Free Work-Smart Hitting Manual

Cut a pitch in half: before/after it's halfway-in.

1. Visual pickup, at release. Be adjusting as it comes.
2. Decide, when it's halfway in. Swing, if it's good!

Prepare in part 1 for part 2, it doubles your available time.

In playground ball the pattern was, Watch-Decide-Stride-Swing, and with time to burn. Won't work now. You need the new pattern.

StrideWatch-DecideSwing gives you the time you need. Stride with every pitch, in case it's good. Stride with them all; hit the good or Take the bad. Work smart. Re-organize!.

A good swing works like a row of Dominoes. The first one falls and the rest follow. We'll rig you body-and-soul to work that way. It feeds on perfect Order from A to Z. Everything in place. Re-work your swing for that domino effect.

• compact swing
• work smart
• time management
• rhythm & timing
• tension in the swing
• adjust as it comes
• wrist-action for batspeed
• eye-hand coordination
• visual pickup of pitch-release
• mental approach
• rolling start, every pitch
• wrist-hitting.

like catching a housefly...

Position your hands and with
a sneaky moving start and
whip-like acceleration,
snatch it!

How do we transform clusters of words into a swing that works? A little at a time, in steps of what-when-how; drills, tips, edges, insights, advice. You have to "know the ropes"

The Ropes

Tension in the Swing: the 19 Batting Tips
Rhythm & Timing
Compactness
Visual pick-up, at release
Knob-to, to location/action. "Auto-pilot"
Smooth rolling start
Time management
Wrist-crank.

Time Management

You have under one half-second to meet a pitch.
Time to react but not to think.
So organize, adjust as it comes, let the dominoes fall. Show you how.

Compact Swing

stingy with motion and effort of body or bat.
simple and quick.
a compact stance.
simplicity; stance-to-contact.
moving start.
stride-start with every pitch.
Relax, swing easy, be quick.

Settings

A swing is influenced by the settings it starts from, so take your stance/stride seriously.
Set-up to work like dominoes.

Grip the Bat

Wrists are joints between hands and arms.
Muscles in forearm power the wrist and hand.
Grip bat at the joints where fingers meet hands; curl fingers around bat.
Light pressure early, stronger later, max at contact. Happens almost naturally.

Cocked Wrists

Palms together at chest; "prayer" fashion. See the wrist angles. That's "cocked wrists" and its how they are when holding a bat right for our style. Don't force them to the limit, be casual. It loads wrists for maximum play, and muscles to fire hard.

Stance / Footwork

Athletic Position Simplified

From full erect posture:

Sink straight down to your depth (as if to jump straight up). Sink at least til weight leaves heels. Let knees and hips give; sink Straight down.

Head/shoulders, knees, toes align right vertically and do it naturally. Shoulders level. Plate-ward lean; butt-out.

It will center your weight, balance it on balls of feet and do it all perfectly, as Nature intended.

Without a list.

Get it right this way, all that's left to fish for is your own best depth. If someday you experiment with stance you need to know the way back, so know the details and keep it simple:

Self-adjusting, automatic!
Perfect stance ritual, perfect stance posture.

Key: sink straight down. Get it all automatically without thought, effort, or a list. Nature's adjustment package. Tweak one setting, it muddles the rest, so Don't tamper.

Stance details

Stance is Domino #1. Start here.
Square with the plate.
Loose grip, wrists cocked.
Sink to your depth, bent at knees and hips/waist, head (eye-line) level.
Head centered above/between feet, look at the pitcher.
Weight 50/50; front foot/back foot.
On toes, off heels.
Fists at back shoulder at high strike level, [or a bit above].
Shoulders level and square with plate.
Raise bat to 45degrees (approx) to ground.
Angle bat back 45deg (app) from pitch lane.
Front forearm parallel with chest, about level.
Front elbow angle, as fist position dictates.
Back elbow +/- 45degrees from ribs. Elbow angle; as needed to comply.
Shoulders and chest slack, spine relaxed.
No more work than it takes to stand with a bat, be ready, feel light.

Footwork width

There is no sure rule on width of stance and stride. Each of us is a unique combination of bone, muscle, and joints. A smooth coordinated swing happens only if upper body and legs work together. Because you're unique you work out the details for yourself. What we are after, is a framework that gets the most from your swing: free-flowing, strong, quick.

Shorter is Usually Better

Most good hitters use a stance that's shoulders-wide plus 2-4", and a 1-3" stride (side-ward step at pitcher). This is what I suggest. Scale it down for kids, younger frames can be stubbier.

Total footwork of 30 to 50% of height.

Test and experiment if needed, trading +/- inches between stance and stride. High contact rate is the target. Steady head/eyes, a must.

When in doubt, shorter = better.

19 Batting Tips That Work in any Swing; Ours or Others

Be loose to be quick, be quick to intercept tough pitching. Tension can interfere, slow a good swing down, complicate it. A tension tip can help a swing without changing it.

Have seen whole teams of sure-strikeout beginners begin putting the ball in play with only the "stride-with-pitcher" tip #11 and "release point" #8. Doesn't make a hitter overnight: can energize a lineup of patsies. Then, it's easier to doctor batting form, making choices based on a little contact. A good starting point. Helps you to "stay out of your own way". Never doctor batting form before reviewing for tension.

The tips work in any batting style, swing, or method in use. If you take swing lessons somewhere else, this won't interfere and might help. It takes no special equipment, space, or help and it's free mental/physical prep for hitting.

Check for tension before changing a swing, so you won't be "fixing what ain't broke".
To cure a batting slump,
Trouble-shoot a weakness,
Jump-start a beginner,
Batting practice and game hitting.

Observe tension tips in Drills [later]. Review these tips and edges and adopt them soon as you can. Stop, review, learn them. Invent more if you can.

