Swing A Tennis Racket Like A Weight Instead Using It Like A Tool
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- čas přidán 5. 02. 2018
- www.feeltennis.net/racket-swing/
One of the most common problems in the game of tennis is that players don't use their whole body to hit strokes and they don't swing their rackets.
Instead they typically just use their arms to move their racket around and that is a very straining way of playing tennis that sometimes results in injuries.
Instead of getting to technical with explanations of the kinetic chain and how you need to engage your body segments in the correct sequence, we can cut through all those technicalities with a more simple approach.
Use your racket more like a weight and less like a tool.
That's the topic of this week's article and I invite you to check it out and see where I am going with this idea.
I'll show you how using your racket like a weight encourages you to use your body more and swing the racket more effortlessly.
You'll also learn many reasons why you may be using your racket like a tool and not like a weight as this is a very common problem in tennis. - Sport
WARNING: a long message follows!
I'm about to heap even more praise on you, Tomaz, I sincerely hope your head does not explode. This was perhaps the best video you have ever made. You address such central and fundamental themes on the mental aspects of tennis technique, you just don't see that anywhere else on the Tennisnet.
You also sounded frustrated, okay I'll say it - pissed off. You must run into this ALL..THE..TIME, especially with us older players. I'm sorry for that. You are such a dedicated and sincere "thinking man's" tennis coach; just to let you know - we can see that from out here. From the time and effort you put into your channel and website, to the way you communicate these points to us.
That was another thing I wanted to address: your English is absolutely spot on. The way you sprinkle in familiar slang terms (my forehand sucks) and phrase your messages (...hit every ball in your life 'in'), coupled with a lovely hint of foreign accent, is both humorous and effective.
I wish that you would never get tired of making these videos, but I know one day you will. Nobody does anything forever. At least we'll have this canon of enlightening and entertaining tennis instruction that we can go back to and watch, smile and maybe, just maybe, take onto the court and figure out how to play this confounded game of tennis.
Thank you for everything you do, Tomaz. Thanks.
Thank you very much, James, I really appreciate your kind feedback. Most of my ideas for videos come from daily work and of course frustrations that sometimes happen.
I am looking to help out fellow tennis enthusiasts with some ideas so that when they come and see my we'll work on something new since one of these videos already helped them solve a certain problem. ;)
I agree with everything you said, James!Tomaz, your channel is the best tennis instruction on youtube. I'm a novice (playing 2,5 years now) and your tips and explanations are invaluable to me. Even my tennis instructors aren't explaining things so clearly as you do. Tennis should be played graciously and indeed, as you are teaching us, by using your whole body. This is my goal, much more than winning matches, and I hope to learn from you as much as possible.Thanks for your effort and dedication!
I personally run into about 50% of players who absolutely detest any conversations about improving technique, practicing, etc. Heck I even know a few who don’t even want to warm up, they just get out of the car and say let’s go, first in on the first serve and so the match begins!
I’m fortunate though that I’ve run into quite a few tennis friends who really love to practice as well and work on improving. I say to each there own but as one friend has told me, “we are lucky because we both are very satisfied by the feeling of a well struck ball”. Consequently we have amazing hit sessions and I can really focus on improving my footwork and improving strokes!
This reminds me of my Dad teaching me the "pendulum swing" in using a golf club. Let the club (or now racquet) do the work. There's the physics, the pendulum is the swing, the pivot is the person.
Relaje por favor. 🎾
Someone give this man a medal 🏅 🏅
Best video on this subject. This guy is such an exceptional trainer, i say he is the best online trainer. Great video.
1000000% agree
Yeah, he is the best.
MD M Totally agree!
Agreed! I’ve subscribed to quite a few other online instructors and they can become mundane, repetitive etc so a lot of times I just dismiss the notification. I never dismiss Tomaz’s material, he is the best!!
I'm only at 3 minutes and this is completely brilliant.
Your ability to communicate ideas with clarity are life lessons themselves. These words hit me most: "They want to control every single ball they hit in their life, they want to play every point, they cannot afford to miss, and they cannot afford to experiment." I cant remember who said this: "but we dont improve ourselves to play tennis, we play tennis to improve ourselves." Much appreciated your channel!!
Man - is this guy a genius or what?! Incredible insight. Love it man. Keep up the good work!
Sorry, I forgot to acknowledge this instructor as a really knowledgeable teacher. Thanks a lot man!
A genius man. Thank you God there is Tomaz and his priceless videos.
This video is so helpful! I started to play points for the first time recently, and I felt like someone had taken over my body. My strokes feel very good in practice, but with all the pressures and emotions of playing points, suddenly every stroke was all arms, no body and I was way to focused on control.
