Timing

Jeff Kneiert said:

Can you explain this and show some video? Also you keep referring to Rudy J. I am new here and am not familiar with his work, where can I find out more?

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Can I explain the synchronization involved with the upper body along with the coil? Yes, I could ... but it would help if you had a key point on that you would like to discuss. First understand the sequence ... Coil-Stretch-Swing ... if that isn't obvious, then let me know and we can provide video segments cutting that up and helping understand the basic functionality of a 3-step overall view of the swing. Again, it would help if you had an example issue in this area. Let me give an example of a hitter I recently worked with ...... she had an issue in that she had a built-in need, or a heavy desire, to first perform a portion of her upper body load (i.e., stretch) prior to her coil. It was significantly dampening her real capability in terms of how to coil. The issue was that her upper body was badly out of sync with her lower body. I gave this young lady about 6 options to help her obtain the sync. She seriously struggled to learn the sequence of Coil-Stretch .... however, when I got to the sixth option, BHUT, then it all came into play for her. Learning BHUT allowed her to get the sequence of Coil-Stretch correctly ..... and as an added bonus, she was hitting absolute bombs once she learned the sequence.

As for RudyJ ... here's a photo of Rudy. Rudy is a well paid hitting coach for MLB ... having served as a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, he is now the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs. He's been successful, so IMO he's someone worthy of learning what you can from. Rudy's definition of "separation" basically equates to the sequence of "Coil-Stretch" ... and Rudy considers this an absolute in the swing .... and myself, I consider it very important.

Rudy Jaramillo

FiveFrameSwing said:

As for RudyJ ... here's a photo of Rudy. Rudy is a well paid hitting coach for MLB ... having served as a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers, he is now the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs. He's been successful, so IMO he's someone worthy of learning what you can from. Rudy's definition of "separation" basically equates to the sequence of "Coil-Stretch" ... and Rudy considers this an absolute in the swing .... and myself, I consider it very important.

Rudy Jaramillo

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The problem with Jaramillo is that his timing of separation -- such as when the front foot should get down -- is demonstrably wrong.

He wants the front foot to get down MUCH too early.

I have seen this create problems in two pro clients.

P.S. Timing is what the hitter does relative to where the pitcher is in their motion. Generally, what FFS is talking about is sequencing, not timing.

Chris O'Leary said:

The problem with Jaramillo is that his timing of separation -- such as when the front foot should get down -- is demonstrably wrong.

He wants the front foot to get down MUCH too early.

I have seen this create problems in two pro clients.

P.S. Timing is what the hitter does relative to where the pitcher is in their motion. Generally, what FFS is talking about is sequencing, not timing.

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CO, that is not how Rudy teaches separation. Do you have his DVD. He explained it fairly well there.

Chris O'Leary said:

Generally, what FFS is talking about is sequencing, not timing.

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IMO, the sequence used influences one's timing ability. If you wish to improve a hitter's timing, first make sure their sequence is correct .... then enhance their 'stretch' mechanics within a correct sequence (read Dixon's book on the differences between a "good" and "exceptional" hitter).

FiveFrameSwing said:

CO, that is not how Rudy teaches separation. Do you have his DVD. He explained it fairly well there.

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There's a video on MLB.com...

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | Rudy Jaramillo hitting tips - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

...that shows how he explains and teaches separation, and it's wrong.

FiveFrameSwing said:

IMO, the sequence used influences one's timing ability. If you wish to improve a hitter's timing, first make sure their sequence is correct .... then enhance their 'stretch' mechanics within a correct sequence (read Dixon's book on the differences between a "good" and "exceptional" hitter).

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That's fine, but timing and sequencing are two different topics.

Lots of people have great sequencing but their timing is all wrong so the sequencing goes to waste (because their swing is either early or late).

Chris O'Leary said:

There's a video on MLB.com...

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | Rudy Jaramillo hitting tips - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

...that shows how he explains and teaches separation, and it's wrong.

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Rudy uses a different definition of “separation” than many use.

At the 53-sec mark of the video you presented he describes his definition of “separation”. "Separation: 1: Separation requires the hands and front foot to go in opposite directions at the same time."

You might view Rudy's definition of "separation" to be roughly equivalent to "stretch". IMO, Rudy explains the concept better in his DVD than what is shown in the above link.

Chris O'Leary said:

Lots of people have great sequencing but their timing is all wrong so the sequencing goes to waste (because their swing is either early or late).

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YES - this is the fundamental difference between a good "swinger" and a good "hitter". I'd like to see this discussed further w/ the assumption that the swing (or sequence) is sound.

FFS,

I was asking about the "hand movement sync with coil". What is that? Also what is BHUT? I'm having trouble teaching my daughter to coil-stretch-swing. Also can you explain the "fusion points" you keep referring to?

Jeff Kneiert said:

I was asking about the "hand movement sync with coil". What is that? Also what is BHUT? I'm having trouble teaching my daughter to coil-stretch-swing. Also can you explain the "fusion points" you keep referring to?

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Believe it or not, but what you ask is not only important, but chapters could be written on it.

Let's tackle Coil-Stretch first. As simple as this may sound, it isn't necessarily simple. In fact, it can be difficult for someone that has built a habit of swinging with an improper sequence. Seriously .... this sequence is KEY ... and as simple as it may sound, there are a few bumps that folks run into that make it more difficult of a nut to crack. Then again ... some kids just get it without a wrinkle. I've dealt with both.

It really would help to have a video clip of the hitter in question. That would speed things up for both of us and allow you to receive better targeted input. I'll respect your choice.

First, let's cover the Coil. Get your daughter coiling, and then I'll have you describe her upper body action during her coil and we'll work to quiet that down and build the Coil-Stretch sequence.

We'll cover BHUT when we work on 'Stretch'.

Here's an example of a hitter Coiling.



See if you and your daughter can duplicate this. Have fun with it. Challenge her to see if she can do it better than you .... she may surprise you.

Notice that the Coil into the Rear Hip is timed with the lifting of the front foot off of the ground. Duplicate that. Coil into the rear hip as you lift your front foot off the ground.

I'm not asking you or her to stride ... but for now, I am asking the both of you to lift your front foot off the ground, and to time this with Coiling into the rear hip.

Do this ... and describe to me what your daughter does. Describe how she Coils. Does she truly coil into her rear hip (i.e., does she get her panties into a bunch towards her rear hip area), or does she sit into her rear leg, or does she sway backwards. Depending on your answer we'll proceed in a particular direction.

One more observation. Notice that this hitter's hands are relatively quiet during his coil. He isn't bringing his hands backwards towards his launch position in a meaningful way just yet. In other words, he isn't using his upper body to Coil into his rear hip by winding or counter rotating his upper body. He is doing some smart things to avoid that .... but it may not be obvious. I want you to describe to me the action of your daughter's upper body during the coil.

Report back and we'll go from there.

Send a video clip and we'll advance much quicker.