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TennisOne Lessons 
The Secret to Controlled Power Doug King It is said that nothing is more alluring than power. That statement certainly finds support in the game of tennis. Today’s style of tennis is synonymous with power; blistering serves, crushing topspin groundstrokes, and blinding speed of foot. Spectators cannot help but wonder how it is done and dream that one day, they will experience the thrill.
The sad reality is that for us mortal men and women, any attempt to generate that kind of positive power is simply an exercise in frustration. With limbs flailing wildly, balls struck with significant force almost always find their demise in the bottom of the net or crash into the back fence. To add irony to insult, attempts to regain a measure of control to the game can often result in stiffness and immobility that leaves one feeling paralyzed and overwhelmed. In this article we will look at the secret to controlled power. We will start very logically by developing a model and we will compare that model to existing models. Then, in upcoming features, we will breakdown the model into specific components. By finding the correct paradigm we will reveal that the true secret to controlled power is the understanding that there is no contradiction, no polarity in the term “controlled power,” and that control and power are integrated into the same principle. Debunking the “Whip Theory” of Power Let me start by expressing my strong belief that whether you are hitting a flat first serve, a dipping topspin forehand groundstroke, or an underspin backhand volley, there is a single, underlying principle that applies to all strokes. Forehands are mirror images of backhands, serves are inversions of groundstrokes, underspin is the exact flip of topspin - and control and power are similarly linked. The most common model of power is the whip or the kinetic chain. This has been the most dominant system guiding modern thought and in a way defines the very essence of modern tennis. But I would argue that it simply is not the perfect tennis model. The kinetic chain does a good job of explaining aspects of the stroke (the take back, primarily) but it does not replicate the actual stroke as we see it. The essence of the kinetic chain is that energy starts in the large muscles and works out to the small muscles. In essence it is a based on a whip principle. It is held as the common model for tennis today, especially on the serve and overhead. Like many things that become so familiar to us, we become blind to what we actually see and do, and instead we reshape our thinking to fit something that we have already accepted.
This is the case with the whip theory in tennis. Let me explain: in a whip action force is created at one end and that force is then transferred outward, increasing in speed as it travels to smaller and smaller segments. The truth is we never see a whip action in a correctly produced tennis stroke. In a whip action the power leaves one segment and once it leaves that segment, the segment is left relatively passive. This never is the case in a tennis stroke, even the most powerful strokes like an overhead or a serve. There is always continuous shifting from the big areas, the source areas. The handle of the whip (to use the whip analogy) never stops shifting and driving in a tennis stroke. There is, in other words, follow through. Even players that are considered very whippy, like Roger Federer have tremendous follow throughs. Imagine how Federer lifts himself higher off the ground after contact on a serve, and rotates his hips and shoulders as he follows through. Imagine how he rotates the trunk of his body on his most powerful forehand and backhand drives. This is not characteristic of a whip action. Yet because we see his hand going so fast and everybody calls it a whip and the experts always expound on the “kinetic chain,” we think that this is what we are seeing. In fact we even redefine what we mean by whip so that “whip” comes to be defined by what we see Federer do rather than the other way around. The Pendulum Theory and Control On the other side of the coin is control. The control model in tennis usually is associated with a very even back and forth shift similar to a pendulum swing or a gate swing. This is more of an “old school” approach and is typified by the “turn-step in-follow through” philosophy. It is characterized by long sweeping strokes stretching from back fence to forward fence. These are long, linear paths that give us a sense of control as though we are guiding the ball on a long straight path. The volley is also a taught as a very direct back and forth action, but much smaller and quicker – as in the “punch volley.”
Well this is no more a way to achieve proper control in tennis than the whip theory is a way to achieve proper power. All that happens with an even back and forth shift is that the play becomes rigid, slow, and imprecise. Using this system, a player cannot keep up to the speeds and changes that are encountered in the game. We say the “player is letting the ball play the player” rather than the other way around. Even when sped up or abbreviated, as with the volley, the singular action of a linear motion lacks touch and finesse, the critical aspects of control. So, is there another model that not only supports what we see in the game of tennis but also integrates both elements of power and control. In other words, a single model instead of different models for different strokes? My answer is yes. The “Wave Theory” and Integration I would argue that the correct model that we should be applying to the tennis game (and I mean all strokes) is the wave model. I am talking about ocean waves (since these are the only waves I am familiar with - having minimal scientific experience). Imagine how a wave develops; it swells out of the ocean and pulls energy back in a large, relatively slow expansive rotational drag. It builds and expands then slowly rotates in on itself, breaking into smaller, tighter, and faster curls as it continues. The larger the pull at the beginning the more power is eventually released in the break. "A wave is totally integrated, no stops, no starts, constant rotational shifting with defined shape and rhythm. The small and faster parts are always being drawn into the inside of the big and slower parts. At the same time, although rotational in movement, it is defined on lines or axis. This is the "tube" of the wave which is a dynamic void that can align things and at the same time suck them into the wave.