Watching this video as well the mental tennis talk videos and doing some reflecting today :)
Unbelievable material here. This concept of using the racket as a weight makes perfect sense in the topspin groundstrokes and serve. Thank you Thomas!
Thanks for the great video Tomaz. Swinging the racket like a weight is the single-most important concept when trying to hit a real serve. I have played tennis for a decade. I took lessons as a child to young teenager, and played on-and-off with friends since then. I never could fully understand a real serve until now. I used a continental grip, I tossed with a straight arm, I got into a trophy position, and I would swing and pronate. My serves would always lack speed, control, and my muscles would contract in my arm. Only when I saw your video on the total-serve and swinging in a circular path did I manage to put together something resembling a proper serve, and I was amazed at how easy it is to generate a fast serve.
I am no physicist, but I do have some engineering training and I believe I understand the core concept after thinking about it: angular momentum. You don't need a lot of force to spin a pendulum weight. Once you start spinning it, the pendulum build up some angular velocity. This angular velocity gets multiplied by the radius distance of your arm plus racket into linear velocity once the racket strikes the ball at a tangential direction. Because the tennis ball has little mass, and your body has huge mass, the ball will fly off into the court with this momentum. They key is not to generate a lot of pushing force, but instead to generate a lot of angular velocity. Your body's pivot points of your hips and shoulders do all of the rotational force. Your arm is just there as an extension with the racket to provide a larger rotating radius to multiply the tangential velocity. I may not be 100% accurate in my terminology and explanation, but I hope this is somewhat helpful.
I didn't understand what you mean ....exactly
Two years late to this comment but I agree with you.
This helped it me a lot, as he mentioned in his video, Keep the grip a little loose during the whole service pendulum motion and squeeze tighter just before the impact. This is great for speed and the arm should not hurt as much specially if the todos and contact point are correct.
Trainer explained very well emotional calmness n composure in difficult times like overshot, perhaps I find trainer most calm, composed while explaining in all videos. He is equally calm while explaining the fine detail. I like his one idea in another video to avoid late hitting - ask yourself in back word swing that 'do I have enough time for forward swing'.. that really helped.
I cannot thank you enough. This is the best and most eye-opening lesson I ever saw in my life. Noone ever told me that fundamental difference and was always using my racket like a tool - since childhood. I will imediately try to incorporate those insights into my playing. I see myself improving rapidly by only keeping the weight anology in the back of my brain. Thanks for being so generous and sharing such wisdom here!
This guy have the best videos of tennis training. That’s why children look like a pro when swinging the raquet, it is too heavy for them to use it without moving their body.
Great way to simplify the kinetic chain principle. Love the insight into working more on the correct methods to improve and eliminating the anxiety from just playing points or games.
Im training to play in the state league just by listening to this guy, the highest level of tennis in a whole state. With more training I’m about 6 months away!
Using a heavier racket will automatically force you to use more body. Allows you to swing more relaxed too as the weight generates power. Whereas with a lighter racket you need more racket speed, which encourages an arm's swing. A lot of bad technique comes from using too light rackets IMO.
You know I think you have something there! I tend to agree with you on that! Great insight!
You're simply the very best tennis trainer I've ever seen. Amazing. Your take on holding the racket prior to serving was just wonderful. Insightful
This teacher is spot on!!!! The arm weighs about maybe five kg whereas the racket might weigh about 1/3 kg so the arm itself weighs about fifteen times the weight of the racquet. So allow the whole arm to swing not just the racquet. You will find that you get a lot more distance with no additional power.
I was having a problem with worrying too much about process and I would lose a lot because I hit the ball long all the time and also not having intention to hit the ball in a certain part of the court, so I was losing a lot to pushers and players who would just meet the ball w the racket. So it's been a struggle to find the balance. But your video about consistency was so helpful as well for me and the one about relaxing and having no tension. Thank you very much.
Amazing analogy. Priceless.
Thank You Tomaz. Awesome Video!! I have watched quite a few of your videos and has helped improved my game. So Thank You again.
When I started taking golf lessons last year, I was told, use your clubs/body like you use with your tennis racquet. And, just like you described, I was choking the racquet as a tool and not hold freely like a weight. So, it didn't help me at all. Then I learned to play golf on my own and realized that the more relax grip/movement you have, the better distance you get.
In this video, you nailed all the point. I hit very good during the practice but during the match play, I play chicken game. Dink and Dunk using as a tool because, I don't want to make a mistake and lose a point..
After this video, I am going to try to play freely and not worry about winning/losing but getting better... Thanks again.