The Tension Tips

• Balanced stance. Sink straight down at least 'til weight is off heels, on toes.
• Eyes level. Un-level eyes can't sort-out Balls and Strikes.
• Front elbow bent Straight arm; stiff, slow, hard to start, complicates things.
• Wrists cocked. Loads wrist joints & muscles.
• Pectorals loose, chest slack Military/lifting posture is strong but stiff. Breathing room for lungs. It's a stance, not a pose.
• Shoulders & back loose, slack Flexibility again.
• Grip loose in stance, crush-to-contact Flexible now, stronger later.
• Watch release point. See it before it gets you.
• No gritting, frown, faces, Eyes, vision.
• No more work than waiting with a bat. Flexible & quick, again. Feel light, be QUICK.
• Be exhaling. Unloaded lungs let torso flex.
• Ready-rock Foot-to-foot action, if you must.
• Stride with pitcher. Just in-case.
• Stride, every pitch. It's a dance, not a gunfight.
• Bat starts easy; accelerates... smoothly. Nothing starts at full-blast.
• A hard swing slows itself down Causes unpredictable doses of tension interference.
• Reach forward quickly and tag it Get the rest of it right; the bat goes through.
• StrideWatch-DecideSwing Divide-and-conquer!
• Don't steer it, just hit it! The ball knows what to do.

Tension Complications

This short demo shows what tension can do to you. A bat and a real Plate would be best but, any stick and a spot on the floor will do for a bat and the outside corner of the Plate.

Set up by taking your stance at the 'plate', including the ritual of touching the bat to the outside corner to assure coverage.

Leave the bat on the corner, touching it, your stance unchanged.

Bend the front knee just a touch more; watch the bat move away. Straighten it a bit and the bat moves closer. (At my own 5'7", there's 8" slack between the two positions. Enough to ensure coverage if I use it: or failure if I don't.)

Now, test the front hip. Test that shoulder, that elbow. The drills address all of it by training the frontside.

Of course the rear parts can affect the bat, too. We train both sides by avoiding swing tension.

We train the front parts to adjust in/out for location from visual pickup on, and get both the inside and outside pitches. The rear side follows.

Swing tension tips preserve coordination.

Plenty of strike zone coverage built into the swing, if you learn to use it. Plenty of trouble if tension gets you.

Swing Tension

Swing tension can cause any of it accidentally when swinging too late, too hard, or too excited, and distort form settings, plate coverage, or coordination. It only takes a little.

Exactly how each item affects a swing is too long a story but here's the quickie:

Abrupt rough swings, tightness, inflexibility, or flawed coordination might be caused by items 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17,18,19. Rough starts and off-balance by 8, 10, 12, 13, 17,18.

Vision by 1, 2, 8, 9. Late rough starts may indicate vision faults.

Beginners with unintended sudden or jerky motion or freeze-ups in swinging, indicates tension problems; suggesting poor visual pickup.

In the Drills you combine it all into a swing.

Rhythm, senses, motion, strike zone coverage, mind, body; everything you have blends into a fluid move turning image into reflex: ["See ball- hit ball"; you've heard of it]. React body-and-soul, to the ball.

You're probably already okay on some of these details, so it's not all new to you. Take what you need, soon as you can.

Weight Shift Demo

Weight shift is a forward move of torso and its weight during and after the stride.
In stance, feet share the weight 50/50.
Stride lightly and short.
As foot lands, seamlessly begin feeding body forward, lightly pushing with the back foot.
Back foot moves weight shift, front foot controls.
Slow, steady, lightly push til body/front leg angle approaches vertical.
Ideally, pitch arrives with body at full shift; body nearly over front foot, front side nearly vertical.
Shift happens with every pitch.

Stance Through Weightshift

Weight distribution:
in stance 50% on each foot.
By follow-through, about 10/90%.
It can happen only if stance & stride are very short.
Lift front foot to stride, without rock-back to load for stride.
Stride gently starts weight shift; just lift, land, and glide.
Back foot & knee feed forward shift gently as front foot lands.
At follow-through front knee bent (side view) but rigid; front side vertical, back foot pointing down.
In this swing hands lead hips, no hip pivot, no turn, no spin on back foot.

Details of Weightshift Footwork, This Swing

Stance, stride, torso and feet start square with Plate and remain so through the weight shift.

Seamlessly, stride, shift, and sneak hands at pitch. As stride lands, hands and body glide to front leg: catlike moves on a soft front knee. Back foot starts torso forward as stride lands, steadily feeds it forward.

Decision [pitch halfway] body over inside of front foot, back ankle straightening.
At swing-Launch (pitch 2/3+) back toe points down, front leg vertical. Torso, feet square.
At Contact: back heel high, ft leg/torso vertical, torso maybe past front foot.
Short footwork and early easy stride enable
cushioned landing of stride-toe.

Lift-off and landing of front foot starts the weight shift. A plus: stable eyes, clear visual pickup at release with steady visual contact throughout.

Steadily shift torso onto front leg at Launch, and over it at Contact. One smooth seamless move, like a cat. Every pitch!

Wristcrank

Wristcrank = effortless hopped-up rollover.
Extended weightshift = earlier rollover.
Early rollover = peak batspeed through Contact.
Hopped-up early rollover = Quick, strong, reliable.

Dry-run Wrist; Simple Version

Bat held with hands below chin.
Bat angle 45 degrees backward, 45deg behind.
Cock wrists, grip lightly/firmly.
In quick sequence straighten arms away, clamp hands, and wring the handle.
Without hips, shoulders, arms, swinging, or turning; effortless bat speed.

Dry-run Wrist: Casual Swing

That first test was from below the chin, straight out.
It's more like a swing this time:
From the back shoulder, at imaginary pitcher.
Bat at same 45deg angles.
Simultaneously shove hands at "ball", clamp hands shut and wring through the "ball".

Palm-up/Palm-down

Universal rule: "Start with the top hand palm up/bottom hand palm down and go through to contact that way. Palms switch-over after contact."

Our way: switch-over is earlier. Into contact.

Grip the Bat Lightly

Grip it where fingers join the palms.
Grip loosely: save it until Contact.

Opening the Bat

In a stance a bat points back, is "closed". In a swing, it "opens" across the pitch-path, stays open.

"Open-(ing)": any stage between the others. If hands stay near body, staying closed is easy. As arms and hands move away, wrists tend to straighten, opening the bat. (old-time cue was; "keep your hands in"). In the best swings, opening is delayed longest (by keeping hands in). Weakest beginners open the bat early. Learn to delay it, then explode open late with wrist.

Breathing, senses, rhythm, timing, reflex, instinct can't quite be separated, though we might try. Weave it all into a control system called 'rhythm and timing'.

Deflated lungs make room for surrounding muscles to flex. Inflated, they interfere. Light breathing calms: Heavy breathing, the opposite. Even the pulse is affected. So; the breath ritual before basketball free-throws. (We do it our way).

