The Ballistic Reflex

As we have noted, the human motor control system has two separate systems for movement. The nominal system that is engaged for everyday activities and the ballistic system studied at the National Institute of Health by Dr. Robert Burke.

A ballistic movement is a very short high-speed burst evolved to provide the ability to make a rapid escape from danger. However, this action can be used to accelerate the racquet to very high speeds rapidly. The importance of this is that a ballistic movement, because of its short duration, is very stable and simple. Since it is executed at the end of the acceleration stage, within a fraction of a second before the strike, there is very little time for something to go wrong. Hence, this highly precise movement is perfectly designed for tennis.

An example of a ballistic movement is seen in the acceleration stage illustration. However, it cannot actually be "seen" but rather is usually felt as a sudden jerk or impulse force ( an example of an impulse force is when two cars crash or two billiard balls collide. There is a very large force exerted over a very short time period).

A method of developing an understanding of this movement would be to practice punching at close range.

An example of a ballistic movement is a jab at very close range