Bat Path

[fanboi22]

Tell her to choke up on the bat. Then you grab the knob directly behind her. Tell her she has to get the knob to the pitcher as fast and has hard as she can. You will resist her like you are in a tug of war. If she uses her arm, shoulders, she will be weak. If she plants her rear leg into the ground with the pressure on the inside of her rear foot and she uses her core and bottom hand to yank that knob incredible aggressively toward the pitcher, then you are halfway there. Battle her in this move. Resist. Make her turn with everything she has to get that knob forward. Do it again and again until she is pulling with a force you have to fight against.

If she can understand this part then the rest is easy. It is simply straight to the ball. Chop Chop. From there.

Hey James, so we tried this drill yesterday and the first thing that happens was a pain in her lead shoulder. So I had her hold it and felt the same thing. Front arm pulling. I am not a good hitter so it isn’t surprising.

In any case. Curious as to trying it again. I tried to get her to feel the whole core pulling but couldn’t get away from the lead shoulder doing most of the pulling.

Maybe should we try it without lead arm? Like the rear arm small bat drill? Is that where the power should come from? Rear arm/top hand? I guess this is another thing I hadn’t felt or worried about.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fanboi22]

While you're testing, try to feel the rear hip directing/leading the punch. Similar to how MT uses his to direct/lead his punches to two different locations on his opponents...

Hopefully you can see the difference of one pulling the arm/hand from the bottom/"ground up", and the other taking the rear hip over the top to what would have been a "swing down" if his opponent's head hadn't got in the way, and he had continued it forward.

Hey Mud, i had tried some of these feels and really couldn't figure it out. I couldn't reconcile the movements in my head to relate to the swing with a bat. Maybe a different type of punch or an open hand slap makes a better path. I think i will go back to the iso drill that has been mentioned but use the towel.

I think @RollingHard mentioned holding the students shoulders/delts, however i think there must be a benefit to hold onto something like she would be holding the bat. I think that will help the feel. Thanks.

 

[TDS]

Hey James, so we tried this drill yesterday and the first thing that happens was a pain in her lead shoulder. So I had her hold it and felt the same thing. Front arm pulling. I am not a good hitter so it isn’t surprising.

In any case. Curious as to trying it again. I tried to get her to feel the whole core pulling but couldn’t get away from the lead shoulder doing most of the pulling.

Maybe should we try it without lead arm? Like the rear arm small bat drill? Is that where the power should come from? Rear arm/top hand? I guess this is another thing I hadn’t felt or worried about.

Thanks in advance.

I am guessing the front side isn't leveraged before using the core..

 

[Bobby Shirer]

Soooo, i have a question. In working with my DD i have tried to get her to feel her core, and with that the obliques and abs (to a lesser degree). So i pretend i am going to punch her in the side and have her scrunch up. I feel the oblique crunch 'launches' the swing and starts the turn around the spine. This is to limit the 'armsy' swing my DD had/has. It is more scrunch i feel to get more tilt and more around - like twisting, on the higher pitches, less tilt.

I have recently tried to feel hip extension thru glute and hammy actions based on info i got from my DD's strength and conditioning coach. But when i see someone like Miggy have a relatively 'dead leg' and more of an anchor, i cannot see how the rear leg propels or drives anything. I can see where it is used as a 'mover' (as you called it) but more just as a carrier to get the body out where it needs to go. Less so on a no stride swing.

So i am of the mind the obliques do a lot. Maybe i missed your describing something different. So apologies if i am off base. Thanks in advance.

Because the rear leg only creates forward momentum and sets up the pelvis angle to be offset when pushed against by the front leg.
The front leg Force applied away from center of mass of the pelvis creates rotation.

The obliques stretch to allow the hips and shoulders to separate during the stride. Then when the front leg pushes rearward against the pelvis creating rotation, the obliques contract and realign the shoulders with the hips.
Look at the bat and the hip/shoulder alignment up to the point when the front heel contacts the ground. Then see what happens when the front knee extends and drives that end of the pelvis rearward. The rear leg becomes unweighted, rotates back to its neutral position and then catches the hitter as they fall backwards from the rearward push of the front leg.
Obliques aren't very strong in comparison to glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Use the legs.

There are guys who will promote keeping the hips still and using the obliques to turn the shoulders ahead of the hips.
But it makes me wonder, why eliminate the stongest muscles of the body?
Forward momentum-separation-front leg drive- realignment, uses leg and core muscles.
There are lots of heavy weight bearing exercises to build strength in the legs.....can that be said about the obliques? How much weight can you side bend?

 

[james27503]

Hey James, so we tried this drill yesterday and the first thing that happens was a pain in her lead shoulder. So I had her hold it and felt the same thing. Front arm pulling. I am not a good hitter so it isn’t surprising.

In any case. Curious as to trying it again. I tried to get her to feel the whole core pulling but couldn’t get away from the lead shoulder doing most of the pulling.

Maybe should we try it without lead arm? Like the rear arm small bat drill? Is that where the power should come from? Rear arm/top hand? I guess this is another thing I hadn’t felt or worried about.

Thanks in advance.

Shoulders and arms can't do the pulling. They are weak comparatively and that is why she/you felt some pain. It is like your shoulders and arms are locked into place. The bottom hand is pulling but it is an extension from your core.

Check out this video. He locks his arms out but batters should hold the triangle.

 

[Work=wins]

Shoulders and arms can't do the pulling. They are weak comparatively and that is why she/you felt some pain. It is like your shoulders and arms are locked into place. The bottom hand is pulling but it is an extension from your core.

Check out this video. He locks his arms out but batters should hold the triangle.

you could throw a med ball with direction as well.

 

[james27503]

you could throw a med ball with direction as well.

That is a great idea!!, If you try to use just your arms you will fail.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Shoulders and arms can't do the pulling. They are weak comparatively and that is why she/you felt some pain. It is like your shoulders and arms are locked into place. The bottom hand is pulling but it is an extension from your core.

Check out this video. He locks his arms out but batters should hold the triangle.

How high would you set the pulley if you were exercising for power in your swing.

 

[Bobby Shirer]

Don't need to use the ground, and/or have firm footing underneath your rear foot/leg? OK.

Yes, there are swings where the obliques will lead the hips....

.... and will be the primary mover/swinger of the bat. Turn and run, and use the rear obliques to pull the rear shoulder, arms, hands, and bat "down to" the ball. Perfectly executed.

I don't see it. Which frame(s) are the obliques leading the hips?

 

[james27503]

How high would you set the pulley if you were exercising for power in your swing.

I would set the pulley at the height of your hands at launch position