Controlled breathing creates a calm at-bat environment. Your own private world. Nice, quiet office. Hear and feel your breath to exclude outside noise. You can't think and hit, but you can focus on "feel/hear/see/breath/reach." Too simple for thought or worry. Even a dog can handle it, but isn't your animal side where you want to be? Just you and Reflex, tracking a pitch? "Feel/hear/see/breath/reach" displaces thought: "you can't think and hit at the same time".

Hitting is like slipping into expressway traffic: It flows, you match speeds, then merge. Without rhythm (match speed), you can't do the timing (merge). Rhythm comes first.

Pitcher acts [stride-throw], you react [stride-swing]. The pitcher has the rhythm. You move with it. If you do, it's batting rhythm. You stride-swing to his stride-throw. Match-up your strides right, to time him. How to Stride right? "Stride-with-the-pitcher!" It's a little dance.

Having trouble with this wordiness? Why not say it up front; "stride with the pitcher!" Usually do, on the field with a kid. Works okay. If you crave explanation; read. If not, no sweat. You'll hit too, if you stride with the pitcher.

Observe a Pitcher

Observe a pitcher working out, from close enough to hear his stride and release. (Better yet, when two pitchers work side-by-side.)

Hear the scuff of his foot on dirt, flick of fingers off the ball, the pop of the catcher's mitt. Same way every time, so regular you can memorize it. So, memorize it. Then turn your back to him and see how you can time him to the pop of the mitt, from his stride. If two pitchers are working, you'll probably find they're alike in that respect. Scuff of foot, flick of release, pop of mitt; the key events of a pitch.

Be exhaling a gutful, and insert light grunts to mark time with those key events. (The mitt pops when your bat would meet it.) Learn to live with that little three-beat tune.

Ritual breathing

Breathe lightly; with hand on breadbasket, inhale til abs fill; no more. (call it a 'gutful').

Don't want to feel it higher. Know the feel, make it consistent, uniform, habitual. Calm down. That's all you get, on the bench, in the on-deck circle, in the batters box, and between pitches. Calm gutfuls.

Listen inward; hear & feel your breath

Clock it, deflating casually (without force) to 'comfortably empty' in 3-4 seconds, same way every time. Relaxed shallow intake; casually deflate in 3-4 sec. Do it!

Every pitch forever: deflate/hum, stride/release----Contact. Hear and feel it!

What's this? ( ---- )? Accent, duration, and time of Beats. Clocking the beats and intervals between. Be your own clock.

Inhale a gutful easy as he winds-up. Leak it to blend with him: deflating as his stride lands, hum the Beat stride[1]-release[2]----Contact[3]. Meanwhile, your stride lands with his, and full shift coincides with Contact.

Deflation can be regulated to a trickle by partial-check in the throat, to blend your sequence with a pitcher's. Throat-check is the control valve.

Experience with pitchers will tell how to cope with situations: full or stretch delivery, strange pitcher, erratic one. The only hard rule is, you breathe to live, you're the one on the spot making decisions; and Never panic over that last gutful. Take it easy. Breathe. The pitcher's the one with the worries now.

"Casual, relaxed deflation": Practice with rhythm (stride-release-contact) when watching ballgames with serious pitching; even TV games. Make it part of you. Start forming the habit in the Conversion Drills if not sooner.

Details

Pitchers stride long/hard/fast, you stride short, soft, light. Don't panic over his violence. Stride easy.

For a pitcher much too quick or slow, adjust your stride-beat a tick or two earlier or later.

Your stride is, when the ball of your foot lands. Not the impulse, first move, or lift-off, not the heel. The ball/toe of your foot lands softly, about the same time as a pitcher's foot [in our swing]. Stride lights your fuse, toe controls it. With a strike on the way, so is a good swing. If you like it, you're under control and moving.

Same breath routine with every pitch, from the drills to forever: Like an old song.

Audio-record a pitcher's delivery

Can you record a good pitcher's sounds? Use it as a practice tool, to work alone off the field. Rehearse your motions to the soundtrack.

Other batting styles?: batter Decides-Strides with a pitch halfway home. That swing and rhythm is more complex. It's been reviewed everywhere else; we won't do it here.

By release; stride landed.
Visual pickup of pitch.
With pickup; knob-to-ball.
Knob-to tracks, bat levels, cracks open.
Weightshift onto soft front knee and shoulder follows knob down, in, or out
(knob upward = alarm! "Ball!") Learn the "feel" of pitch location in your body.
Legs/knees (now) like wobbly old table legs, can comply with knob-to, to help.
Hands/knob-to start at visual pickup, track pitch in. With a strike on the way, so is a good swing.

Knob-to-Pitch Location/Action, Through Decision.

High pitch, middle: stance setting unchanged.
Inside pitch: knob-in opens front shoulder early, soft knee complies.
Outside pitch; knob-out closes front shoulder early, soft knee helps.
Low pitch; knob-down, front shoulder follows, soft knee helps.
Back shoulder never drops. Front shoulder never pulls on its own til contact, answers only to knob.
Knob commands as it tracks the pitch down, in, or out.
Torso sinks, opens, closes to prep for location; per knob/knee action.
Pitch arriving; body/head moving to front foot, back leg straightening, heel raising.
At contact weight 90-100% on front leg, front leg vertical, back toe down, maybe dragging or aloft.

As Pitch Arrives...

Weight on front foot.
Reaching for it.
Bat opens/wrists crank, arms extend (straighten), rear toe driving, front heel settling.
Shoulders and hips follow hands.
Front knee bent but now tense.
Wrists open bat into contact, rear toe pumping weight into front foot.
Front leg vertical.
Weight 90+% on front foot.
Shoulders & wrists force bat around center of planted rigid front leg.
Shoulders follow hands, hips follow shoulders around.
Hips last, not first.
Front leg acts upward through, across to rear shoulder and to arm and bat.
Rear heel is up, toe may drag or lift.
Bat reaching for pitch.

Wrist-Hip Finale

Full weight shift, full extension, opening, wristcrank, and contact follow each other so quickly they seem to coincide.

All of it merges then peaks at contact.
Body-turn, at last!
Full shift results in the sharp, short new hip.
Weight feeding onto front leg to the limit of shift and balance.
As forward shift crowds the edge, torso must turn: Inward bump of the rear hip from extended back foot.

Late short, quick, hard turn is the automatic, natural outcome of a well timed and executed sequence, not to be forced. [Don't call it-it calls you].

