Pcr

[MOMO]

I've been a student of rotational hitting for a couple of years now, but I've only been around this site for a couple of month's.

What does PCR mean?

[jbooth]

I've been a student of rotational hitting for a couple of years now, but I've only been around this site for a couple of month's.

What does PCR mean?

Posture - Connection - Rotation

It's simply a new buzzword/term for what good hitters have done for about 100 years and it used to be called "keep your head down, keep your hands back and elbow up, and rotate your body, hips first"

Posture - means to tilt your spine so that when the bat is swung, it swings to the ball, perpendicular to your spine. The old-school saying is; "keep your head down" or "crouch" or "squat" or "bend at the waist and knees"

Connection - means to maintain the arm/hand/elbow angles as the shoulders rotate, and to keep the hands near their original location relative to the back shoulder as you rotate. A "box" is formed with the 4 corners being the front shoulder, front elbow, the hands, and the back shoulder. You maintain those "4 "connection" points as you rotate the box by turning the hips and shoulders. Disconnection is to push the bat at the ball and/or change the angles of the corners of the box as it rotates. The old-school saying is; "keep your hands back and keep your elbow up."

Rotation - simply means to use the body to rotate the box. The bat is connected to the body and you stay connected as you rotate. The old school saying is; "step and turn and use your hips first."

You'll find a lot of new terms used here, and they are simply synonyms for the technique that has been used since the days of "The Babe." Just a new and probably better way to describe how to swing the most effective way.

[wogdoggy]

The old-school saying is; "keep your hands back and keep your elbow up."



dont think that is the new school definition of connection

[swingbuster]

Coach Booth,

Good post...anything that did not cover...nobody can teach to a group of kids.

or

Tune it later today when the whole posse takes exception to that statement


because


They teach it to one kid per year each

[4for4]

Coach Booth,

Good post...anything that did not cover...nobody can teach to a group of kids.

or

Tune it later today when the whole posse takes exception to that statement


because


They teach it to one kid per year each

This coming from a guy that looks up the backend of a horse and sees bhut.

[swingbuster]

Here they come...Jim...I just came out as a deflector shield.

THey will not accept a connection definition that means turn the shoudlers back and keep them back until your foot gets down.

If you can teach a kid that you might not need the whole thing just now

[GuitarMan]

THey will not accept a connection definition that means turn the shoudlers back and keep them back until your foot gets down.



Are you seriously saying that connection in your mind means turning the shoulders back and keeping them back until your foot (front foot, I presume) gets down? So, what you're saying is that once my foot gets down I can do whatever I want with my hands, arms, hips, etc., and still exhibit connection? Does that really make sense to you? How does that define connection? I can imagine a whole host of ugly, poorly connected swings that would start with the shoulders turned back at foot plant.

And I'm not part of any posse, just a possessor of an ounce of common sense.

[tadlock11]

Jim, excellent post! From what I have learned that is the foundation of an elite swing.
Donny, I'm not part of the posse but the best I can tell is that you are trying to add on/put words in JB's mouth. While many are trying to convey to others how to lay the groundwork, you are jumping out and trying to put up the wall paper.
When I was unsure of what PCR was really about, I sent an e-mail to Steve asking if this is what it meant. My understanding was almost word for word what Jim wrote above.

[swingbuster]

So, what you're saying is that once my foot gets down I can do whatever I want with my hands, arms, hips, etc., and still exhibit connection? Does that really make sense to you? How does that define connection? I can imagine a whole host of ugly, poorly connected swings that would start with the shoulders turned back at foot plant.

Can kids turn their shoulder back( maintaining two eye contact of the pitcher ) and maintain that upper body position position until the complete the stride.

If they do that then they are in position to have a chance. If the shoulders turn back the top hand is not AS likely to take the swing over. Maintaining two eye contact and turning the shoulders back requires a rather short but important move.

This is step one for LL hitters. The ball fear prevents this move for most.

Now if you want to talk more advanced " mechanisms" to get the bat back with inside reistance and keep it there until the hip rotation connects the shoulder through the torso then that is another chapter.

