[YodasLuke]

Luke,

Earlier you mentioned that at one time you were a “switter”. Now you are a true 4 barrel “hitter”. Is the difference between the two just the amount of the #4 accumulator load or perhaps the amount of time #4 is loaded?

In my quest to learn hitting, this is the one thing that I keep flip-flopping on. The more #4 I put into it, the better I seem to hit (this is indoors into a net). I’m trying to use #4 just to get the right elbow back on plane so I can drive #1. Does this seem reasonable?

Jimbo…

Jimbo,
When I first started seeking help, I was taught to be a swinger with an angled hinge action. My grip was never addressed and my left hand was very turned (strong) and bent. Furthermore, I was also taught to flatten my left wrist at the top of the swing or "end." Needless to say, I could hook a SW about 50 yards. All of this resulted in a "hold on for dear life" feel coming into impact to prevent the ball from putting on it's left turn signal. Most of my shots were hooks and pushes. The results were strictly dependent on my ability to keep the clubface from closing.

With all of that garbage in my past, I've become much more robotic. My body is extremely quiet. I feel as though my legs are stuck in concrete, almost zero pivot feel. My forearm is placed on plane as described in 7-3. I focus very much on extensor action as listed in 12-3, in most of my practice sessions. After the taking up of the slack (a slight bump in the startdown that loads #4), I try to drive the #1 pressure point into the ground. When I begin my practice sessions I'll monitor my hinge action in some basic strokes. I'll go to both arms straight a few times and hit some very low trajectory punch shots. With my past considered, angled hinging feels normal to me. Keeping my body from continuing to rotate did not feel normal. If the #1 pressure point is truly driving through impact, the #4 pressure point is being relieved of any pressure. In other words, #1 is pushing the left arm off the chest. That's why you can't be pulling and pushing at the same time.

Additionally, I never question someone's feel, but I will use video to find if "feel is real." The video never lies.