This is how a tennis stroke is produced. It starts with a large pull and lift from the ground using the large muscle groups. It rotates around and breaks down into itself in smaller, tighter, and faster curls as the arm falls into the body and the wrist collapses back. Yet always the larger swell is driving from behind - eventually consuming the faster, smaller break. This is exactly how the body continues to push through the finish of any stroke. The big swells start first and finish last. The small breaks develop later and expend themselves sooner. The swell pulls at first and then pushes the tightly spiraling break through. The break can actually add power to the swell, pulling it through with additional speed and force. This is the same exact technique that a boxer learns in delivering maximum force to his punches. In the kinetic chain approach power starts in the center but then travels outward only to escape from the body in a random snapping action. Still, even when the whip is not fully released, anytime energy leaves the body and travels outward there is a breakdown of integration and control. Now this may seem like a possible explanation for power but how does it cover the aspect of control. Well, imagine you are a surfer in the ocean.
You are waiting for a wave and you try to select and time a wave that you can ride. You do this by catching the wave in the large swell. If you catch the wave correctly you can glide along. If however you catch the wave in the break you will be thrashed around with considerable speed and force. This is how power in tennis is generated and used to create different effects on the ball. When you volley you are catching the ball in the large swell. You are catching the ball and guiding it along in the early stages of the stroke‘s development (little backswing or better to say, little windup). The underspin is a slower more gradual turn and push but it is the same wave that when allowed to continue, will later on produce the quickly spun topspin groundstroke. The underspin volley stroke is actually a slower heavier feel than the powerful topspin groundstroke.
In reality, all strokes (short of emergency strokes) start the same. They are all drawn out of the ground beginning with footwork. This is why you will always see players moving their feet and their shifting their seats around while preparing to return a ball, whether they are at the net playing doubles or returning serve in singles. You will never see a doubles player at net with his feet planted and his racquet waving quickly back and forth as though he were swatting flies. Instead the racquet is held quietly in front as the feet are shifting and the backside is swaying. That is because the big parts (legs and trunk) are going to react first and any hand action (other than grip change) will develop later. If time and opportunity allow, the stroke can further develop and it will continue to develop with shape, rhythm, and continuity as demonstrated by the wave model. Strokes in Slow-Motion In the slow-motion clips I explain how the stroke develops along the lines of an ocean wave. The court is the ocean and the body the wave. The energy for the stroke is always drawn from the ground through the legs and then it is pulled in rotational movements into increasingly tighter and faster motion. The underpsin stroke is similar to the surfer (the ball) catching the wave in the larger swell and is more gradually carried along. If the ball is caught later on in the stroke then, as with the second stroke, then the wave has broken into smaller and faster rotations that will sling the ball with more velocity. Regardless of whether the ball is carried along (as with the volley) or thrown with more force (as in the topspin groundstroke, or serve), the ball is always “caught” in the wave.
Regardless of how far along the stroke develops the big muscle groups are continuing to drive things along. Regardless of how abbreviated the stroke is, it always starts from the feet and things are always kept fluid and continuous. There are no stops and starts - there are no sharp delineations or straight lines. There is flow and rhythm and continuity. Conclusion The real secret to attaining controlled power is to not see them as polarities. There is not power on one end of the spectrum and control on the other. We cannot see these things as separate entities - like a whip in one hand and a pendulum on the other. All strokes originate from the same source and follow the same fundamentals of development. You could think of the different strokes as being different stages of the same event. In the next few articles we will continue to look at the specifics of this wave model. We will break it down into the larger body actions and also into the smaller muscle groups. We will continue to develop the concept of “alignment” versus rotational movement and look at the role of grips and footwork within this framework. In the meantime, imagine as you play that you are in constant motion, like waves continually ebbing and flowing in the ocean. Try to rhythmically draw on that pool under your feet to create waves of different sizes. Try to imagine that you are catching the ball in different parts of the wave that you are creating; sometimes early in the big swell and other times later in the rapid break. But always try to keep shape to the wave, keep structure to the wave, keep rhythm to the wave and above all else - as my Dad used to say, keep on keeping on. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Doug King's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.
Doug is one of the country's foremost tennis teaching innovators. Founder of Acceleration Tennis, a revolutionary teaching system, King is leading the way in reinterpreting the traditional tennis model. Doug King is currently Director of Tennis at Meadowood Napa Valley ( www.meadowood.com ), a Relaix Chateau Resort in St. Helena , CA . For more information on Acceleration Tennis please email Doug King at dking@meadowood.com. |
Doug King studied with legendary tennis coach Tom Stow and was a
former California State Men's Singles Champion
and the former number one men's player of Northern California.