The JKD of Tennis
I lie awake past midnight watching the US Open quarterfinal men's match between Rafael Nadal and Mardy Fish.
In observing the match, or rather the game of tennis itself, one can see a definite relationship between JKD and playing tennis.
Serves aside, at the very foundation there are only 2 strokes--the forehand and the backhand. Yet, these two strokes can be played many ways.
Hitting the ball after it bounces is a groundstroke. Hitting the ball before it bounces is a volley. You can hit the ball with topspin, with backspin, or flat. You can pop it up in the air, which is called a lob.
With respect to body movement, you can make either of these strokes while standing still or while moving forward, backward, or laterally (on the run, as they say).
In JKD we often stress how less is more. Another way to put it is, "JKD is more about less." It's not about how many techniques you know but rather about using a few tools really well in many situations. The same goes for tennis. These athletes can place a ball in the corner of the court or right on a baseline with incredible accuracy. They take two swings to such mastery, being able to hit a ball from anywhere on the court and put it where they want.
It can also be observed that when these professionals miss shots, out-of-position balls or bad bounces aside, it is often because they have taken a less-than-perfect stroke. Be it a slightly long or short step, an early or late swing, or taking the eye off the ball for but a split second can be the difference between a winning shot or hitting the tape and losing the point. The margin for error at the racquet face is incredibly small as compared to the amount of error at where the ball goes after it has been hit.
On a strategic level, tennis players use their shots to set up others. What does this sound like? PIA, of course. A player may work his forehand over and over, pushing the opponent to one side of the court, waiting for a backhand down the line that the opponent who is way out of position cannot return.
This level of mastery is something we should strive for in our training. Taking the jab, for example, we want to be able to use this tool in a variety of ways and in any situation be it high or low, moving forward or retreating, as an offensive tool or defensive.
Be really good at a few things instead of trying to do a lot of things just okay.
In observing the match, or rather the game of tennis itself, one can see a definite relationship between JKD and playing tennis.
Serves aside, at the very foundation there are only 2 strokes--the forehand and the backhand. Yet, these two strokes can be played many ways.
Hitting the ball after it bounces is a groundstroke. Hitting the ball before it bounces is a volley. You can hit the ball with topspin, with backspin, or flat. You can pop it up in the air, which is called a lob.
With respect to body movement, you can make either of these strokes while standing still or while moving forward, backward, or laterally (on the run, as they say).
In JKD we often stress how less is more. Another way to put it is, "JKD is more about less." It's not about how many techniques you know but rather about using a few tools really well in many situations. The same goes for tennis. These athletes can place a ball in the corner of the court or right on a baseline with incredible accuracy. They take two swings to such mastery, being able to hit a ball from anywhere on the court and put it where they want.
It can also be observed that when these professionals miss shots, out-of-position balls or bad bounces aside, it is often because they have taken a less-than-perfect stroke. Be it a slightly long or short step, an early or late swing, or taking the eye off the ball for but a split second can be the difference between a winning shot or hitting the tape and losing the point. The margin for error at the racquet face is incredibly small as compared to the amount of error at where the ball goes after it has been hit.
On a strategic level, tennis players use their shots to set up others. What does this sound like? PIA, of course. A player may work his forehand over and over, pushing the opponent to one side of the court, waiting for a backhand down the line that the opponent who is way out of position cannot return.
This level of mastery is something we should strive for in our training. Taking the jab, for example, we want to be able to use this tool in a variety of ways and in any situation be it high or low, moving forward or retreating, as an offensive tool or defensive.
Be really good at a few things instead of trying to do a lot of things just okay.