Don't expect great violence: It's short, quick, natural, into contact, exerts a sharp jolt when needed most. No heavy effort or explosion, except for the hands and wrists.

Hip action Demo

Hip action demo: dry-run it to know it when you get it.
Short stance, knees kinked, fists on hips. Stride 2-3", shift to the limit.
Control balance at the forward limit by swerving 'around' that leg. That's pivot; our way.
As back hip pops forward: pelvis swivels on front leg.
It's an offset pivot; axis is front hip. Back hip turns very short but hard into contact.
Full shift, extension, wristcrank, hip, and shoulder turn coincide into contact. No waste.
As rear hip pops, shoulders turn, spine arches.
All of it acts through shoulders to arms and bat.
Bat stroke is a few degrees downward, follow through is high.

This hip action is the natural result of a physical sequence, like follow through. As a natural outcome, it can't steer or shape what leads to it. It is described for you here as the climax of a Wrist sequence.

Mirror Work

If you're "not seeing the ball well", maybe you're not looking at it. Might not be making clean visual pickup of release, due to disturbed eyes. Mirror Work shows how form, motion, and tension affect visibility, might help correct it.

You'll need a:

• vertical dressing mirror,
• bit of chalk,
• dark felt tip marker,
• short piece of broomstick [for a dummy bat handle] and
• a helper for a minute.

Do mirror work in your sox.

Take your stance with your head about 4 feet from the mirror, as if the pitcher's facing you there. Match-mark your big toes and the floor with chalk (dots on and by big toes), so you can repeat that position exactly.

Sink into your stance, face the "pitcher", and guide your helper with the felt-tip marker to put a dot precisely where you see your front eye's pupil in the mirror.

Watch the eye and dot as you swing. See the pupil jiggle off the dot as you cock, stride, and launch? Repeat it a few times: see how the pupil dances around the spot the same way every time? (Make sure your feet are at the matchmarks.) This disturbs your eye-hand coordination. But, there's good news, too.

As consistent as the eye motion is, it can work for, not against you. The eye can be controlled (that I know of) to within 1/8" of the dot (at 4' from mirror), from cocking to stride to launch.

Work through the cock-stride-launch sequence in steps. Relate eye-spot error to coinciding body moves. Eliminate them.

Lateral spot error can be caused by imbalanced stance;

Vertical error, by footwork or dipping the back shoulder,

Then, there's a rough stride. Those are the easy ones, but this should be enough. If not, test against the swing tension list. Precise, smooth moves are essential to making instant visual pickup of a pitch at release and tracking its flight. Either you make visual pickup at the pitcher's hand or waste time searching, and find it late. Late isn't good enough.

The mirror is a useful tool when learning the new stance, stride, swing.

The key to this is; just what you're doing as a pitch is released. In our swing, it's your stride and maybe early weight shift. Making clear, clean visual pickup of release is the reason footwork must be smooth at that moment. And it's why all the nagging here, about eliminating "away" and cocking moves. They're destructive complications possibly interfering with visibility, and unnecessary in our swing.

So-called 'rotational' swings are said to depend on such pre-pitch cocking motions: If you're one of those batters, make sure all is smooth. Mirror work can help you polish them.

It's likely to be a thorough revamp of your swing.

Learn the foot & hand action: weight-shift, knob-to-ball, wristhitter swing, in the Drills.

Each drill teaches something you need. Each one adds to what came before. They add-up to a swing. With drill 8, you have a whole swing. Use that swing along with all the tips and edges shown before and after, and it's a complete batting method. "A swing that works".

The practice pitcher must throw per needs of each particular drill. Must understand the drills.

Must start each drill at a speed the batter can easily handle. Should increase speed along with the batter's growing ability to handle it.

Drill 1

Object: a smooth well timed stride with the pitcher. Your strides land together.

Pitcher: Wiffle-balls thrown from the stretch. Underhand is okay. Stride-release cadence regular. All high strikes, flat trajectory. Easy speed at first, step it up as the batter learns.

Batter: Learn exhaling/rhythm, smooth start, release point pickup,
Stride only. Exhale the rhythm.
Be aware of and control your body and stride.
No motion but forward. Omit waste motion carryover from your old swing.
No bat. Hands on hips.
Stride lightly with the pitcher.
No turn of body.
No rock onto back leg, to start.
Forward motion only.
The 3-5" stride is just a soft, controlled, light forward "fall" onto the toe.
With hands on hips, it's easy to be aware of waste motion urges, and omit any body-turn.
Sneaky-softly, like a cat.
If you mistime one, just Take it. Back off and get set for the next pitch. Like in a game.
Stance foot-spread is so close and stride so short that stride is a lift-land seamless, controlled, soft, sneaky forward "fall".
Move smoothly for steady clear vision.
Lots of reps until it's smooth and sure.
Learn to match your stride with the pitcher's.
Like a stalking cat.

Drill 2

Object: seamless stride-weightshift.

Pitcher: wiffleballs, as in drill 1.

Batter: Learn to blend the stride into weight shift.
Drill 1 applies.
Soften-up the knees.
Breathe the Beat.
Stride-shift. Blend stride into weight shift.
Forward weight shift added by action as back leg feeds torso over the front foot.
Front side reaches vertical as pitch arrives. Cat-like.
No bat, hands on hips.
Stride-Shift only.
Stride with pitcher, hands on hips, eliminate body turn as stride lands.
No turn, no rock-back.
Blown timing on a pitch? Stop Now, get set for the next pitch. As in a game.
Knees soft and loose, not stiff.

Drill 3

Recall the strike zone coverage demo on page 16 in the article on swing tension. Now we get deep into that.

Object: seamless stride-shift-lead in and out. Auto-tracking to high-inside and outside.

Pitcher: wiffleballs, all high strikes, inside and out. Instant visual pickup at release.

Batter: No bat. Just the arms and interlocked hands.
Learn knob-to-ball move. High strikes: be selective, Take any others.
Elbow to pitch. Follow elbow: soft front knee makes-way in/out.
Hands follow front elbow; ("rock-a-bye baby" motion).
Forearms align, hands pass center, reach armpit with forearms still nearly aligned.
Shift all the way over the front foot with hands still in and without or turning torso.
Keep arms and hands in and head down.
Coinciding are; full shift, front elbow, pitch.
No bat.
Fingers interlocked at rear shoulder, front forearm above high strike.
Front forearm level and parallel with chest, then other forearm glides into line.
Stride with pitcher. Foot lands and shift, hands, elbow move to pitch.
Move to high strikes only.
Stride-Shift-Lead, front elbow to ball.
Soft front knee gives to allow elbow action, adjusts stance in or out to pitch location.
No rock-back, no turn.
One smooth move ends with full elbow lead, full forward shift, arriving pitch. Hands at breastbone.
Stride-Shift to forward limit.
Soft front knee gives to let front elbow & hands move in/out.

