Bailey’s Blog

The tennis court is a dojo (sparring area when competing in martial arts) - A place of enlightenment..

A dojo is a minature cosmos where we make contact contact with ourselves - our fears, anxieties, reactions, and habits. It is an area of confined conflict where we confront an opponent who is not an opponent but rather a person engaged in helping us understand more about ourselves. It is a place where we can learn a great deal in a short time about who we are and how we react to the world.

These conflicts that take place inside the dojo helps us handle the conflicts that take place outside. The total concentration and discipline required to stay fit carries on to daily life. The activity in the dojo calls on us to constantly attempt new things, so it is a source of learning - in Zen terminology, a sorce of self enlightenment.

Based on a reading from my favourite book….Zen in the Martial Arts  - By Joe Hyams 

The great thing about quotes is that you can leave them up to the readers interpretation. They can use or think of them where relevant.

Below are 4 of my favourite fitness quotes!

Quote 1: Change your mind Change your body!

Quote 2: If you discipline yourself, no one else has too!

Quote 3: Train so you can take the fitness element out of the equation!

Quote 4: Soreness is weakness leaving the body!

Well I am proud to say this is Blog number 150!

Thanks to all my loyal readers….I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them! I have always said ..”Don’t trust your memory, Write it down!”….so I really recommend writing your ideas down as soon as they come into you head as the next day they mightn’t be there. The following story is one of my favourite of all times…..it is a great one to share with your kids, students etc…when exposing them to new concepts and ideas etc…

Empty your Cup

A Japanese Zen master received a university professor who came to study about Zen.  

It was obvious from the start of the conversation that the professor was not so much interested in learning about Zen as he was in impressing the master with his own opinions and knowledge. The master listened patiently and finally suggested they have tea. The master poured his visitors cup and then kept pouring. The professor watched the cup overflowing until he could no longer restrain himself. “The cup is overfull, no more will go in”. “Like this cup’, the master said’ you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen until you first empty your cup?” 

I learnt this from watching the dance show “So you think you can Dance!” 

A great dance teacher gives the student great knowlegde and versatility because just like in tennis… competition in the big wide world is fierce and to survive you have to be adaptable!! 

Therefore in a footwork lesson -

Give your student knowledge.

That is, how to move to the ball, set up the feet, recover automatically and instinctively, react and respond to an oncoming ball, use the back leg for balance, use you hips for power, keep good body alignmnent, reinforce the importance of a wide base and timing the split step etc…

Give your student versatility.

That is, a variety of contact moves which means they are equally good at defense, rally and offensive plays. They can use the hips and legs to impart a variety of spins and angles and direction to the ball. Also, by mastering many different contact moves they can then learn  and understand which move it best to hit the ball to different parts of the court and also have the ability to hit a variety of shots off the same ball while adapting to different court surfaces….In a nutshell …if you have versatility in your game, it is like selecting from a menu ….you have a variety of options… or a tool box of moves that you can pull out of the box on demand. You become Federer like!!! 

The other really important thing about a footwork lesson….is that when the player walks onto the court i.e. 20minutes to 1 hr a day….the FEELING ATTENTION ONLY WANTS TO BE ON THEIR FOOTWORK.

Forget grips, swings, tactics and mental practices there is so much to think just on their feet + there is some many other hours in the day to focus on all these other equally important aspects. Most attention spans can only handle 1 thing at a time!

Remember, it is foot WORK not foot WALK. Work hard at you footwork don’t walk through the motions. 

Don’t psych yourself out!

In tennis competition, don’t think too much with your conscious mind. Its like trying to force someones name into your head when your have forgotten their name. It only comes when you stop thinking.

Think only in practice. In practice you want to recognise, understand, experiment, select and CONSCIOUSLY FIX.

But….in match play it is the totally opposite. In match playyou want to black out your conscious mind and play instinctively.

Your conscious mind will tie you up if you listen to it. It will call your attention to all your mistakes, fears and inadequancies. When playing matches you can’t afford to be confused.

You must trust your training. Trust comes from great preperation, smart as against hard work and studious study of all aspects of your game. The goal through great practice it to let your instinctive subconcious handle the game and do things without analysing or debating.

We can all play great in practice…but what about when under pressure? Because when playing a match …it matters when you miss…it is a totally different mind set to practice

I believe the most convincing evidence in combating tension is to relax.  . When you relax you put all your attention on the other side of the net….this is the difference when in competition to working on things when practicing (where you have time to think only about yourself).

Thinking in practice = Planned playing

Instinctive in combat = Reactive competition

When I take my players on the court there is a lot of planned playing. But, playing matches is stressful and reactive. Repetition is the mother of skill. Practice is about great muscle memory and understanding and doing what works BEST FOR YOU.

The secret in match play is to relax under pressure and bring your playful practice into your tournament play. By great preparation it becomes like excellent study for a maths exam ….when the questions are asked the answers just flow!!          

