Fake Bunt

Shawn, if you search on this site for 'forward press' under my username then you should find that I've described it in the past. A 'forward press' is basically a movement forward ... can be with the rear knee, a pre-weighting of the front leg, a hand movement forward, etc .... generally performed (sometimes unintentionally) to help improve the 'back swing', which in turn improves the 'forward swing'.

In the example below see how there is a lean forward to pre-weight the front-leg ... that is a form of 'forward press'. It is a movement that precedes the typical swing sequence ... and for many it becomes part of a bit longer sequence, albeit with the critical portions of the sequence generally being cleaner as a result.

FiveFrameSwing said:

Shawn, if you search on this site for 'forward press' under my username then you should find that I've described it in the past. A 'forward press' is basically a movement forward ... can be with the rear knee, a pre-weighting of the front leg, a hand movement forward, etc .... generally performed (sometimes unintentionally) to help improve the 'back swing', which in turn improves the 'forward swing'.

In the example below see how there is a lean forward to pre-weight the front-leg ... that is a form of 'forward press'. It is a movement that precedes the typical swing sequence ... and for many it becomes part of a bit longer sequence, albeit with the critical portions of the sequence generally being cleaner as a result.

Click to expand...

Oh, Ok I'm following you. Yes Cabrera does the weighting/unweighting. I have a good clip of that happening.

I call it weighting/unweighting, I like the forward press as well.

Shawn said:

I call it weighting/unweighting, I like the forward press as well.

Click to expand...

Thank you. This is another example of a 'forward press' ... similar to above example.

There's a real science behind the forward press/weighting/unweighting.

Shawn said:

There's a real science behind the forward press/weighting/unweighting.

Click to expand...

5frames,

Have you ever taught to push off/backwards with the front foot/leg after a forward press to load the back leg/hip (swing)?

Shawn, there are several mini drills that I've used to help gain the feel of a healthy 'back swing' into an even healthier 'forward swing'.

Keep in mind the goal ... often a hitter will come to me that is 'overly stiff' ... they don't have a 'back swing' like we see here.



The job is to help them find that looseness, sequence and synchronization.

A drill I've used to help get the feel is basically a three-stage hop ... hop forward, hop rearward, hop forward, hop rearward, hop forward, hop rearward and swing. I demo the drill and have a hitter attempt to mimic it ... then observe them to see if they get the action I wish them to capture.

Another drill I've used is simply to hop rearward and swing.

Another drill I've used is to use a mini-wedge under the rear foot to have a hitter "get on the hill" and swing.

Many ways to go about getting a hitter to find this ... including the 'fake bunt drill'.

Once you get a hitter into the sequence I try to have them duplicate it in their 'normal swing' ... which often now has to have a form of rhythm that allows them to mimic the enhanced 'back swing'.

If you are asking if I've ever directly taught various forms of a 'forward press', the answer is 'yes' ... however my preference is to use a drill to help a hitter 'find' the sequence and then give them an opportunity to see if they can build it into their normal swing. If they happen to achieve that by using a form of 'forward press', which some of them do, then I bring it to their attention and suggest they continue to work with their new 'forward press'.

While we are on the topic ... on occasion I'll see a hitter instructor remove a 'forward press' from a hitter ... for no reason other than it isn't what they believe is correct ... and the result is often a degradation in the hitter's sequence. The caution here being to think twice before removing a forward press from a hitter's sequence.

Matt Lisle tweeted recently, "One of my biggest growths as a hitting coach over the last 5 years is: saying less, listening more and doing more. "Trick them with drills" has been much more effective than "overwhelm them with info"."

Timely and kind of goes with this thread.

A useful drill along these lines with “forward press, reverse moves, etc” …once they start getting a good back swing sequence.... is using a balance pad or hitting pod under the rear foot and doing the same back swing. Its a good progression step...it helps develop a balance of mobility/stability in the core/rear hip. Can be a challenge for them to control it in the beginning.

Is that little back knee action forward before the stride starts one of the examples given in the golf video?