Drill 4

Object: knob-to, inside and out. Closed bat.

Bat choke-gripped at midpoint. Closed bat. Knob-to-ball to high strikes. Adapt whole body (auto-pilot) to knob-to move to high strikes across the zone. Previous drills apply.

Pitcher: high strikes, consistent rhythm.

Batter: Previous drills apply.
Extreme choke, grip loose : batter sees plus feels how he controls bat-opening.
Hands start forward, closed bat trailing behind [lengthwise] as hands pass chest.
See the bat, feel the wrists, relate sight and feel.
[It's a spear, not a paddle. Be your own coach].
High strikes only now. [Take everything else, Coach!]
If you blow one, forget it and start over. Breathe the rhythm.
See how the bat levels-off and glides parallel with/past chest.
Bat angle declines from [stance] 45degrees, as knob approaches location, barrel trailing behind hands and knob.
Bat stays closed long as possible, [barrel moves a bit outward late].
Forward motion only.
At full shift as pitch reaches knob; no hurry, hitch or lag.
A disciplined move is the goal. Knob & ball may
tap now, a good sign and fun; but not the goal so, no jabbing or fudging to tap a ball, Coach!
Fight-off intrusive old static. Erase old urges from memory.
Back-off if you blow one, and start over with the next pitch. We all do it at first. No motion but forward.
Fight conditioned urges and reflexes. Pick up a bat and it captures your mind, makes decisions if you let it.
Eliminate waste motion or explosion.

Drill 5

Object: knob-to, to every corner, in/out/ and high/low. Opening bat.

Pitcher: wiffleballs to all points.

Batter: This is the Key drill.
8" choke grip. Open bat, square it, make contact, pop it straight back, follow-thru at pitcher.
Fat ones go straight back; the others spray.
Bat opens. Front knee soft, back knee complies.
Start knob to any point, open bat into ball.
Previous moves apply. Forward only, No rock, turn, twist, cocking, etc.
Stride-Shift-Knob-to-ball; hands-in until bat must open on pitch. Knob controls, shoulder follows.
Soft front knee; loose, soft knees/legs.
Knob and knee action immediate at visual pickup.
Knob to inside opens shoulder, knee helps. Knob to outside closes shoulder, soft knee permits.
Knob to high border up the middle; steady knee. Knob low; front knee gives.
Bad pitches. It's good game-conditions practice.
Stop and get set for the next.
Note how location feels as the body adapts; it's feeling location with your body.
With knob consistently within 2 feet of strikes, you could reach them with a full grip and are ready for the next drill.
Be patient and selective.

Drill 6

Object: choke-up and nail every strike on the sweetspot. Resist turning. Hit fat ones straight back. Others, up the middle.

Pitcher: Wiffleballs to all points.

Batter: 4" choke grip, locate the sweetspot and slap hit.
Other details like Drills 1 to 5.
Exhale as always; the Beat.
Slap hit, try to follow-through at pitcher, not around.
Work as before, time the one smooth move to meet every pitch on-time without lurch or lag correction.

If you mis-time one, instantly pass. That's life, you're in control, Taking is part hitting so get used to it. Pass when you've blown timing, control, on bad pitches or moves. Hitting is about timing, control, being ready.

Practice perfects the rhythm and timing. Trashing bad starts is good practice.

Shorter choke grip gives you the feel of the bat now, the feel of it incites wild old urges. The bat tries to take control and make you extend, open, explode, or turn your body too soon. Discipline yourself to get the straight pitch-ward move. You and the knob are in control now, not the bat. Hands and knob lead, bat trails. The bat and body turn at the very end; so, not yet.

As you lead forward fully with the knob and coordinate full lead, full shift, and the ball the bat cracks open naturally as hands travel forward. Test that in dry runs now.

Drill 7

Object: full grip, and 10 for 10 hard square contact on the sweetspot. Slap hitting.

Pitcher: Wiffleballs to all points in zone.

Batter: Full grip. Slap it and follow through around. Exhale the beat. As in Drill 6 but with full grip and follow through. In a smooth move, Stride-Shift-Aim-Soft Knee; as hands and pitch converge shove bat through to tag it.

Full shift + extension + body = Open-Bat-On-Pitch!

Here's how it works:

as knob moves forward, bat cracks-open, as you "reach to tag it" arms extend, body follows as bat opens fully. Ball knows what to do. Try a few easy, careful dry runs.

Start easy, accelerate gradually, peak speed into contact. Resist, delay turning.

Hit fat ones straight back, let the others spray, the ball knows where to go. Run that bat as far up the alley as it'll go before turning into follow through. Try for 10/10 square contact to all corners. You can do it now.

Drill 8

Object: plug-in wristcrank. Graduation Day!

Pitcher: wiffle-balls to all points in the zone.

Batter: Learn the wristcrank; you know the rest.

Full shift + extension + wristcrank + body = Open-Bat-On-Pitch!

Same details as Drills 1 thru 7. If you mastered Drill 7, you can trust wristcrank to sting the ball quick as a flash. Breathing/rhythm and work-smart technique blend you and a pitch into One. Hitting won't be so tough any more.

Batting Practice [BP]

Quit a BP (or drill) on a good note, after a few square hits in good form. Don't practice tired; compensations for it creep in along with frustration, and it all follows you to bed to be reviewed in your sleep. Why practice that? Stop on a good note, savor the feel of it, contemplate success all night. This ties-in with how muscle memory works.

You have a systematically self-adjusting swing.

Your stance has you ready for fat high strikes. The knob-to/soft knee habit adjusts you to inside, outside, or lower strikes; maybe with some overlap at edges of the Strike Zone. All this at work as a pitch reaches halfway-in. You know how it works. Don't take chances with it.

If you adopt the stance and footwork advised, all you should worry about is getting the knob, elbow, and knee, tuned into every pitch. When you do, other body parts arrange themselves properly. The elbows conform, knees stay soft, the eye and the knob line up the ball. You're in control.

