Here’s a summary of the science that we have built into the course. It will help you quickly learn techniques and take your stroke to the next level.
Focus on one shot
In a standard lesson you might do forehands, backhands, volleys and serves before a quick game to finish. But by focusing on a number of shots you dramatically limit the progress you make on each. Not only do the 'switching costs' impact one's learning but also the strokes receive insufficient attention for permanent change.
We focus on just one shot so you can go deeper and make quickfire progress.
Repetition
The only way to embed a new skill is by doing a large number of repetitions in a concentrated period of time. This is what locks in the muscle memory that ultimately allows you to execute the same shot without thinking about it.
Neuroplasticity
"Neuroplasticity is the capacity of the brain to change and rewire itself in response to the stimulation of learning and experience" Physiopedia
Historically, it was thought adults struggled to learn new skills because adult brains couldn’t really change. Neuroscientists have discovered techniques that open up the pathway to learning so adults can learn skills in a similar way to children! We use these techniques to enable you to enter a ‘neuroplastic’ state so you can learn quickly and effectively.
It has to matter
Studies have shown that what you want to learn has to matter to you. Something has to be on the line. Maybe it’s a doubles tournament you want to be ready for or a player at the club you really want to beat? This gets your brain fired up.
A state of play
We can’t be too serious though - a “state of play” sets us up for plasticity too. It’s no co-incidence that that’s why children’s brains are so plastic.
Being off balance
Strangely, destabilising the vestibular system (balance) is another thing that triggers the release of right neurochemicals for plasticity. Look out for some unusual drills!
Kinaesthetic + Visual Learning
The TopspinPro has helped hundreds of thousands of people learn topspin. Learning at home with your TopspinPro is at the heart of our Course.
Someone can tell you what to do. They can even show you what to do but the most powerful way to learn a new skill is to experience what to do yourself.
The TopspinPro combines both the kinaesthetic and visual elements essential to accelerated learning. It lets you feel what it’s like to brush the ball, not hit it, and the screen forces you to keep the racket face angle constant throughout the shot.
Alert but calm
If you're too excited learning will be difficult. Likewise, being too relaxed will impact your learning. Breathing exercises are an excellent way to modulate one's state and bring one closer to that zen-like 'alert but calm' presence.
Errors and attitude
We need to make just enough errors during our learning bouts to trigger the brain to get it into 'error-correction' mode. And, bizarrely, our attitude to those errors really matters too. Framing them as positive - e.g. “Great! Learning is taking place!” makes all the difference.
The "Gap Effect"
During learning sessions, taking random 10-second breaks to do nothing gives the brain just enough pause to replay the same pattern but 10X faster! That's a lot of extra virtual reps.
Sleep & daily effort
Speaking of replays…Sleep closes the learning loop - during deep sleep we replay the stroke in our mind - that’s when the actual rewiring of neural circuits takes place. That’s why the course is daily. That’s 21 ‘closed loops’ in a 3-week period compared to 3 closed loops for those that practise once a week!
If you only have weekly sessions, the amount you learn drops off significantly by the time you play again. As the graph above shows, practising daily significantly ramps up the crucial part of skill development.
Our course is steeped in the science you've just been reading about so we are determined it will help you learn to take your stroke to the next level!