The Washington herald., 1920-04-16

IcSpOHSlDic not only lOI uCCtHSSS
in boxing, slugging power in bas'
few other memoranda on the side.
Back of the Punch. 4
One of the main reasons why
Babe Ruth can drive a baseball SO
far lies in the fact that he can
make q bat travel faster than any
other man in the game.
1t Is a matter of speed in swing
ing the bat. When Ruth's bat
crashes against the ball Ii Is
travelling much faster than the bat
swung by an ordinary hitter.
When Bob Mcdonald or Walter
Hagen drive a golf ball ESQ or 275
yards it is largely because the
club head propelled by their swing
Is travelling at a faster clip than
most golfers can develop,
Ruth, Mcdonald and Hagen have
the power and the timing to speed
up the club to a greater fashion
than most of their mates.
The Snap.
You frequently hear of the "snap
of the wrists used by ball players
or golfers.
This snap of the wrist is merely
matter of speeding up the bat
or CLUB head in the last stages of
the swing. 80
One man may lack the physical
bulk and yet have the leverage to
produce this required speed, where
a far stronger citizen couldn't get
anything approaching the same dis
tance.
We have frequently seen a big.
powerful 200-pounder take a full
wallop at the ball. hit it squarely
and get It's yards.
And then. again, we have seen
Freddie Mcleod or Norman Max
, well, weighing less than 120
pounds. take what looked to be
fairly easy swing and drive 25o
yards.
The main difference was that the
latter lack the knack of speeding
up the club head while the former
didn't.
1t Goes For Boxing.
A good part of punching power
in boxing comes from this same
speed. One of Dempsey's punches
is travelling at terrific speed when
it lands. 1t is easy to see that
Carpenter carries the same attri-
butte.
Dempsey, weighing 200 pounds
can hit far harder than Carl Nor
ris, weighing 240. because Demp-
sey's punch moves as the lightning
while Morris hasn't the knack oil
the leverage to make his fist move
at any such pace.
The ideal combination is to ge,
power in back of speed. Babe
Ruth's bat is not only slashing a,
a dizzy clip as he hits the ball. but
his big bulk is thrown in back OF
the blow at exactly the right time
! Speed and power combined do the
! damage. A man can swing a light
bat or a light club faster than he
can a heavy one. But If he has
physical power sufficient to swing
heavy bat or club almost as
! fast as a light one he will get
farther with the heavier club.
II he hasn't he will do much bet
/ ter with the lighter club. through
the increased snap or momentum
he can put into the blow.
Getting the Crash.
One of the main faults in using
a bat. golf club or a tennis
racquet comes from applying the
power too soon.
| Somewhere early on the down.
ward swing the implement start.
at terrific speed. only to lose a big
part of its momentum by having
! the body thrown in ahead of the
strike in a rugged effort to get
more distance or a harder hit ball
! The crashing effect comes from
getting the body in back of thi.
stroke. Mclaughlin had it to a re,
markable degree in tennis. Rutf
has it to a record degree in base
! ball.
Timing means a perfect blend o.
speed and power-the ability to ge
the snap in just as the blow
reaches its objective. If at thil
! moment the bat, club or fist i!
moving at it's swiftest pace. will
the weight of the body back of II
you can look out for immediate re
suits.
The only way a slow hitter II
boxing can develop speed at tn,
end of a wallop is through the mo
mentum of a punch that start!
from the floor. The ability to ge
a punch in quick motion within tn,
space of eight or ten inches is tn,
factor that counts. FitZsimmon
and Dempsey in particular had thii
knack to an amazing degree. Cor
bett was fast. but his punch wa!
almost as fast at the start as i
was at the finish. thereby ro'a-'--
the final snap. which does the mair
/ damage.