Sample of Oscar's Teachings on Tennis Focus and Concentration.

Focusing on Feel

One of the highest capabilities in life is feel. You might have been sold a bill of goods when you were told that thinking is paramount in tennis. Most top tennis pros won't admit, perhaps under the idea that they would be considered "stupid", that they don't think much when they are playing. But some very top professionals have admitted it, realizing that people like to know the truth.

A few years ago, Pete Sampras, then at the height of his game, was asked what did he think during a U.S. Open three hour match. His answer, "I think I had one thought", an answer dutifully recorded by the press.

How is this possible, when we were drilled from childhood: "think before you act"? (Although we probably didn't heed much until middle school or so). The answer is very simple. A concert pianist could not play his best if he was thinking of his mechanics at all. He is totally absorbed on the feel of the sound. A top professional tennis player, in his best days, acts the same. He is absorbed in the rythm of the play, focused completely on feeling the ball. He knows from experience, or instinctively, that thinking, even while the ball is not in play, will somehow make this feel much more difficult. You could say that he has slowed down his mind to a standstill.

How does a tennis pro do it? Focusing on feel, even while out of the point. He is perceiving everything around him, including his own body, perhaps his own breath, but he isn't giving it "thought".

The reason behind this simplicity is that the player's attention can be dispersed very easily. We are so used to think, to put that attention inward, thinking in words, almost like talking to ourselves, that we lose sight of feeling and perceiving the outside world.

You can try this with a simple experiment. Touch an object for a few moments while you focus on its shape, its temperature, or any particular detail, as its shape, that you may like. Next, touch it while you think of a person or a past incident, or how you are placing your feet, or your body posture. Did you feel the object as much in this second instance as in the first? Of course, in tennis, to feel as much with your hands, I am assuming you already learned to stroke the ball. That could have happened, interestingly, just in the first hour you ever spent on a court, provided you learned: 1) to find the ball first, almost touching it, then hitting it. 2) to feel the ball as you hit it, hopefully brushing it rather than hitting it totally square (brushing it increases your feel). 3) to take your time while playing, without ridiculous thinking such as how to place your feet in preparation for the shot, one of the most destructive tenets that have ever been taught. The same goes for "racquet back early", "step into the ball", "follow thorugh towards the target", etc. So, get on the court this weekend. Take your time. Find the ball well before you hit it. Brush up and across, and check if you get more feel. 

(When watching those wonderful tournament telecasts, realize that the commentators are so stuck on this "early preparation" slogan or maxim, that they don't realize, even though it is plainly clear from the slow motions they are analizing and looking at, that the player is "stalking" the ball, with the racquet somewhat in front while running for the ball).

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Watch the video introduction of the MIT study of Oscar Wegner's Method of Modern Tennis

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The "Limits" of Hand-eye Coordination

The notion that the average student has a very limited amount of natural talent is common among coaches. They have come to this conclusion over the years based on their observations that students experience countless difficulties in learning to play tennis. The blame is usually placed on the student, as there does not seem to be any other reason that could explain these difficulties.

My research has proven otherwise. The fault is with the technical aspect of the teaching. If you are taught each basic of tennis in a way that aligns with the nature of your body and the laws of the physical universe, tennis becomes one of the easiest sports to learn. Instill a few wrong basics, and it becomes the most difficult to learn.

An example is the idea that you have to hit the ball exactly on the center of the strings. Top pros tend to hit groundstrokes towards the bottom of the strings. This keeps the racquet closed naturally, allowing a looser grip.

Hitting below the sweet spot, or near the bottom strings, allows you to hold the racquet looser, relieving pressure from the arm.

Unskilled players aim to hit in the center of the sweet spot, and sometimes hit above, which tends to open the racquet and sending the ball higher. Fighting this tendency, these players tighten their grip, and so generate forces more likely to stress the arm. Tennis elbow is usually a result of this above-the-center torque.

The windshield wiper, using this principle, feels almost like a stress relief.
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You have just read a small amount of Oscar's technology on focusing. There is a lot more to know, which can be found in Oscar's DVDs and book.

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