Tennis Improvement Memo 116. 'Concentration' Exists Between 'Already' and 'Not Yet'

▶ Is 'Pre-determining' Rational?

Derived from Mahjong and Go, the term 'pre-determining' (kime-uchi) is also used in baseball.

Deciding 'if it comes here, I will hit it like this' before the opponent pitcher throws the ball.

It is easy to think that deciding in advance is rational and successful because there is no hesitation and you can simulate the batting motion in your head.

If so, can it be applied to tennis?

The answer is, of course, no.

▶ Tennis is a Sport Where You Cannot 'Let It Go'

Compared to baseball, where the strike zone is limited to the range where the batter can reach with the bat without moving from the spot, the strike zone in tennis is the entire area on your side of the court.

Front, back, right, left, up, and down, you are forced to hit nothing but what would be called'bad pitches' in batting.

Moreover, a baseball batter can decide 'if it comes here, I will hit it like this' and is allowed to 'let it go' (not swing) if it doesn't come there, within the rules of the pitch count.

However,in tennis, you cannot let a single ball go.

'Letting it go if it doesn't come here' is clearly for when the opponent's ball is going to be out.

Or, to see the ball and the bounce well, it is only forpractice where you intentionally 'let the ball pass' without holding a racket.

Please try it without deciding, 'Practicing without a racket is not practice!'

When the 'consciousness of hitting' is removedthe ball should feel clearer and even slower.

▶ Baseball is Also, After All, 'The One and Only Pitch'

Compared to baseball, the strike zone in tennis is too wide, and you cannot let the ball go just because it is far, so you cannot 'pre-determine' where to hit.

Actually, even for a baseball batter,pre-determining is irrational.

Even if the strike zone is limited,the fact that it is 'the one and only pitch'is no different from tennis.

There are various breaking balls such as curves, shoots, sliders, and forks, so you need to respond to the variations in the ball's path, so if you try to 'pre-determine' where to hit, your ability to respond should decrease.

Also, if you try to rehearse the hitting method in your head, you are thinking about the form, sothe principle is that the batting motion becomes jerky and slow (the reason why thinking makes you slow).

Instead of 'pre-determining' or 'pre-setting the form,' Ichiro's high ability to respond is something that can be referenced in tennis as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSwClQJkNcI

▶ 'Concentration' Exists Between 'Already' and 'Not Yet'

You might think it is rational to decide in advance, but it is the exact opposite and irrational.

Even if you think about the future, no one knows for sure, butbecause you try to know, you become anxious.

The only thing you can directly engage with is 'now, here, this moment'.

And you cannot think about 'now, here, this moment,'all you can do is feel it.

What we can think about is always the past or the future, whether it is 0.1 seconds ago or 0.1 seconds later.

For 'now, here, this moment,' you can only feel it by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or touching, and as for sensations, you can 'already' no longer see the scenery from 0.1 seconds ago, and you 'not yet' cannot hear the sound from 0.1 seconds later, soyou can only feel 'now'.

And this is nothing other than 'concentration'.

▶ Because the Mind is 'Addicted to Stimulation'

However,the mind is addicted to stimulation
, so consciousness tends to turn toward thoughts like what will happen in the future, and you tend to think about it.

That is how you fall into the trap of thinking 'it is better to pre-determine.'
When you decide 'if it comes here, I will hit it like this' andare thinking about pre-determining, you are in a state where youcannot see the seams or the rotation of the ball in the 'now, here, this moment'
.

Baseball, tennis, golf, and badminton—do not try to pre-determine.
Try to feel the 'now, here, this moment.'

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