Someone explain to me the obsession with "knee drive" for hitting

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May 12, 2016
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Sounds a lot like people want to explain squish the bug, but can’t say “squish the bug” any longer
When it comes to the back foot many people are saying is anchor it, don't focus on releasing it.. it will get released.. squish the bug will not be an issue
 
Jul 29, 2013
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1596636473715-gif.18702

You got one of you doing what you say against a live pitch or in a live at bat?
You just posted it. Look at his front leg....the one that's using ground reaction force. The back leg comes off the ground, just like a basketball lay up, the leg on the ground does the work. The forward turn starts in earnest when his front heel contacts the ground.
Try this, drive your rear knee forward and let me know what your pelvis does.
 
Jul 29, 2013
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" "Drive the knee" or rotate the hips in order to coil and uncoil? "

Neither knee 'drives'. However, in pitching and hitting you should stride with the back leg, never the front. So, when you land, your head is well past your back foot.

Most cues in baseball like 'drive the knee' are nonsensical and/or destructive, and nobody knows what they mean, and you will waste the prime years of your kid's life trying to understand them.

Just coil the hips and shoulders 45 deg inward as you stride forward with your back leg. Isn't that easy to understand by anyone?
It's a forward move of the core, not a front leg move. If the front leg lifts off the ground, it moves itself and not the core. When the back leg lifts and moves forward it isn't moving the core, it is being pulled forward by the core.
All this coil stuff is BS. The inward turn doesn't load anything but the glute medius...there are bigger muscles to use. Notice that the aggressive movement happen after the hips are uncoiled from the rear leg?
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
It's a forward move of the core, not a front leg move. If the front leg lifts off the ground, it moves itself and not the core. When the back leg lifts and moves forward it isn't moving the core, it is being pulled forward by the core.
All this coil stuff is BS. The inward turn doesn't load anything but the glute medius...there are bigger muscles to use. Notice that the aggressive movement happen after the hips are uncoiled from the rear leg?

(y)
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
Another view ;)


Completely messed up my DD's swing for a whole season because we focused on back foot driving forward. She was loosing all ground force prematurely .. upper half had nothing to leverage against. I made a lot mistakes instructing her.. this was my biggest error.

He does a good job of outlining what Gurus see in video and try to replicate.. jumping to effect before learning the cause. That's why I like listening to the pros.. they normally discuss the cause which leads to the results we see in video
 
Jul 29, 2013
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Ever notice how far rearward your leg will extend? er... the angle past straight alignment with the pelvis... hip extension? And then compare that to the angle created as the rear knee "drives forward" during the swing?
So I ask, does the rear knee actually drive forward or does the femur reach its limit of rearward extension and get dragged forward?
 
Feb 25, 2020
953
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This could be the best argument to have.

This gif is very telling (pirated from Mud in another thread)

OaeEzpU.gif

And leads me to believe that TM is a little off the mark(but very close and very good). However, I think that AJ could not do this.

And I'm not quite sure how TM uses bonds as his example and comes up with his formula.

I really like rendon and he does a similar move. The rear knee does not drive so much as it gets into position. I think he's watched bonds.



I think that there is something missing from the "hit the ball with the rear hip"/TM philosophy. It also goes against the "anchor the rear leg" crowd.

It is very hard to explain.
 

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