What you can't control is outside pressure to

1. swing harder. There is always objection to an effortless-looking swing, by kibitzers with nothing at stake. Agree with them all, continue as usual, and thank them for all the help.

2. the hit/run play; place-hitting. Do what you can if you must. One safe possibility is to slide the top hand upward at release, and slap the ball (without wristcrank). The resulting split-hands grip might result in the bat control needed to place hit. Avoid getting lost and sacrificing your best form to do it.

To Raise Trajectory

If hitting constantly too low, settings of fists and/or knee might correct it . Try adjusting.
Test: a hair more kink of the back knee "just enough for you to feel but not for me to see".
Or in the stance; fists a tad lower. Also; fists lower for a steep drop-ball pitcher.
You're after a rising liner, not high flyballs or popups so don't overdo it. If any pop-ups or flyballs; you have.

Equipment

Design drills and practice around what's available. There's the field, yard, garage, or basement. Baseballs, tennis, ragballs, and wiffleballs all sizes. Bats; plastic, wood, metal; wooden hardware store dowels for lighter balls.

Shop the internet; no end to the variety there.

A good live pitcher is the toughest "must" to get, for drills/BP. Instruct him on rhythm, etc and pass the ball bucket.

Pitching Machines

There are pitching machines both good and not. Some simply spit-out balls to be hit on pure reflex; No! You feed-off pitching rhythm now; not pure reflex. Arm machines are good. A wheel machine with rhythmic warning signal; okay.

An arm machine [are they all Master brand now?] is more predictable than wheel-type though not as rhythmic as live pitching. To meet rhythm needs I had an electrician modify one:

• rotary switch on output shaft,
• a series of visual and audio signals to flash and click, representing pitcher's prep.
• more distinct signals: "pitcher's arm-cock, and pitcher's stride", before a throw.

Friends use a golf wiffle pitcher with flashing light; "Personal Pitcher", at short range with good results. Good reports also, about SandlotSlugger.

Take-timing

Stride and shift with every pitch. Shift/watch until it passes (good, or not). (Never quit on any pitch until it has passed.) Compare your rhythm with the pitcher's speed range, and adjust stride time.

Speed Range

Your breathing and stride routine sets up the window of time just wide enough for the pitcher's whole speed range.

Visual Pickup of Release

Visual pickup of release __ at the pitcher's hand. Watch release point. Follow the first trace of white you see, and on the way in it becomes the ball. Do Not follow the ball through the pre-pitch motions.

Pick-up at the Pitcher's Hand

You do it playing catch so you can at bat. Didn't know it? Play so much catch, you lost respect for the details and ignore how it works? There's a batting secret for you in the details.

With a peg just out of my hand, I can see your mitt start correctly for it. So does mine, at your pegs. The mitts shadow the pegs, starting 1-2 feet from release. The legs comply too; on wilder throws you make some wicked stabs you can't do without legs. You're on autopilot and don't know it.

Watch partners at it: Observe from a position aligned to see the release and mitt/legs of both partners. They always start right. So, why not, at bat? Why the stiffness at bat?

At bat, the drills train the hands and body to react the same; the knob-to acts early, the soft knee, etc. comply. You'll groom a hand/knee reaction and coordinate it with the shift-swing; make visual pickup then be on autopilot for location and action.

Visual pickup can be practiced any time you play catch, especially in pre-practice throwing warm-ups. Take warm-ups seriously, watching release points. Make playing catch a little slice of batting practice, for the sake of both your hitting, and evading a wild pitch.

Bailing-out

If you see The Drill coming, you have decisions to make, about bailing-out. Duck or dodge? Your choice depends on,

• where it is,
• how high,
• how you're moving as you see it coming. Never bet on gravity. Muscular action is faster than gravity if you apply force to the escape.

Never stop-and-restart; a re-start takes long enough to get you drilled.
Here are your choices. You know by the time the pitch is halfway home.
If it's at or above the thorax (breadbasket), duck!
If below the thorax, dodge or skip aside.
If in doubt, duck.

[In this swing] you'll be halfway weight-shifted; still moving forward. You have two options.

[best] Never stop, keep moving and veer to the outside, double-over, dive forward-outside-down. You'll be safely clear long before it arrives. This is your first and best choice [in this swing] once you trust it.

[next best] keep moving but twist inward-back-down at catcher.

What's This "Dive Forward / Once You Trust It"?

'Forward' is scary now, but it works in this weight shift swing; because it is a weight shift swing. It works best because it feeds-off existing motion; pitch halfway home, batter still moving.

You'll know after bailing the other way a few times, and reviewing it. New as this swing is to you, it must be familiar enough to trust. Then make a choice. Your call. Sometimes it's as easy as; turn and walk away.

Hitting Advice, This or the Other

Batting methods and swings differ, and often their parts and tips don't agree. All coaches don't know this, insist on their swing and tips, and quibble over anything and everything.

In this method the hands lead the hips by a mile.
Take your hands with you as you stride. Don't "stride away from your hands"; that's another breed of swing.
Omit "away" or backward cocking motion of hands, shoulder, knee or hip; in this swing setup.
That 'other' stuff is foreign to this swing.

Moves and Sequence

I like descriptions. Descriptions from many angles of the same thing. Following, are two different descriptions of this swing, One in terms of motions, labeled "the moves". The other, "sequence" lists intentions and their timing. It's impossible to separate them perfectly but, it's the best I can do.

The Moves

As the stride lands, weight shift and knob sneak forward, a smoothly blended Foot-Hands-Body move.
The front knee flexes to make way for the knob to move as needed.
Hands/knob flow to breastbone.
Barrel trails the knob as it begins opening past breastbone.
As front forearm extends, knob and pitch converge.
Now reach for it and crank the wrists.
Extension triggers clamp-wring of bat, briskly opens bat through pitch and into follow through.
Ball is met at torso's frontside coinciding with smooth forward extension.
Contact, full weightshift and arm extension cause what little hip action you need, fired by a naturally caused pump of the back foot.
Rear hip kicks, then hips trail.
Top hand and arm follow bottom ones throughout.
Bat opens across pitch then moves to rollover then into a high follow through.

Sequence

Watch pitcher's release point.
Step lightly as he strides, stride the width of your foot.
Watch ball center.
Shift forward easy at the pitch as you watch.
Hands & knob move forward, sneaking to pitch.
Soft front knee gives per knob direction.
Front shoulder follows knob.
Knob reaches breastbone (launch-point) at Decision.
Reach forward quickly at a strike; reach forward/ out and tag it.
As hands and pitch converge, clamp hands shut and twist hard!
Full weightshift and arm extension ignite hip action, fired by a naturally caused pump of the back foot.
The only violence is wristcrank
No motion whatsoever anywhere, but forward motion. No excess motion.

