Mirror, mirror...on the Wall?

[don_budge]

Mirror, mirror on the wall...who is the fairest of them all. It is certainly not you...don_budge. There is a Swedish Princess however that fits the bill. So easy on the eyes. Nearly perfect...9 maybe 9.5. I may be a bit biased...but definitely the fairest at the club. The rest of the men at the club are collectively nodding their heads in agreement with me.

Friday afternoon I finally got the teaching device I have been waiting on for several months. Progress is slow and painstaking in some circles...in some small circles.

The device is a 1.6 X 2.0 meter mirror that I had installed on the wall in the tennis hall here in a sleepy little town in Sweden. Most of my students tend to be very young and sleepy kids. Sleepy as in they have not woken up to be aware of themselves and their bodies. I have problems with the language as well...although the parents in general seem to be very happy that their children are getting some exposure to English as well as tennis.

At any rate...I think that the mirror is a tremendous aid in teaching any student. I remember my father studying himself in the mirror as he basically taught himself how to play tennis armed with a copy of Bill Tilden's "How to Play Better Tennis", the wall and a rather large mirror at home. The image that it gives the student of themselves is very valuable in their understanding of what it is that they should look like when they are performing the tennis stroke. I anticipate spending a lot of time posing them in front of the mirror to make them more aware of what position they should be in to play every shot.

The down side is that I have to see myself...interesting what the years can do to a person. It becomes more and more important to have a charming personality.

[stotty]

Mirror...pane of glass more like.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...who is the fairest of them all. It is certainly not you...don_budge. There is a Swedish Princess however that fits the bill. So easy on the eyes. Nearly perfect...9 maybe 9.5. I may be a bit biased...but definitely the fairest at the club. The rest of the men at the club are collectively nodding their heads in agreement with me.

Friday afternoon I finally got the teaching device I have been waiting on for several months. Progress is slow and painstaking in some circles...in some small circles.

The device is a 1.6 X 2.0 meter mirror that I had installed on the wall in the tennis hall here in a sleepy little town in Sweden. Most of my students tend to be very young and sleepy kids. Sleepy as in they have not woken up to be aware of themselves and their bodies. I have problems with the language as well...although the parents in general seem to be very happy that their children are getting some exposure to English as well as tennis.

At any rate...I think that the mirror is a tremendous aid in teaching any student. I remember my father studying himself in the mirror as he basically taught himself how to play tennis armed with a copy of Bill Tilden's "How to Play Better Tennis", the wall and a rather large mirror at home. The image that it gives the student of themselves is very valuable in their understanding of what it is that they should look like when they are performing the tennis stroke. I anticipate spending a lot of time posing them in front of the mirror to make them more aware of what position they should be in to play every shot.

The down side is that I have to see myself...interesting what the years can do to a person. It becomes more and more important to have a charming personality.

Interesting...I have to settle for the reflection of the clubhouse patio doors with my students. They are very happy to watch themselves execute lovely shots without a ball while standing in front of a pane of glass. The trick, I tell them, is to execute the same lovely swing path when striking the actual ball...they rarely can...instinct takes over.

[don_budge]

Alice in the Looking Glass...Lewis Carroll

Interesting...I have to settle for the reflection of the clubhouse patio doors with my students. They are very happy to watch themselves execute lovely shots without a ball while standing in front of a pane of glass. The trick, I tell them, is to execute the same lovely swing path when striking the actual ball...they rarely can...instinct takes over.

"The trick, I tell them, is to execute the same lovely swing path when striking the actual ball."

That is the trick precisely isn't it. By hook or by crook. With smoke and mirrors. Like a undetectable magic trick. Well posing in front of the mirror is a great learning device. Even the youngest get it. I ask them why we are doing "mirror training" and I received the answer "so that we can see what we do". One of the best ideas I have ever had. Ballerinas always have mirrors in their training rooms don't they? In order to see what they do. Thoroughly examining their poses. Do they like what they see when they are looking so closely? They certainly strive for perfection don't they...at least when they are posing. Gradually they learn to do it when the music is playing.