You just explained everything that's been wrong with my tennis recently. Thank you so much, I can't wait to go play again - the right way this time.
Me too. :)
Finally another video.. I thought you ran out of things to talk about but then another genius video comes out!
I have tried and tested so many ways of hitting a ball and this method has really helped me achieve an awesome forehand.Thank you Thomas.
Just forwarded this to my brother, and remembered just how much I LOVED the blinding brilliance of this concept and the way Thomaž has so fluently expressed it. James Davis below has it spot on, this is a fantastic fundamental theme you address here, and I cannot thank you enough for the contribution you make! Massive respect...
Thank you Thomas. This 20 min video is transformative to anyone who takes it to heart . You're a genius tennis instructor, and I feel the game's future will be elevated by your method of teaching.
Great tip. A couple of things helped me get the hang of this. On my forehand, taking a few swings, and even hitting some shots, gripping the racquet with just my first two fingers. And on my serve, choking down on the racquet so that the butt is in the palm of my hand.
I’m really thankful for your free, excellent, easy to understand tennis instructional videos. I paid for many lessons and non has even come close to helping my tennis game. I’m a usta 4.0 player and I just want to say thank you for helping my game. Great videos.
This is amazing. You are the best at explaining the "why" rather than just "what". Great talent! Thank you!
This reminds me of my Dad explaining how to use a golf club with the pendulum swing. Let the club (or racquet) do the work. In physics is the racquet becomes the pendulum, the person is the pivot.
Relaje per favor 🎾
Happy swinging.
Thomas' teaching have been changing my tennis from the bottom of inner mind set, reconstructing solid foundation upon which modified techniques would built.
Richie
Thank you Tomaz, I to thought this was your best tutorial. Even though english is not your original language your message comes through loud and clear. You are a most excellent educator. I enjoy you and your videos. Your the best.
Why didn't you just stop at "Thanks" Instead of showing your bigotry with mention that the man's accent is some kind of obstacle..........Totally unnecesSary
Richie was giving him a compliment, only you are reading a negative into it...
Great vídeo!! Genius!!! This is the best vídeo on how to really understand tennis from a technical point of view. This really is going to mind-shift the way I play tennis, to make me play it better!!!!! You are an exceptional trainer of how you put things very very clearly. Thanks from PORTUGAL!!!!
Tomas,I’ve learnt more from 3 months of your tuition than I have in 6 years of research and regular playing,best methodology ever keep up the great work
Entire discussion in the middle of the video about practice mentality and bring too negative..this is worth so much. One day I will visit Slovenia and sit with Tomaz and play tennis and drink coffee
Much appreciated, tennis is very deep and many lessons can be applied to life.
Long time fan of this channel. Perfect name for the channel for his teaching technique - it is all about the "feel".
This is brilliant teaching and important information. I play golf and a late beginner in tennis. I’ve been wondering to swing the tennis racquet as in golf or to hit the ball. I hurt my wrist learning to serve while pronating just using my arm. This video helps me so much to learn to swing the racquet using my body. I finally found my answer. You are an excellent teacher, very hard to find. 👍🏼thank you kindly.
Glad to help, thanks for the feedback!
Great concept about the fundamentals which makes sense. As an older player, I will re-think my approach and know that I can improve. Many thanks.
A deliberate and expansive explanation of a core concept, not usually covered in tennis coaching. Many thanks Tomaz. Gordon
Cheesus Christ man! You should write a book! I've never ever heard anything so useful like this!
He has! Go to feel tennis and you can get it..I think he has a couple books!
Excellent!! Its raining here!! I cant go to the court to apply the lesson, tomorrow i will try, thank you so much thomas!!
In my opinion, the reason why these fundamentals are not taught is because 90%+ of tennis instructors either dont know these fundamentals or only teach these to selected students. Ive been playing tennis around 30 years, used to play 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5 levels, took teachings/lessons with around 7 top players/instructors (including one who was ranked on the top 20 doubles players on the tour), worked as assistant pro instructor where we trained rising junior players and NONE of the instructors explained these vital fundamentals. You could grasp SOME of these fundamentals but not at all the way are explained here. Many pro instructors were good/great players but cant really explain why or how they hit the ball so efficiently so they are not as effective as teachers. I learn these techniques through deep and objective physics/mechanical analysis about 20 years after I started playing and Iḿ hitting the ball better than 15 years younger, I only wish I would have learn these 15 years ago. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing, FM AD! Yes, many good players / coaches cannot explain how to hit a good stroke because the process is subconscious for them and that's because they learned tennis when they were kids.
