May not be in fashion
At least I'm not seeing
People anywhere
Just swinging racquets
But
I found them to be
Extremely useful
And fun
It helps knowing
What to look for
And how to
Go about them
E.g. "hit through the ball"
While not being afraid of
And/or "interrupted" by
An impact
Or
How would a complete
Relaxed swing
look like?
What's the max speed for a swing
That could work back on court?
Without anything hurting?
How often repeatable?
For the weaker side
There's a chance to get a lot of repetition
AND variance
Per time
To ingrain the basic movement
And then to start getting used get used to
All variations needed and/or apply-able
On court:
Fast slow
High low
Spin flat
Etc
Building
Naturally-feeling
Flexibility
For each movement
We can also shift attention from
A target to hit
Or making good contact
To other elements
Was there anything bothering us?
Holding us back?
What way of holding the racquet feels best again?
How's the wrist lag?
Follow through across the body or over the shoulder?
Double-handers, what hand does what?
Upper body rotation - was that symmetric?
Leading with the hip, on both forehands?
When back to hitting balls
We can then focus on
That one thing we tried to address
"In the shadows"
Maybe hit the wall or ball machine first
Before adding another human
= Variable
To the mix
I'm sure there's more
It depends e.g. where we suspect
Shortcomings
And what we're working towards:
1)
Developing the weaker side
Would mean
Many more swings
There
2)
Hitting harder generally would mean
A focus
On swinging faster
Maybe with extended radius
3)
Becoming more
Versatile
Well
Mix it all up!
4)
And fun?
Make it fast
Dynamic
Hear the swoosh.
5)
...
Then
Connect the strokes
Add a take-off
Steps in between
Get creative with it
Figure 8s
Turbo Tai-Chi
Be a martial artist?
So
Shadow swings can present
Another path
Towards our goals
Deliver
Their own
Breakthroughs
Along the way
Make new movements feel
Natural
Pain free
Fast
And eventually
Provide surprises here and there
When back connecting
With the 🎾 :)