Speed Range

Your breathing and stride routine, and Take-timing set-up the "window of opportunity" to include the pitcher's speed range. Stride adjustment tunes it in finer. Hands deal with the microscopic details.

Your rhythm sets-up the moment: hands find the instant.

Know the big-picture and use it! "You can't think and hit at the same time" but the mind is always there and asserting itself, so harness it. Work smart, be efficient, observe everything, waste nothing. Be tension-free (now, always, forever). It's a dance you can win!

This particular batting style is "front-leg weight shift, wrist" method. This swing works only on fast (flat-trajectory) pitching. Won't work in slow-pitch games, slow BP, or slow tests like those other "rotational" swings do. This is highly specialized. It works well for "lost causes and hopeless cases" who have "tried everything" and got nowhere. It's what I teach best.

be realistic There is no magic. There will be no accidental lucky break that stays for keeps. Swinging harder never cuts it. Endless practice can't help; polishing old mistakes perfects the mistakes. There have always been heroes, fads, trends, sales pitches; new brands of snake-oil. There has never been a new swing. The basics have been here at least as long as movie cameras, maybe even the human body. So, work smart, be efficient, watch everything, waste none of it. Be tension-free (now, always, forever). It’s a dance you can win, not a quick-draw gunfight. There's no place for blind faith. There are things you can prove for yourself right now. You've seen the Tension demo and Tips, the Mirror Test, tested the Wristcrank. The Tension tips will help your swing as it is now, without change. No risk. Start there. Accept only proof against pitching pressure, casual BP doesn't count much, now. The one true measure is the crack of the bat, against serious pitching. Get it with: simple smooth stride-shift, visual pickup at release, smooth steep acceleration, reach forward quickly/smoothly to tag it. How many times did it say 'smooth'? Keep it in mind. Glide! In hitting, we all had to start somewhere. Find something useful and build on it. Start from scratch, proceed cautiously, find what works, and build. It should work against the best pitching you face and grow from there. Then, get to know yourself, what type of damage you're best at, and specialize in that until you outgrow it. Test everything against pitching pressure. BP homers are only BP. What counts most is what you can do when it's needed, even if it's a single. Aim to hit the best on his good day. A homer in a laugher when everybody hits, means little. What can you do when it's needed? But, take the easy pitchers seriously too, to help yourself and your buddies get a few more at-bats. Never waste an out, a swing, an AB, not even a take. Get something from every pitch. Everything you see. Waste nothing!

For Beginner (Beginner Parent?) Used to Playground/Back Yard Slow-pitch.

What a kid will never forget, is hitting. It's worth trying, to jump-start a batter. They may recall it as even better than it really was. Until a more serious pursuit takes over; best way to learn to study and apply it, is to study what you can't resist.

Where do we start? How to keep it simple and get it all the way through that way? Your experience might be none at all, a little a long time ago, or little more than that. I write here for the "none at all", hoping the others interpret. Start with this beginner program, then as skill and understanding grow, get into the main text. [In my experience, sharp kids can follow most of what I write and use it. Might get a little help here and there.

If I had to teach hitting in a few lines, it would go like this:

Smooth, always.
It's a dance, not a gunfight.
Sink straight down as if to jump straight up.
Don't crush the bat.
Be exhaling.
Stride with the pitcher.
Watch pitcher's release point: see his release.
Follow the white from release point, in.
Keep hands and arms in close.
Reach forward Quickly to tag it!
Ten lines. From there; details.

There's a big difference between the backyard and competitive games. It takes some training, but it can be handled. How much training, when to start, what to do? Worst possible sin is to "wait till the season starts, see how [he] does" and then act. Don't kid yourself. If you don't know whether [he] needs it; [he] needs it. (Have seen that sin before.)

The time to start is now: Sooner is better. After a few games, is far too late because a kidball season (organized ball) happens too fast. Be ready to prove something at the first practice. Something like, ability to make solid contact against organized-style pitching. If not in the starting lineup the first game, at least be ready for those first times at bat. There are only about 20 games in a kid-ball schedule; 10 weeks, to the end of June maybe. Don't assume that Kidball season and Summertime are the same. Check schedules in your town. No time to burn, if a kid thinks baseball's important.

Give the kid time and Start Now; fall, winter, whenever! Now! Time is what it's all about: months, weeks, days, to master split seconds at-bat. Time!

Any activity involving visually tracking a moving ball is good. Playing catch and fielding practice including grounders are okay, batting practice with plenty of Strikes, is best. The 8 Drills in the main text are essential. All the batting practice you can do, forming good habits. Hitting fungos is poison, (though some coaches love it).

Know the form and use it; if not, it's practicing mistakes! Start at lower speeds, but speed up gradually as the kid can handle it. Wheel-type pitching machines are out! Fungos or slowpitch, useless. Personal Pitcher type golf-whiffle ball machine will work. Master machine; good. SandlotSlugger works.

If/when nervous, scared, worried, too noisy etc, advise "listen to yourself breathe!" Concentrate on that, and obey the eyes and reflexes.

The Game

The difference in batting in the back yard and the organized game:

• competitive pitching,
• fast pitches,
• a strike zone.

The strike zone is a fair target for the pitcher and fair chance for the batter. Reachable pitches are strikes: a strike is reachable with a good batting setup, so constantly review the setup (stance and start).

Fast pitching is the hurdle, time is the challenge. But, it's not a quick-draw wild-west gunfight; just a dance with a pitcher. The remedy is, to understand the change and work smart.

Hitting a fast pitch is something like snatching a housefly; be smooth, sneaky, quick. NOT brutally violent. Against a casual slow pitch a batter will Watch, Decide, Stride, Swing; one thing at a time; four steps and all the time in the world. A fast pitch cuts the time by half or more. There's about 1/2 second to hit, now. Manage the sequence to manage the time. Start by trashing the old slow-pitch way (watch, decide, stride, swing). Now, its : WatchStride-DecideSwing.

Stride with every pitch "just in case", "Swing if you can reach it". Do it from a good stance (to be described). The old way won't work. Now, you Stride/Watch-Decide/Swing if you can reach it. [A strike is a strike cause it's a reachable pitch].

