His entire body is physically moving away from the ball on contact. Brian is demonstrating the opposite, and moving the legs forward and not in a circular fashion either: the load transfer movement is done through the knees. It's not about if your feet leave the ground, it's about how much energy is transferred in what direction.
I never said anything bad about Nikoli's shot, I'd just hate to see an otherwise solid shot be ruined by this habit. It has a profound effect on the shot, and I don't understand why you haven't noticed as well.
I assume Nikoli has a good understanding of the shot due to him demonstrating it via text, but this foot movement is probably a habit he has not noticed. That is why I took it up. I'd want anyone to do the same to me, lest I waste weeks/months/years, grooving a bad habit in.
Also, I'd really want an example of what things I say that makes it seem like I don't know what I'm talking about. It's not a challenge: I really want to know what you think is nonsense in what I'm saying.
Thanks for the constructive criticism dear friend!
When i post this video, i was hoping to see how people analyse the details of my shots so i can draw some good insight out of it. Anyway, my dear friend, it took me almost 4 years to achieve that so little "thing" in the video clip i just posted!
For me, the best way to learn is to constantly video tape myself, watch over and over, and fix little by little each time i practice. In the video clip, there are a few points that i'm quite satisfied with:
1- I was completely relax with the shot. if you take a closer look at the left arm, and see how relax it is. This is a true indicator of body relaxation. I just watched the video of Nextlevel above, and noticed that his left arm is somewhat tensed. This is a sign that his muscle are tightened up before his swings. It happened more clearly when he tried to swing faster! For Nextlevel to fix this problem, he needs to raise his rib case up, tighten his abs a bit. That shall do the job!
My 2 cents
2- I got the small steps! You can notice this between the transition to FH from backhand corner. It took years to get this habit in place my dear friend!
3- Effortless swing. My swing wind back has a clear stop point, with the paddle along side of my right thigh, tip pointing downward indicating my wrist has cocked forward, ready for the swing. Notice my left and right shoulder during this period, they are almost equal of height. This is a clear indication that i still remain in balance for the stroke. I see some people just tilt their shoulder to the right too much, they ended up pushing upwards & forward with their leg. That is the footwork for 1 wing looper, which is not my style! Next, I contacted the ball on the front side of body, with a finish point of bat in front of my forehead with the wrist cocked backward at finish point, this is a clear indication of me achieving my whip lash effect from my wrist (2nd pendulum).
4- You wonder why my footwork looks odd, and seemed like i moved away from the ball? Well, that is because you prolly have a loop of a 1 winged looper, where you always have your left foot end up being set in front when you do body rotation. There is nothing wrong with this at all. It just costs you much more power and energy for recovery of the next shot.
In my case, i finish the shot with my right foot jumping forward. This is a clear indication of me using my right foot to push for body rotation. I do not push upward for my forehand shots, simply because it's tiring, and not energy efficient. After the finish stroke, notice both of my shoulders, they're still in balance. This means my spine, center of gravity, plane of gravity are still in place. And this is what helps me a lot with recovery time.
What can be done better in the shot demonstrated?
- Step a little further away from the ball, give the body and ball a little more space to exert more power.
- Relax that right arm a bit more, tighten the muscle more at contact point, and completely release it after that.
- Control the wrist a bit more, it seems too loose.
My swing and footwork are not the best for an amateur, but you know, whatever makes me happy and satisfied right?
Mind you shed some lights on us showing your footwork for this type of shot dear friend?
cheers,