Some of my ideas also took long to realize since it took me long time to feel and realize what I am actually doing.
My advantage perhaps is that I learned tennis on my own and started in my teenage years when I was aware enough of what I am doing and hence I remember all the struggles I went through and how I developed my strokes and my game.
FM AD there’s a lot of snakes in the tennis industry. They will only give priceless information to certain players. Or only the players who pay the most. Or they will only give tastes of valuable information in intervals, as to keep the players progress slow, so they pay more for lessons, or stay longer at the academy. I went to saddlebrook, and I can say that this is kinda the case over there. Whereas at bollettierris(IMG) , they help out more. Tennis is big business for a lot of those “businessmen”.
Your analyses is excellent ! I've been playing many years. A year & a half ago I had shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff. The surgery helped & I'm now in the process of stating to hit again & building the strength back. I've been going to my clubs group tennis drills & I can't help but notice how with many of the folks hitting, that their stroke form is all over the place. Its just like you say - not enough patient time spent developing good form but getting instead into spending most of their time playing matches - mostly doubles I think. They seem very tight / strained & either miss a lot or when it goes over it's due to the fact that they have gotten somewhat proficient with this bad form ! For myself & my strokes I've purchased a ball machines worth of new balls ( the club ones in the machine are pretty bad ) & am spending time improving some things on my own strokes. Some of your tips I'll use. I've subscribed. Thanks
Thanks Tomaz! What a great explanation! This makes so much more sence. I have watched many videos of instruction and pros hitting the ball and your explanation is the part of the puzzle that pulls it all togerher. Thank you so much for this video!
I am a total beginner, but really appreciate your videos. Cuz basics is so important and you explain it so well. And in this video it makes perfect sense to swing the racket as a weight to harness and release the power effortlessly. And I had my first real lesson with a tennis coach today and he said my swing was pretty good thx to you. Your videos are always very informative and I feel I learn a lot. Keep up the good work and keep it coming 👍
I really like your perspective and the way you describe basics... I am a high 4.0 player and am still getting something out of your videos... they way you convey basic concepts are excellent and a great refresher! Thanks so much.
after watched your videos my stroke change dramatically.. im playing occasionally and my colleagues thought im practicing somewhere.. your instructions are a million tons gold chest.. thank you very much..
Thank you for providing the mental mindset, as well as the physical technique. Love this. I get down on myself when I miss a serve. I will remember this.
you are simply the best instructor! Love the way you explain and compare everything so clearly that I can click right away what to do! Thanks a lot from Thailand :))
So insightful and simply explained Tomaz. Your a thinking man’s tennis guru and instructor. I hope you keep the videos coming because I look forward to each and every one of them.
This is a genius way to explain this concept. Thank you very much for this video
Your concepts are so intellectual, yet presented in a very concise and easy-to-understand manner!
You are really genius the way you explain it, the best instructor and explainer online. I always come back to your clips for reminding myself how to play better! And finally I found out the best is to play it relaxingly. Thanks Thomas
I am a novice and this bloke explains things so well in a way that is easy to understand. Certainly the best I have seen online.
thk u Tomaz---your videos are such a pleasure to watch!
This guy is so good. I am excited to start putting these things together on the court.
a really awesome video worth waiting for!!
It's very frustrating when hitting partners and even coaches don't understand this and over-emphasize playing points and keeping score when I try to explain to them that I'm here to actually try to build some kind of foundation for my tennis.
Ville Metsola If they won't listen to you, try hitting relaxed training shots during a match. That should be your goal anyway.
Funny you should say that. I just came from a practice and that's exactly what I did, even at the expense of losing points. :)
Ville Metsola Great, that's exactly the mindset you should be aiming for - playing your best tennis, regardless of the outcome of the match.
Ville Metsola seems like a universal coach mentality, even here in India 😁
Points be damned. You're there to learn or to win? If you're surrounded by "winners", change coaches/find new partners. But I feel your pain, people who understand this are hard to find. Keep looking and best of luck to you!
The comparison is genius! Thank you for the best teaching on Stokes!
Brilliant - I hope i can apply this to finally get the follow through i'm missing and momentum I need
GREAT video on swinging the racquet! I have been struggling with this forever! Thanks so much!
A fantastic analogy. Most clearly presented mechanics I have ever seen in CZcams.
Thanks a lot! Your videos here are more informative to us. I can figure out your explanations.