As a coach knowing WHY a player is making an error is really important!

There are several reasons why a player makes an error. They might include -

• Poor footwork (player is late to the ball, is reaching for the ball, is too close to the ball)
• Bad balance (feet too close together, poor body alignment, poor use of the non -dominant arm and leg, no split step)
• Swing error (too big a backswing, turns the racket face over or under, poor follow through, loose wrist)
• Wrong contact point (hits above or below strike zone, hit late or too early)
• Mental error (is nervous, uptight, lazy)
• Pysical Conditioning (is tired, cramping, low blood sugar)
• Stategic Error (poor shot selection, hitting a low percentage shot or a shot they have not fully mastered)
• Variant factors (sun in eyes, windy, bad bounce, netcord)    

I suppose the list can go on and on……one thing I do know however, is that many many errors are due to poor footwork and bad balance while  the swing can be perfect ….or the footwork can be perfect, the balance great, the contact point right at the correct height etc… but the swing is all wrong. It is our job as coaches to understand ALL aspects of the game and straight away be able to make clear and accurate assessment OF WHY AND ERROR HAS BEEN MADE….I do feel in general that many coaches do not study footwork and balance enough and concentrate too much on the swing error and by pass the footwork and balance error!! All you hear is MOVE YOUR FEET…..well I am sorry that is not good enough!!! WE must teach the HOW and WHEN and WHY!!!

Coaches owe it their students to be knowledgable in all areas of the game…..TO BE CONSTANTLY UPSKILLING AND BEING A STUDENT OF THE GAME!! My aim of the Bailey Method is too a provide a system where coaches can  develop a BIAS EYE towards footwork, movement and balance and become a more COMPLETE COACH!!! Get licensed ……it is fun and will also really improve your own game!!! 

HOW we shift our weight from one leg to the other is very important….I call this mogul moving!

1. RELAX one leg towards the other, we never “brace up” or move towards both at the same time. The tendency should always be for one leg to take more weight than the other.
2. Remember to RELEASE and RELAX the leg that does not carry most of the weight. With on leg free , we can immediately adjust the other foot
3. If our weight is on both legs we have to shift to one or the other before acting
4. We have to prevent “FREEZING THE JOINTS” as this inhibits our ability to sink into our legs and draw on the earth and instrinsic strength. Think of squeezing the body into the ground …this will translate to compressive power and will really aid horizontal movement
5. Being relaxed is the key to shifting……keep the jaw, hands and shoulders loose as possible. Only ever try and move at 4/5th of your maximinm speed as tension will make you jump up and not get the push power from the ground that you need. Great shifters flow!!!

This was a question asked to Julius Menendez, Muhammad Ali’s Olympic Coach by Bud Winter, author of his fantastic book called ‘Relax and Win’:

Q. Did Ali have any special exercise or tricks to get relaxed, or was he mostly born with the ability to relax?

A. Well, I am not sure he had any tricks. His relaxtion sort of developed with his great training. He did a lot of shadow boxing where he constantly stayed loose when there was no pressure on. In shadow boxing, you develop a rhythm that is very important in aiding relaxation. You know, Ali is a dancer, constantly moving around, and he has for a big man, very quick reflexes. All this comes from his “floating like a butterfly” practice. He shadow boxed a lot like this.

Dear readers….You see I am a huge fan of shadow tennis! And, like the above suggests: Swing your racket (particularly in a warm-up before a match) with confident visualisation, relaxation and without pressure. Get the rhythm in your feet (which is so important to have from the get go) and get those feet moving in the MOST TENNIS SPECIFIC TRAINING TECHNIQUE (in my opinion) that exists  OFF COURT! 

The other blog from Ean Myer!

Vince Lombardi, one of the most sucessful football coaches ever was asked why he ran such a simple set of plays. His response: “It’s hard to be aggressive when you are confused”.

Thanks Ean, DB

I agree with Vince …..and that is what footwork training by hitting a fed ball is all about….you learn to READ a certain ball and RESPOND with a rehearsed set of steps, moves and stances that WORKS for you. This gives you a FAST, REACTIVE response but also removes confusion and most importantly gives you CONFIDENCE. The key ingredient to successful play!

The next 2 blogs are from a great friend of mine. His name is Ean Myer and he works at the Evert Tennis Academy (one of my past employers).

“Years ago a reporter asked Arnold Schwartzenegger: ” Now that you have retired from bodybulding, what are you going to do next?” ” I am going to be the number one box-office star in Hollywood”. “And how do you plan to become Hollywood’s top star?” “It’s the same process I used in bodybuliding. What you do is create a vision of who you want to be , and then live in that picture as if it were already true”.

He didn’t say you work until you receive a vision, you CREATE one. A major part of living a life of self-motivation is having something to wake up for every morning. The vision can be created right NOW. Do not live a moment longer without one.

Thanks Ean, DB!