Don't get carried away with details that you read unless you have tried to teach them and see the results.

OBTW there is no place short of contact that you can do anything you want in the swing.

PLease explain connection like you would to a 12 yo batter with 9 more waiting in line.

[DunninLA]

My understanding of C = Connection is to maintain the almost square Box formed by the arms all the way through contact... only after contact can the arms extend and the wrists roll over.

In other words if you maintain the arms in a boxed position, they stay connected semi-rigidly to the torso and can transfer the rotational force of the torso rotating toward the ball. No wasted, weak and time consuming arm flailing.

[jbooth]

Here they come...Jim...I just came out as a deflector shield.

THey will not accept a connection definition that means turn the shoudlers back and keep them back until your foot gets down.

If you can teach a kid that you might not need the whole thing just now

Well, that's not quite what I meant. There are actually two "connections" so to speak. You're talking about the connection of hips to shoulders, which is important. The hips turn the shoulders, but THE "connection" that is used as part of PCR is; keeping the box intact as the shoulders rotate.

Nyman is an engineer. What we call corners of a box, or joints, engineers call "connections". A "system" in engineering terms can be a group of "connections". If all the connections within a system remain rigid, then when the system moves the energy/momentum flows through all connections uninhibited. If a connection breaks, or loosens/slacks, then some energy is lost and not transferred.

Therefore, the Nymanites correctly go crazy when they see "disconnection" which is; a slacking or changing of the joint angles (connections), ie. shoulders and elbows.

Your BHUT and hand set is a method to form the box, and I have no problem with it. But, once the box and its connections are set, the hips need to turn it and the muscles around the joints (connections) need to keep the connections (joints) rigid as the shoulders turn.

It's easier said than done, but the swing is really simple;

form a good box, keep its form as you turn it and turn it with the legs, hips and shoulders. Do NOT power the bat with arm movement. The arm muscles are needed to maintain the shape of the box as the forces created by the acceleration of the bat, want to break the box.

[DunninLA]

Jim, your second sentence is just what I would have said :waving

[jbooth]

The old-school saying is; "keep your hands back and keep your elbow up."



dont think that is the new school definition of connection

Why not? That is one thought/method to keep the arm/elbow angles intact as you swing. I admit there isn't a good equivalent statement, but that's as close as I could get. Do you have a better one?

[swingbuster]

Elbow up...

A good cue when you understand it. Once I did not. Yeager calls it barrel loading. Others scap loading. BUT...when the shoulders turn back the high rear elbow can lock them back.

You can feel that in probably many forms. I feel the barrel loaded steeper over the helmet and the higher rear elbow and the lead elbow closer to body ( not perp to spine ) during the load. That is the BHUT feel I can get and show a kid. The lead elbow will transition to the perp to spine position as it gets on plane and as the rear elbow slots.

The more elastic energy, back resistance and bottom hand pressure/force applied at the cusp the less time and effort to consciencely " think" of connection in terms of the box. The more back resistance and the more pronated the top hand as the hip rotation begins the easier to maintain the box. OR the harder it is for the hands to take it over .

AS for the definition, I agree in form and I see the function. I am not sure if that is a teaching point and how you arrive at connection per se. I have used maintain the box plenty of times but I am not sure that it made anybody maintain the box. Is a cue or an indicator point for evaluating clips and a symptom of other things?

Maybe it is a teaching point for some. Not sure. Interesting topic and thread

[ssarge]

Jim:

Post 11 is really quite good. Very helpful to me.

Best regards,

Scott

[MSandman]

but... indeed the hard part is DOING it. Very good description of the goal tho. :clapping

[Mark H]

Here they come...Jim...I just came out as a deflector shield.

THey will not accept a connection definition that means turn the shoudlers back and keep them back until your foot gets down.



That's not what I read in Jim's post.

[Mark H]

Can kids turn their shoulder back( maintaining two eye contact of the pitcher ) and maintain that upper body position position until the complete the stride.