I took this idea to the courts a few days ago and my consistency rocketed up. I felt so loose and relaxed on groundstrokes in general that I was able to play for much longer without as much fatigue. Part of the consistency came from the relaxed swing path: the racquet was able to more naturally follow the universal swing path. So whereas I had the habit of hitting too close to my body, knowing that I had to use the racquet like a weight made me think "I have to give myself room to swing this weight" instead of just jabbing through the ball. Definitely a superb highlight of a video in my opinion!
Wonderful, thanks for sharing!
Me too! I practiced for two hours today and the only thing sore are my feet thanks to my horrible shoes. Normally, my arm would be sore after a practice session (since I had been using the racket as a "tool") but thanks to this video my arm feels great.
The best explained way of playing tennis i have ever seen on video. Thank you so much for your advice.
I've learnt a lot from him about the intuition of tennis since the first click. Excellent teaching!
Many thanks for this video Mr. Mencinger. You changed my perspective for tennis strokes.
You are a very good teacher Tomaz! I love your visual aids to demonstrate the point. Thank you!!
So cute how he brought out all these little tools like scissors to show us the difference. Really dedicated teacher
Absolutely the BEST Tennis Vid on the net ! A "must see" for every player out there ! Tomaz Reigns ... KING of Tennis Tutorials 👑 Jim B
Dear Tomaz,
Can you please make a video on keeping your feet moving and not being flat footed? Also maybe could you please make some videos directed towards competitive players (maybe a series), such as dealing with pressure, anxiety and gaining the mental advantage in matches and tournaments?
Thank you for all your videos, you are by far the greatest online coach and I would love to have a lesson with you!
The best mental image that helps not being flat footed is to "dance". Look at Roger little "dance" between each stroke: czcams.com/video/1B2ehk7RCiA/video.html. And sure, mental and tactics topics will also come to this channel, stay tuned.
One of the smartest tennis instructors out there! So many useful concepts and observations to help us truly "feel" tennis. Even the name of the channel is smart! Thanks for so many useful insights!
Best!
Well Explained...Best way in explaining how to use the pivot!.. unlike some other coach, they just talk about the pivot and don't explain how to use it.
Fantastic! Many thanks for your teachings. I am going to share this to all my tennis mates... with love from India.
Tomaz,
This is an outstanding tennis video. You have explained the core principle underlying good tennis technique. This information enables one to understand why very young children learn the game much more efficiently than adults. A small child will treat the racket as a weight while the adult will treat it like a tool. We all know that all great tennis champions began playing at a very young age. Congratulations on this terrific video and please keep up the great work.
Norman Ashbrooke
Thank you … great analogies and presentation of key element to improvement.
Perfect! It's an eye opener! Thanks!
Great video. Simple and easy to understand. Most effective and easy to implement. This is the pathway to effortless power. Thanks 🙏
Insightful and original. Thank you!
This old-fashioned editing channel is hard for me to click in these days, however, have to say, this is definitely the BEST ADVISE IN MY TENNIS LIFE, thanks so so so much!
Fantastic and Perfect Perspective; If only everyone learned the weight vs. tool view first! Thank you for this video!
What a great Video!!!
The best way to understand the feeling of an unfortless stroke and body rythem! Great!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Best tennis instructor online
First three minutes of this valuable advice I immediately thought of Ball is the car, you’re the driver with your racket. Racket flows with your body! Maybe it’s nonsense but that’s I thought immediately
By the way, practicing is so much fun and exhilarating when you hit a beautiful stroke. Your aim is to repeat and perfect that technique until you remember it effortlessly. I never get really emotional about hitting in practice, but all around me are match players loosing it all the time and guess what?, they are usually all rubbish at stroke technique.
Thanks again Tomaz
I can't say enough, this is an excellent Tennis Instructor, the best!
Great!Very bright and helpful!
Really excellent.. very important and overlooked point.
Thanks for such a wonderful informative tennis instructions.
Hi Tomaz, this Video Explanation on weight and tools is Amazing.
Super Nice..😀👍
superb video , very informative
Real coach... no other words...
Very passionate and helpful coaching, I appreciate your wise tips sir!
I found this very relatable and helpful because this is something I do and now I know how to fix it.
This is a huge problem for me. My problem is that I've learned to use the body, but I also keep a lot of tension in my arm. One of your serve videos has helped me see what a relaxed arm actually feels like, to tremendous effect. Now I'm trying to incorporate that feeling into groundstrokes, slow going but worth the effort.
Man, you are a Genius. Thanks so much, especially on behalf of my wife and kids. You hit the nail on the head. Mega......
Great video, much appreciation for the help.
best explanation of using the racket weight !!
Great instruction; It shall help me hitting the ball better. Thanks.
I salute your cogent analysis. Thank you! Thom Blinn