that is accomplished in this drill by simply not extending the arms … notice the maintenance of the ‘power-vee’ orientation with the rear arm.

IMO the drill is basically about helping a hitter find their lower body.

 

[tjintx]

Let's clear up some confusion as to what is being discussed in terms of the HIPS.
In the image below(thanks MUD) are 3 points as designated by the top of the jeans that could be considered the HIPS when speaking of the HIPS resisting rotation or the HIPS firing. The HIPS are not to be confused with the pelvis or pelvic girdle. The pelvic girdle is where you would rest your hands if you had your hands on your hips. Let's hear where YOU(anyone) think the HIPs are located when speaking of HIP resistance or HIP rotation. This is important to know so we get on the same page when talking about the Top of the bottom and the bottom of the top. What's turning and what's being turned.

 

[tjintx]

For me, these 2 red arrows are pointing at the hips, well below the beltline.

 

[tjintx]

The "Launch Movement" thread is focusing on the time frame discussed in this thread.

Perform the movement in this thread in front of a wall or net, about 2 feet away.
Hold a bat with the lead forearm square to the wall in front of you and the bat pointing straight up in the air.
Use you legs, hips, and core to turn the pelvis/belly button toward the pitcher AND at the same time pronate the lead forearm moving the barrel tip from straight up to flat pointing behind you while keeping the forearm square to the wall. Both shoulder should remain square to the wall. Resistance should be felt from the legs up to the mid back(below the shoulder blades). You should be able to move your arms freely. Some force the scap to clamp here. Instead, focus on the shoulder, arms, hands resisting rotation of the torso. Then the spine will be turned into the scap.
Be sure the torso stays over the COM and doesn't fall backwards.
So what is happening during this phase of the swing?????
I say, the body is clearing the way while the eyes and hands are deciding where....
Get the body out of the way and the hands can deliver the barrel....

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I say, the body is clearing the way while the eyes and hands are deciding where....
Get the body out of the way and the hands can deliver the barrel....

I agree with that description.

 

[Howe]

The "Launch Movement" thread is focusing on the time frame discussed in this thread.

Perform the movement in this thread in front of a wall or net, about 2 feet away.
Hold a bat with the lead forearm square to the wall in front of you and the bat pointing straight up in the air.
Use you legs, hips, and core to turn the pelvis/belly button toward the pitcher AND at the same time pronate the lead forearm moving the barrel tip from straight up to flat pointing behind you while keeping the forearm square to the wall. Both shoulder should remain square to the wall. Resistance should be felt from the legs up to the mid back(below the shoulder blades). You should be able to move your arms freely. Some force the scap to clamp here. Instead, focus on the shoulder, arms, hands resisting rotation of the torso. Then the spine will be turned into the scap.
Be sure the torso stays over the COM and doesn't fall backwards.
So what is happening during this phase of the swing?????
I say, the body is clearing the way while the eyes and hands are deciding where....
Get the body out of the way and the hands can deliver the barrel....

Some really good discussions taking place! This is what it's all about.

 

[tjintx]

I'm adding this to the drill above as an addition to compliment the movement. To intensify a feeling and focus on small movements within the drill that can help gain proper sequencing. Above I stated the hitter should avoid scap clamp and hold. Although I still believe that I also recognize that a hitter that doesn't know what it feels like to get connected and stay connected will struggle when the body activates to swing.

One of my favorite analogies to use for hitting instruction is the gears of car. When we take off from a stop, the car is in first gear. We accelerate for a while then shift into second gear. After more acceleration we shift into third gear and so on. Athletic movements work in a very similar fashion. For the swing, the legs are the first gear (they have the most torque), the torso is the second gear, and the arms/hands are the third gear (they have the least torque). If we try to get into a higher gear too quickly, our acceleration will stall and we will not achieve maximum bat speed.

One of the most common flaws in the swing is getting the arms/hands going too early, bypassing the rotation of the torso. This is bad because the arms and hands are pretty weak muscles compared to the muscles in the torso, so bat speed suffers.
How we allow the swing to stay in 2nd gear for the correct time is equal parts movement and timing. The movement is pretty simple. Hold your rear arm out with the elbow parallel to the ground. Now depress your rear shoulder blade in toward your chest, causing your chest to stick out about an inch. That’s it. Now the timing part is key. It has to be done while the front shoulder gets retracted. By holding onto the bat with the upper back, the front side movement is going to take the slack out of the front arm. Also, by delaying the movement of the bat with the arms, we stay in second gear a little longer. Remember, we can only use a higher gear once we get enough speed. We must get full use of the torso rotation.

This rear shoulder movement is small but very important. Just for fun, load the rear shoulder again. Now see how far you can get the rear elbow going without rotating your torso or losing the rear shoulder depression. Not far at all. Now see how far you can move your elbow without the rear shoulder engaged. Big difference. This rear shoulder movement keeps the elbow from leading the swing too much

Try it out, preset yourself or your hitter with the front shoulder retracted and the rear shoulder blade pressing into the chest. Take some tee swings trying to hold the feeling as your body works open. This is exactly the result the split grip should give you. It forces the hitter to hold the bat with there upper back instead of the arms.