🪢 Why “Loose Movers” Need to Create More Tension 🪢

Let’s talk about an adjustment we made with Braxton Thompson that had a big impact on his efficiency and connection.

Background:

Braxton is a loose mover. What that means is his body has a lot of natural slack — not a bad thing, but it does mean he needs to create more stretch in his forward move to stay connected and deliver the swing on time.

The Issue:

Early on, Braxton’s stride wasn’t gaining enough ground. He was striding short and passive, which left too much slack in his system. As a result:

He wasn’t creating enough tension through his anterior oblique sling (core).
His swing often looked disconnected — hands firing without the body, or everything firing at once.
He struggled to sequence cleanly, especially when challenged with velo or offspeed.

The Fix:

We added a simple constraint: a stick about 6–8” in front of his front foot in setup. The goal was simple. Stride over it.

But we didn’t just want him to gain ground. We wanted him to:

✅ Stretch forward with his core (not just reach with the front leg)

✅ Stay anchored to the ground — keeping the back heel connected and pressure loaded

✅ Feel tension in the middle — especially across the front side of the core (anterior sling)

By emphasizing stretch and ground connection rather than just distance, Braxton landed in:

A more athletic, coiled position
A stronger, more stable launch point
A state of connected stretch he could unwind into the swing

Key Takeaway:

The swing is an athletic movement. If you don’t move into athletic positions with stretch, the body will have to compensate — usually with poor sequencing, early hands, or loss of posture.

When Braxton focused on stretching forward through his middle and staying grounded, the rest cleaned itself.

@Braxton Thompson

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