According to some advocates of the "Inner Game" learning philosophy I am doing it all wrong.  They believe that I should confiscate my students paddles, tape their eyes open, tie them to a chair and have them watch video of Waldner or Ma Long for approximately 3 yrs (with ample food and bathroom breaks of course).  Then when released and handed a paddle they will immediately be playing at a 2400 level.  A little playing and 2 more years of watching videos of matches especially selected to teach tactics and they will reach 2500.  Of course we all agee that only those with talent will go on to be professionally successful.

I on the other hand believe that for every shot there is an exacting optimal combination of positioning of various body parts and muscle actions producing optimal paddle angle and trajectory for any given type of incoming ball.  Each student is fitted with a shock collar and if they deviate even slightly from optimal form they are reminded with a shock.  For each ball they must be aware of and adjust starting position (knee bend, forward lean, hand/arm position), movement to the ball with correct type footwork, backswing (setting racket angle, final stopping point, trajectory of paddle as determined by exact amounts of hip and thoracic rotation, shoulder control of upper arm, side bending for shoulder tilt, and tricep controll of forearm),  forward swing (properly reversing each movement type in backswing), and finishing position (all body parts listed in starting position).  After 3 yrs my students are finely tuned firing control systems who accurately calculate the trajectory and qualities of the incoming ball,  move their weapon (paddle) efficiently into attacking position, and then fire precisely along a path that ensures destruction of the opponent.

As you may have guessed, children's protective services and certain laws on unlawful detainment and assault and battery, do present some problems for both of these instruction methods.

So what are your best examples of the "Inner Game" working for you or a student?  What changes in a small detail about your technique really helped improve your game?  What are your recommendations for finding a good lawyer to defend your coaching methods?

Mark -  Enquiring minds want to know.

I read about a coach who put tacks in his students heels.

Which I believe has been tested with shadow swings recently 

How many do you think I've knocked off with that mark?

FdT

Inner game -  I read or saw video about using your left arm in a certain way to increase speed and spin in tennis serve.  It was completely new concept to me.  I videoed myself and surprisingly I was doing exactly the instruction was talking about.  I must have picked it up from watching other good players.

Focus on small detail -  In watching video of myself I noticed I was dropping my left shoulder below my right shoulder in Fh loop backswing.  Not something I picked up from watching good players.  Even knowing it I could not just relax, envision the right movement, and then swing correctly.  I had to practice while focusing intently on lifting the left shoulder.  Eventually I hope it becomes automatic, but right now it requires conscious thought to get it right.

Mark

On that left arm that's interesting, I was also inspired by the two handed backhand in tennis. So the idea is that the left arm does a BH stroke in the air while the right arm performs the actual FH stroke .This way the left arm is assisting the rotation rather than being a casual observer. I'm starting to work it into my muscle memory.