Playing Tips with Rege Ludwig: Law of Sequence

Renowned polo coach, Rege Ludwig gives his expert advice on how to get more out of your game

Many years ago, a client gave me a book on hitting the polo ball, Observations upon THE NATURE OF THE GALLOP and the TIMING OF POLO STROKE and FORM IN STRIKING written in 1939 by seven goal player, Dr. John D. Richards. That book has turned out to be the most complete and accurate book I have ever read on the subject of hitting the polo ball. After reading that book, I felt challenged to figure out the mechanical process for hitting the polo ball as described by Dr. Richards. One of the topics of Dr. Richards’ book that intrigued me the most was his theory on The Law of Sequence.

In his book he states, “The sequence in which the striker’s forces are discharged is, the most important single factor in the act of striking a polo ball, in fact any ball, and a rigid sequence of discharge of forces must be maintained if the striker is to cultivate the art of hitting and hit with the greatest efficiency. The vast majority of faults in striking, if we except those due to faulty position or stance, can be traced directly to the violation of what may be called “The Law of Sequence” upon which depends the phenomenon of rhythm without which no effective striking can take place.

For instance, if a player hits from his rump instead of hitting from his feet, “he violates this fundamental law, for he eliminates all forces below the rump – the leg thrust and body torsion. If he rotates his shoulder forward prior to rotating his hip forward, he also violates the law by eliminating all forces below the shoulder. If he grips the mallet handle tightly at the top of the stroke he again violates the law. Every such violation results in loss of distance and what is more important in loss of control”.

Interestingly enough, shortly after receiving Dr. Richards’ book, I read an article in a golf magazine regarding a study conducted by The University of California at Los Angles, UCLA. In that study it was determined that when swinging the golf club, the first muscles to move in the golf player’s body are in the bottom of the feet, and from there the muscles engage in an upwardly spiralling manner up to the end of the finger tips.

That discovery suggested to me that the next group of muscles to engage within the hitting process should not begin engaging until the preceding group of muscles is in the process of terminating its effect on the swing process. That process produces the effect of, when the muscles are engaged successively, the swing process becomes stronger as each successive muscle group engages, up to and including the use of the finger tips at the very end of the follow through phase.

Consider throwing a baseball. Think about how the baseball rolls off of your fingertips at the very end of the throwing process. Likewise, it is the tip of your index finger that is lifting the mallet to the top of the follow through process. With that being the case, it is the tip of your index finger that is the last part of your body to affect the hit of the polo ball. And, when it happens that way, the Law of Sequence is working to deliver maximum effectiveness into the hit of the polo ball.

When all of that is boiled down, and you factor in the riding of the polo horse, the swing of the polo mallet, and maybe even being ridden off by an opponent, shoo we, that is a lot of happening to adjust to. Unfortunately, there are no short cuts, or easy ways to get through the polo ball hitting process; each factor must be dealt with individually, up to and including the use of the fingertips.

Similar to golf, the Law of Sequence for polo starts with your feet. However, the part of your body that you will most likely notice moving first is that of your hips rotating. The rotation of your hips rotates your torso, which rotates your shoulders. It is your shoulders rotating that moves your right shoulder down toward the ball; and, it is your right upper arm moving down that moves your elbow, wrist and hand down. Likewise, it is your hand that moves your fingers, which ultimately moves the mallet head down to the ball. To take that a step further, it is the middle knuckle of your index finger that is the primary force for driving the mallet head into contact with the ball.

It is not over yet; after initial contact of the mallet head with the ball, the ball stays on the mallet head for a fraction of a second longer. That, in turn, allows your fingers to continue releasing the power of the swing into the ball. And, at the end of the follow phase of the swing process, it is the small knuckle of your index finger (fingertip) that will be lifting the mallet head to the top of the follow through. The significance of which is, even though your fingers are one of the smaller parts of your body, they are as essential to the hitting process as are any of the parts of your body.

I am aware that the process of hitting the polo ball is seldom broken down to such a level of subtlety. However, I can almost guarantee, when you are paying attention to the details of the hitting process to that degree, you will be hitting the polo ball with consistent effectiveness.

I am in no way suggesting that executing the Law of Sequence is easy. However, I am unequivocally stating, “When you get it right, including the use of the tip of the index finger, The Law of Sequence yields results that are more than obvious; they are amazing”.

The difficulty in executing the Law of Sequence correctly lies in the fact that it takes work to get it right.