Forearm fire and Internal Rotation

[FiveFrameSwing]

If you look at Ueno closely you will see she is actually pointing more towards 3rd at 1200 then kind of flips her arm into the skyward position at 900.

Observe the thoracic extension taking place during this portion of her pitching motion.

 

[StormChase]

Observe how her foot was orientated to 45-deg just before landing, but then corrects. That correction was one thing a poster here spoke of as a speed contribution.

Yeah that's what I was figuring. Not ideal to teach that to young pitchers off the bat. In order to maintain FSR with the toe pointed towards the catcher needs a well developed core

 

[STRIKE3]

Bill Hillhouse has written frequently of the arm whipping from the elbow, to fingers.

"The magic happens when you stop TRYING to make it drop and whip it like you're throwing as hard as possible with the right release point."

"too much emphasis is put on the wrist which eliminates the Elbow snap. If the elbow is trained to SNAP (as it does for an overhand pitcher) then the wrist will also snap."

"But a lot of girls are not taught to use their elbow to whip, which helps the wrist to snap naturally, and the fingers to generate the spin."

"To get more spin, make sure the elbow, wrist AND fingers all working in sequence."

"It's just about getting her body to work correctly, the way it's designed to achieve the most from it. That includes the whip needed from the elbow, wrist and fingers."

"The main thing that is needed for the movement, which I did elaborate in the DVD is the elbow whip."

"It's not about going across to the other side with the arm, it's about making sure the elbow snaps or whips just as it does when you throw a ball overhand."

"The way our bodies are designed and move kinetically, if she's snapping the elbow... the wrist and fingers are going to snap forward in sequence."

"snap through the pitch (elbow, wrist and fingers in that order)."

"the more she loosens her elbow and whips across her body, the more RPM's you'll see"

"If you work on the elbow whip or snap, then by the way your body is designed, the wrist is going to whip or snap too. So, work the elbow."

"I'm a big believer that the elbow whip is the key to additional spin and movement, and to achieve top speed."

"concentrate on whipping your elbow as hard as you can.... just as a baseball player whips his elbow when throwing a FB overhand."

"Most of all, a good elbow whip will provide the kinetic chain to give max rotation. Elbow, wrist and fingers... in that order. The more one whips the elbow, the wrist and fingers HAVE to follow by the way the body functions. So don't concentrate on the wrist, don't concentrate on the fingers. DO concentrate on the elbow."

"I tell people to concentrate on the whip or snap (choose your word) of your elbow (same as a baseball pitcher would describe) and the results will happen almost instantly"

"All I can tell you is, the way I teach things and the way I do it myself is more about trying to whip my elbow."

"One of the basic core beliefs I instruct is to have as much of a whip/snap of my elbow at the release of the ball. I believe the elbow to be one of the biggest keys to the pitch: regardless of the pitch being thrown."

THIS^^^^

FFS, thanks for posting and IMO a big part of IR that is not understood by many and overlooked initially thus leaving a TON of velocity on the table.

 

[Ken B]

I haven't checked into FF in a while. Hopefully the instruction has evolved. Both Phil and his daughter Carly used to stop by the site. Hopefully either sees this thread and can offer any updates to what they're doing. My hope is that they've grown and modified. They touch a lot of kids and it would be incredible if they'd updated their teachings. Here's a couple older threads talking about the differences:

https://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/19284-forearm-fire-vs-ir-2.html
https://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/13597-pitching-i-r-help-please.html

 

[wheresmycar]

Was watching this Water Bottle Drill for pitching... listen carefully in the background at the 42 second mark... I had to play it back a couple of times, then I immediately thought of this thread...

 

[Hillhouse]

Why not just throw a ball instead of a water bottle? I don't understand why you'd throw a water bottle.

LOL @ the guy whispering "Forearm fire" at 42 seconds.

Bill

 

[Barr110]

Bill Hillhouse has written frequently of the arm whipping from the elbow, to fingers.

"The magic happens when you stop TRYING to make it drop and whip it like you're throwing as hard as possible with the right release point."

"too much emphasis is put on the wrist which eliminates the Elbow snap. If the elbow is trained to SNAP (as it does for an overhand pitcher) then the wrist will also snap."

"But a lot of girls are not taught to use their elbow to whip, which helps the wrist to snap naturally, and the fingers to generate the spin."

"To get more spin, make sure the elbow, wrist AND fingers all working in sequence."

"It's just about getting her body to work correctly, the way it's designed to achieve the most from it. That includes the whip needed from the elbow, wrist and fingers."

"The main thing that is needed for the movement, which I did elaborate in the DVD is the elbow whip."

"It's not about going across to the other side with the arm, it's about making sure the elbow snaps or whips just as it does when you throw a ball overhand."

"The way our bodies are designed and move kinetically, if she's snapping the elbow... the wrist and fingers are going to snap forward in sequence."

"snap through the pitch (elbow, wrist and fingers in that order)."

"the more she loosens her elbow and whips across her body, the more RPM's you'll see"

"If you work on the elbow whip or snap, then by the way your body is designed, the wrist is going to whip or snap too. So, work the elbow."

"I'm a big believer that the elbow whip is the key to additional spin and movement, and to achieve top speed."

"concentrate on whipping your elbow as hard as you can.... just as a baseball player whips his elbow when throwing a FB overhand."

"Most of all, a good elbow whip will provide the kinetic chain to give max rotation. Elbow, wrist and fingers... in that order. The more one whips the elbow, the wrist and fingers HAVE to follow by the way the body functions. So don't concentrate on the wrist, don't concentrate on the fingers. DO concentrate on the elbow."

"I tell people to concentrate on the whip or snap (choose your word) of your elbow (same as a baseball pitcher would describe) and the results will happen almost instantly"

"All I can tell you is, the way I teach things and the way I do it myself is more about trying to whip my elbow."

"One of the basic core beliefs I instruct is to have as much of a whip/snap of my elbow at the release of the ball. I believe the elbow to be one of the biggest keys to the pitch: regardless of the pitch being thrown."

When you say "snap of your elbow," does this result on the arm being forced to full extension? In the videos of I/R pitching, I always see the elbows with a slight bend until after the release. What am I missing?

 

[Barr110]

Why not just throw a ball instead of a water bottle? I don't understand why you'd throw a water bottle.

LOL @ the guy whispering "Forearm fire" at 42 seconds.

Bill

How do you know if the pitcher is snapping the elbow? Does the arm fully extend to create the snap feeling?

 

[Ken B]

No

How do you know if the pitcher is snapping the elbow? Does the arm fully extend to create the snap feeling?

No, but it feels like it. The elbow always maintains some flexion.

 

[STRIKE3]

No

No, but it feels like it. The elbow always maintains some flexion.

I like that @kenballard74.