Sport: Throwing Kinetic Chain

This article in The Atlantic site describes the "kinetic chain" sequence of events to successfully throw a ball (or hit a tennis ball, or swing a golf club).

Interesting test to see how quickly you could teach yourself to throw left-handed with this knowledge.

In the kinetic chain, momentum is built up in the larger muscles of the body, then transferred to increasingly smaller pieces. This transfer of momentum creates a whip-like action.

1. Rotate the legs and hips back in the direction of the throw (body should be rotated at least 90 degrees away from target)
2. Torso rotation- from waist to shoulders (since its mass is less than that of the legs momentum makes it rotate faster than the hips and legs did)
3. Upper arm comes past the head (elbow should be above or level with the shoulder)
4. Forearm and wrist, which snap forward at tremendous speed (elbow should be more extended - not close to the head)

This Red Bull advertisement shows the sequence in slow motion in the comparatively slight built Tim Lincecum.