If they do that then they are in position to have a chance. If the shoulders turn back the top hand is not AS likely to take the swing over. Maintaining two eye contact and turning the shoulders back requires a rather short but important move.

.

You didn't say they had to get to this position to have a chance, you defined this position as "connection". Jim describes it in a good nuts and bolts way but connection basically means you connect the bat to the rotating torso without the hands falling behind rotation, moving forward ahead of rotation, pushing down or in any other way disconnecting from the energy source which is the rotating torso.

[swingbuster]

You didn't say they had to get to this position to have a chance, you defined this position as "connection

So I did Mark.

Hip shoulder separation and then their connection occurring in the correct spatial relationship is important. It will determine where you unhinge the bat naturally with the most power


Maintaining the box is hard if you have a hard time dynamically forming the box. You can form it with the wrong muscle groups activated. It will have the form but the function fails.

The top hand dominant kids are often posted breaking the box down by leading with their rear elbow. I think your term is bat drag and I guess it would come under a subheading of a way you can disconnect according to this. Why does it happen? They had a good box at swing initiation? How will you stop them? Drills? OK

Coaching all this is important.

Making an A on the Posse Term Test means very little if you do not understand how to work with it. Not saying you don't; that is just a good general statement

I do remember Jims "apparatus" showing maintaining the box. Pretty cool

Adam Laroach, Chipper Jones and Andreu are BHUT loading and slaying the Dodgers. You should watch a few good swings. They are not disconnecting either.

Good connections are a function of proper loading and when done properly disconnection is less likely.

[Mark H]

Once again, no one ever said some MLB hitters don't display what you describe as BHUT. That has never been the discussion and I tire of pointing that out.

[swingbuster]

Once again, no one ever said some MLB hitters don't display what you describe as BHUT


I know your on record as acknowledging this. Not all readers are at the very early part of the learning curve.


Just not much lip service to why. It might tell us "why can't he wait"? Why can't my son/ daughter hit as well to the oppo field and the pull field?

Is it true in a general sense( with notable exceptions)..the flatter the bat the more likely to pull; the more vertical the bat the more likely to look oppo?

These MLB don't so anything without a reason. It helps them do something.

THere could be a little more written about the advantages as the disadvantages are pointed out.

Trying to remove the fog cloaking these points. Trying to find people that use the inside seam drill that have experienced this.

[jbooth]

Is it true in a general sense( with notable exceptions)..the flatter the bat the more likely to pull; the more vertical the bat the more likely to look oppo?

No, that is not true.

All MLB hitters flatten the bat before they move it toward the ball. Bonds, Williams, Ruth, Sheffield and MANY, many more (practically ALL).

They don't flatten it to literally horizontal, but it moves from near vertical to more toward horizontal before the hands move toward the ball.

Here is a rear view of Ted Williams. Note how he loads his hands up near his armpit, then flattens the bat, then moves it at the ball. This is just one example, but if you look closely at many MLB hitters you will see a similar movement. The bat flattens before it moves forward. Moreso in some hitters than others, but it happens. Therefore, it is NOT a REQUIREMENT that the bat be vertical while you wait for a pitch, or for it to load that way.

http://firstpickclub.com/video/tedwback.mov

[swingbuster]

They don't flatten it to literally horizontal, but it moves from near vertical to more toward horizontal before the hands move toward the ball.

EXACTLY................This is what BHUT loading does...If you start turning to hit and you hands are getting back ON PLANE then you segment, the hips lead, the torso primes , the hands come out with the knob to the oppo box and the barrel displaces up the middle and not on the pull side. You can prove this with the inside seam drill. You do not have to take anybody's word for it.



The transition from vertical to flatter (45 slot) AS the rotation begins is what prevents the one piece turn and causes segmentation and torso usage. How you load your bat can determine the hip/ shoulder spatial relationship. Your hips will not wait and you hands must turn back on plane. It is a mechanism that help a player do what many cannot consciencely do

THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN AT THE CUSP TO SET UP THE WHIP