Your mind's “built-in response mechanism” continually monitors your hip orientation.
To give you a better understanding of how your mind's “built-in response mechanism” impacts your pitching, let's address your actions/reactions strictly in terms of how your body works.
In fact, the way your body reacts when you're perched atop a balance beam doesn't stop just because you're pitching!!!
How your body works on a balance beam.
1. You control the way your mind's “built-in response mechanism” reacts.
Situation- When you take a step on the balance beam, you hips have to tilt.
Situation- When you take a step on the balance beam, you hips have to tilt.
Your reaction - The instant your mind's “built-in response mechanism” senses your hip tilt, your mind elevates the arm opposite the lowest hip.
Controlling your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - With the proper training, you can adjust your legs to walk the beam without tilting your hips.
Controlling your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - With the proper training, you can adjust your legs to walk the beam without tilting your hips.
2. You need not lose control of your body.
Situation- When you take one foot off the beam, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” takes control of your body.
Your reaction - With only one foot on the beam, you lose your other leg's stabilizing influence on your mind's “built-in response mechanism” and, until you find a way to balance your weight over the beam, even the slightest movement changes your hip orientation.
Situation- When you take one foot off the beam, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” takes control of your body.
Your reaction - With only one foot on the beam, you lose your other leg's stabilizing influence on your mind's “built-in response mechanism” and, until you find a way to balance your weight over the beam, even the slightest movement changes your hip orientation.
Controlling your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - With the proper training, there's a way to use your off leg (your front leg) to keep your hips level and stop your mind's “built-in response mechanism” from taking control of your body.
3. Making a spontaneous throwing (re)actions.
Situation - Place both feet on and perpendicular to a balance beam or line on the floor. Once you've done this, lift one foot and then, as a separate action, take a step.
Situation - Place both feet on and perpendicular to a balance beam or line on the floor. Once you've done this, lift one foot and then, as a separate action, take a step.
Your reaction - As your foot lifts up and comes back on the beam (line), your mind's “built-in response mechanism” senses the subtle change to your hip elevations and demands you use your arms to get your hips back to level. In order to complete a throwing action, you'd have to bring your back arm forward and swivel your front foot on the beam.
Using your mind's “built-in response mechanism” to make a throwing (re)action - When you lift your foot off the beam, instead of stepping forward, quickly move the same shoulder (the shoulder on the side of the front foot that's off the beam) away from the beam.
Your mind's “built-in response mechanism”...
1. Senses your misaligned shoulders and, to realign your hips, moves your back hip forward.
2. As this is happening, to stop you from falling off the beam, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” places your front foot back on the beam. (It needs to be noted that your stride is a "reaction" to your front shoulder movement and not an "action".)
Using your mind's “built-in response mechanism” to make a throwing (re)action - When you lift your foot off the beam, instead of stepping forward, quickly move the same shoulder (the shoulder on the side of the front foot that's off the beam) away from the beam.
Your mind's “built-in response mechanism”...
1. Senses your misaligned shoulders and, to realign your hips, moves your back hip forward.
2. As this is happening, to stop you from falling off the beam, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” places your front foot back on the beam. (It needs to be noted that your stride is a "reaction" to your front shoulder movement and not an "action".)
3. Your front foot contact with the beam instantly sends your mind's “built-in response mechanism” a signal that you landed with your front hip lower than your back.
4. To get your hips back to level, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” immediately rotates your throwing shoulder around your head and brings your throwing arm forward and across your body.
5. Your spontaneous throwing (re)action relies upon your mind's “built-in response mechanism” predictable reaction patterns to consistently bring your throwing hand through the same tiny release window on every pitch. (Your spontaneous throwing (re)action is the source of your sustainable fastball command.)
Controlling your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - Without someone training you to finish your front leg lift with your hips level, getting mind's “built-in response mechanism” to generate a spontaneous throwing (re)action becomes a physical impossibility.
Trying to figure out how to do everything that's presented takes years or you can ask me to teach you sustainable fastball command in a matter of weeks... the choice is yours!!!
L.A. “Skip” Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
skip@propitchinginstitute.com“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”
