The sound of 'hollow' power (TIP)

Ok forgive my cryptic title. It's a slow day at the office (it's the 24th of Dec) and I feel like being creative. Anyhow, I thought I begin my 'TIPS' blogs with a little tidbit that's beneficial to every player, 2.5 to 4.5. Heres goes.

Have you ever gone to a professional tennis tournament (ITF, ATP, WTA) and gone to practice courts? Have you ever closed your eyes and just listen to the sound the tennis racquet makes when the balls thier strings? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. It's a hollow sounding 'popping' sound. Your first impression is wow they are hitting the ball hard but when you look at the players hitting it looks so effortless. No strain on thier faces or nor do they look tense. There just going along their every day business while blasting forehand and backhands 70-75 mphs.

Can you do this? Impossible? Not quite. I'm going to show you a way to produce that hollow popping sound and maximize the easy power potential in your swing. It all begins with your grip. 90% of all rec players grip the racquet too hard. Here's the problem though, to tighten your grip you need to contract the muscles in your forearm, that in turn makes the arm stiff and rigid which robs you of power and makes your arm a shock absorber (ow!). Yes, yes I know, you need a firm grip to play tennis, you've been told that a hundred times. They truth is you only need to firm up your grip at one point during your swing. That's right, the moment of contact.

Ok. Next time your out on the court try this. Hold the racquet in your hitting hand loosely. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 having it slip from your hand and 10 gripping it as hard as you can, try a 3. Another one I like to use it hold it as you were holding a bird, not tight enough to crush it but tight enough to not let it fly away. Now take a few shadow swings with the racquet. Feel the how effortless the racquet flows through the air with your loose grip and arm relaxed. I know what your thinking, I couldn't possibly hit a groundstroke like this. Now here's the trick. When swinging, you want to tighten your grip a bit right before the moment of contact. Then after contact let the grip revert back to it's previous loose mode as it glides over your shoulder to the follow-thru position.

It will take a while to master. Sometimes I have people whisper to themselves - 'Loose' - 'Squeeze' - 'Loose' - outloud to help develop a rhythm. The 1st loose being in the racquet take back, squeeze being the contact, and the 2nd loose being the follow thru. However, once you've got it down, you should notice that your racquet is gliding through the air faster and more fluidly. Moreover, you see a effortless increase of power on your shots. It will feel like your hitting the ball less hard but watch that ball fly with wicked spin and pace. Lastly, you should hear a distinctive hollow, popping sound when striking the ball. This is generated by the sound of strings and racquet flexing and taking the impact of the ball rather then your arm. Strive to make this sound with every shot and always remind yourself it's related to how tight/loose your grip and arm is.

So keep popping those balls and I'll see you next post!

Anyhow, I hope this helps. Merry X-mas and Happy New Year.

Mike

Crazy Marat for another year.

(Taken from the offical marat safin website)

Friday 19.12.08 Marat News
Marat has made his decision and decided he will continue playing tennis for next year 2009. At the moment he will play Hopman Cup from 3rd January then Kooyong and the Australian Open where he will be seeded 29. Further details of his schedule will be released as and when available.

It's official folks we've got the crazy stud for one more year. Yeah, it's true, I'm a fanboi of Marat. However, let's be clear now, he drives me nuts, like pull my hair out, throw the remote through the window, beat my head against the wall nuts. Despite this, I still watch his matches and yes, they are entertaining, win, loss or well self-implosion. Well it's good to have him around for 2009. It was kinda of hilarious to think he was just as popular as number 90 in the world as number 3-4, maybe even more so.

Yeah, he's had his critics over the years. Yeah he probably could of won 2-3 more grand slams had he stayed focused more or was more mentally tough. 'Great talent but wasted' is the usual commentator quote. Personally, I don't think he's wasted anything at all. He's lived his life on his terms and played out the career the way he wanted to. Yeah, he get's frustrated on the court, he's blown matches but he's also played some of most brilliant artistic tennis against the worlds greats. You take the highs and the lows.

Honestly, sometimes during one of his tirades, I take comfort in the fact of how truly human he is. We've all dropped our racquets in disgust. Wanted to scream aloud after a blown overhead. Hell I've never broken a racquet but I've come pretty close. IMHO, I think that's why people like him. When people see Marat, they see parts of themselves out on the tennis court oppose to most of the other emotionally flat robots out there. He feels the game, it means something to him whether he takes it by the horns or throws it away in disgust. There's an emotional connection to the game we've all felt whether we're up 3-1 or down break point. That's why we love the guy. Here's to you big guy. Davai!

Wow my first blog....

Hi folks,

This is my first blog ever. I've heard about other people doing this stuff but I've never really guts to make a online diary. Anyhow I've dedicated this blog to everything tennis, tennis, tennis. It's not a far stretch to say I'm a huge fan of the game in all aspects. These include the Mental side, the technical side, all tennis equipment and brands and I just love watching the professional circuits both mens and womens.

I've played college tennis but everyday I'm still out there busting my butt trying to make myself and others better. So here I am to share what I've learned and what I'm still learning about playing and teaching tennis.

Thus the journey begins. This is my story. Hope you can join me.

Mike