Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Wed Apr 28 08:57:59 2004

Hi All,

Apparently, one individual was having trouble with hip rotation. More specifically, this person thought dropping the heel was more of a timing step than a motion to trigger the swing, since he did not feel the backside rotating upon heel touch. Here is Mike Epstein's response:

No, it is not a timing mechanism; it is a de facto mechanical movement necessary to initiate proper hip rotation. Try this. When you drop your front heel, lift your rear heel up at the same time (Do NOT “squish the bug”). Move your rear knee slightly down and in and then slightly turn your rear hip “around” the imaginary axis you’ve set up in your stride. Once you have done this a few times and feel comfortable, attempt it doing all the moves simultaneously. When you drop your front heel, you should feel a “swiveling” of your hips from back to front. Sometimes, and this may very well be true in your case, you have to “help” it along at first. Once the body understands its role, it will take over from there.

This is my advice to all individual who have trouble with getting their backside into the swing.

Sincerely,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com

P.S. Couple these great "cues" with Jack Mankin's upper body "cues," and one will attain unbelievable results!