A Kid needs to know about strike zone borders. But, it's much easier to think and act in terms of "reach". The strike zone is the same as "reach". Reach is what it's all about, easier to react to, maybe quicker to learn. Eliminates thinking. It's worth a try.

The Pitcher

A newbie needs help sorting this out. Competitive pitchers are intimidating, the ball hard, the timetable impossible. To adapt, know how a pitcher ticks. The only really important things a pitcher does are stride- throw. The rest is preparation and it's his business, not yours. Pay attention to the stride-throw. The rest is blarney. Stride with him. "Stride/Watch with every pitch; swing if it's good. Pass, if not; but stride every time to be ready."

A pitcher looks like a magician at a shell game; Oh WHEN will he Throw it? What tells you when, is his stride. A pitcher must stride to throw; must throw if he strides. Rule Book says so, but a kid doesn't know, so explain: "stride with the pitcher; your strides land together. Stride with every pitch; it's just a dance, not a quick-draw gunfight" but, you must stride to be quick enough.

Find the release point as he warms-up or pitches to others. Be watching the release-point (place where he lets-go). Do NOT follow the ball throughout the windup, it will come right after he steps! Be aware of his release point, and stride.

Watch by the pitcher's body where you know his hand will start forward to throw. You may not see a whole intact ball there, you will see at least a trace of white as the hand comes forward. That white becomes a whole round ball on the way in. Follow the white, and it becomes a ball.

Be exhaling, hear your breath.
watch release point,
stride with the pitcher,
follow the white.
Stride with every pitch in case it's a strike.
Like a cat; smoothly!
Hit reachable ones, ignore the bad.
Reach forward-crush-tag!

Batter

grip where fingers meet palms of hands. Curl the fingers around the handle. Both hands, that way. Do not cram the bat back in the palms. This grip makes our swing work best. Grip lightly while waiting, gradually tighten as it comes, crush 100% into contact. Have newbies practice that a little, without pitching.

Wrists

On the inside of the forearm, are the muscles used to wrist-snap the bat into contact with this method. The wrist angles are important. Hold the hands near the chest, palms together as in prayer. See the angles of the wrists? That's the best wrist angle at bat. We call that "cocked wrists". It preps the wrists to snap the bat.

Wrist-snap (Wristcrank)

Better test this outside, with plenty of room. Hold bat (firmly this once) in the fingers, with wrists cocked. Below the chin, near the chest.

In quick order: shove hands out/away, lock hands, and 'wring' the bat handle: shove/lock/twist. ['wring'] means twist hands as if wringing a washcloth. The bat will quickly flip around. Without a big body turn. That 'lock/twist" is the only violent work there is in our swing. But, it happens last, built into the business end of a swing.

Another test:

That first test went from below the chin, straight away. This is more like a swing: From below the chin, by the back shoulder. Bat pointing back a little. Simultaneously shove hands toward a "pitch", lock hands shut, and wring. And listen. You can hear it! In such a short swing, you can hear a bat whoosh through the air, yet it's still not a big swing. A 10yr-old can make a bat sound off that way. Without violence.

A whole swing idles easy from the rear shoulder, glides to the breastbone, ends with that short swing. Stride with every pitch, hands sneaking to pitch, and Watch/Decide.

Stance

Follow these steps into your batting stance:
Square with, and erect at the plate holding bat.
Sink straight down (as if to jump straight up), at least until weight leaves heels.
Loose grip, both wrists cocked-hands away from bat handle.
Fists at back shoulder. At or above high strike. Shoulders squared and level.
Point bat up a little, point it back a bit. [up and back about 45 degrees].
Front forearm, about level, parallel with chest.
Front elbow kinked where fist position puts it.
Back elbow +/- 45degrees away from ribs. Angle; as needed to comply.
Shoulders, spine, chest slack. No military-set, no more work than it takes to stand and wait.
Swing quick and smooth, not hard.
Keep your hands in until you reach to tag it.
In the drills, include other tension-free tips as convenient

Swing

The swing is learned in Drills 1 through 8 of the main text.

Drills 1, 2, 3, 4 are simple but important.

All of the main text applies to beginners, soon as you get familiar. As you familiarize, the text is easier to understand. Proceed into that at your own pace.

Summary

Pushing a kid through a grownup's batting form program is a struggle so start simple. Sneaky changes will happen, if allowed. A new stance might wander, between pitches. Form a habit of detting up A-Z for every pitch.

The new action menu comes first (StrideWatch/ DecideSwing). Stiff legs, a common problem. They need constant reminders in batting practice to soften-up; I remind by bouncing and swiping at my own knees. Pointing beats nagging, quiet beats noise.

Stance balance and smooth stride improve vision of pitches. Move smoothly to see better. Constantly screen the Swing Tension tips in the main text, watching for glitches. It can show in facial expression: holding breath, clenching, gritting, frowning, crushing the bat.

Sometimes talking too much at a kid with a bat makes the bat swing all by itself (been there, done that; hand used as tee). Be quiet as you can. Correct with positives, not negatives.

Sudden, rough swings may be a rhythm problem; mis-timed stride, visual pickup, or tension/ tightness faults. Late swings suggest poor visual pickup.

Breathing right? With a hand on the solar plexus, inhale until it is just beginning to expand. That's deep enough, at-bat! You don't want to feel it higher. A kid can easily handle that and self-test any time.

A Kid Can Watch for Himself

The solar plexus breath gauge,
Sink straight down rule,
stance details,
soft knees,
watch-release-point,
be exhaling, listen-to-your-breath,
stride-with-pitcher.
These are rules a kid can carry anywhere: start learning with that. Remind them until it sticks.

A Roster of Beginners?

With a group of beginners, one-on-one spring training is impossible. Take them in handy groups of 2-3-4; talk and teach that way.

Natural distribution is about 2-3 passable hitters in around 20 kids. But they know it, don't crave help. Go where the hunger is: bottom-of-order and bench. Spot the modest and hungry, work with them, cause upward traffic in the lineup, might even get the 'top guns' interested. Coaches who re-work their best, (after Ruth-ian payoff) enter seasons minus the top of the lineup, Plus the neglected needier others. Go with modest Hunger.

Another tip. A kid swinging wildly and out of his head contrary to advice and urging, might have someone at home who thinks 'outta his head' is an impressive swing and instructed not to change it. Seek the Hunger somewhere else.