We are doing all kinds of exercises in this little beauty. Of course beauty being in the eye of the beholder...some reflections are better than others. I love to look at my own swings in the mirror...they stand up to the reflection. The trick as Stotty has suggested is to get my students to feel the same way. I think that eventually they will.

The mirror is an interesting concept...don't you think so? When we gaze at our own reflection it becomes a bit of a challenge. We tend to immediately ask ourselves do we like what we see. There is this tendency to be critical of the reflection unlike any other experience in human life. As we study our reflections we understand the other side of our nature...the mirror opposite.

An interesting thing is beginning to happen in my students. They are learning to criticize themselves...they are learning to be self examining. Hopefully it will no longer be me that is constantly criticizing their technique. Eventually the student must take this responsibility. I just love the thing that women do when they look at their reflection...how they press their lips together to make that sort of kissing shape and then they give their hair a little push or tug here and there. They are just trying to be happy with what they see. Men just sort of glance...we know from the gitgo we aren't much to look at. You gotta love 'em...people.

[tennis_chiro]

Critique; Don't judgementally criticize! There is a difference.

"The trick, I tell them, is to execute the same lovely swing path when striking the actual ball."

...

An interesting thing is beginning to happen in my students. They are learning to criticize themselves...they are learning to be self examining. Hopefully it will no longer be me that is constantly criticizing their technique. ...cool:

You don't want them to criticize. You want them to non-judgementally observe and critique what they are doing without giving themselves any negative feedback. Miss a shot; identify and correct the error; don't waste any energy or time giving oneself any negative feedback. As part of my student's interpoint ritual, step one of the 20 to 25 seconds between points is to feel the emotion of the point just completed, good or bad, for all of one or two seconds. Then move on to more positive pursuits. There is another point to play. Make a mental correction, adopt a strategy, relax and focus on the next shot.

don

[don_budge]

A long and hard look...in the mirror. Sometimes it isn't pretty.

You don't want them to criticize. You want them to non-judgementally observe and critique what they are doing without giving themselves any negative feedback. Miss a shot; identify and correct the error; don't waste any energy or time giving oneself any negative feedback. As part of my student's interpoint ritual, step one of the 20 to 25 seconds between points is to feel the emotion of the point just completed, good or bad, for all of one or two seconds. Then move on to more positive pursuits. There is another point to play. Make a mental correction, adopt a strategy, relax and focus on the next shot.

don

A profound and infinitely thoughtful post my esteemed colleague. I am not certain that we share the exact same philosophy but I certainly see the merits of yours and as usual I think that we are close. My world tends to be a little less perfect...much as the image that I see of myself in the mirror is.

Well, sadly...or not. I do want to criticize them. I want them to criticize each other too. Not in the way that you are apparently assuming that I criticize them but more in the vein of the definition that I found in the dictionary. In some ways my students are my canvas...so I am essentially criticizing myself in the process...in the same vein.

1. indicate the faults of (someone or something) in a disapproving way
or...
2. form and express a sophisticated judgment of (a literary or artistic work)

Of course I was using that latter in my definition of criticism although at times after watching the same mistake umpteen times in a row I may be a bit more critical in the first sense...and I am trying to teach my students the same method. But you are absolutely right about not being negative and destructive. We gather as a group around the mirror and first I take five perfect imaginary swipes...all exactly identical. Then each one of them takes five swipes and we all discuss each others swings for its merits and any possible deficiencies.

Looking into the mirror sometimes gives us the bad news. We have to face it...literally. I don't mind my students dwelling on the negative a bit. It is important for them to feel those negative emotions as well in order that they learn to manage them and learn from those feelings. Plus we learn to laugh at ourselves a bit. Life is not one bed of roses...at least it hasn't been for me.

Besides all of that philosophical musing...I feel that there have been some really good results from this mirror practicing and I am continuing to develop its' merits into my teaching program. I see it as a real time feedback...I think it is an interesting concept.