How To Pitch Like a Kung Fu Master

Kung Fu was founded on a few philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Without exhausting you with an Eastern philosophy session, here are some principles Kung Fu has adopted from the above philosophies:

1. Focus on education

2. Do not react with force

3. Be natural

4. Discipline of the mind

First and foremost, all pitchers (not to be confused with throwers, that is, those who do opposite of this advice) must have the ability to work at their craft with intentional, focused preparation. This core fundamental will determine how long you stick with pitching. It is possible to cruise through junior high school on athleticism; however, the move to high school baseball requires some background knowledge and practice if you're looking to keep the ball in the park on a consistent basis.

Secondly, all smart pitchers have figured out (usually through emotional strain from getting their butt kicked) that tense and bound up energy does not produce good results at all! Pitching must be approached with a mental strengthening process that allows the athlete to react to pressure and failures throughout the game without becoming emotionally non-Kung Fu-like. While this "conditioning process" may be addressed in other articles, this article is written to simply bring about awareness.

Closely tied into the idea to the above principle is the art of remaining natural. I was having this conversation just the other day with the Northwest Area scout from the Anaheim Angels. He passed on to me one of the best things an athlete can do to help his chances of getting drafted is to PLAY NATURAL. That is, too many athletes look like they have been produced from the assembly line. They reek of a mechanized attitude. And while most move the correct way, many are just lacking flare and excitement.. When the pressure of the game hits, robotic drone "athletes," who have spent thousands of dollars on pitching mechanics alone, self destruct and can't manage themselves.

Lastly, as the pitcher, you are largely in charge of setting the pace and tempo of the game and are expected to not puke yourself (figuratively of course) out on the bump. What does this mean? Simply put, you can't be a mental moron in your preparation process. It takes a super-sized order of mental discipline to throw consistently in the off-season, work on your arm strength, run, do plyometric exercises, run some more, and so forth. Most guys can't cut it. But then again, most guys can't be consistent for any length of time. You want the Kung Fu secret? BE CONSISTENT!