European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Relaxation is everything by William Stockton new York times w Ith age comes stiffness. It is one of the Givens of  we encounter a 75-year-old Manas Limber As the proverbial wet Noodle that s reason enough to pay attention. When he glides about his studio with the ease of a Gazelle and stands interminably on one leg in a Stork like pose we listen to his words with rapt concentration. Never mind that his theories at times seem to Cross the line from physiological fact into a charming convincing Ether the metaphysics of a half Century of experience with age comes Wisdom and we youngsters would do Well to listen and learn. Milton Feher dance instructor stretching expert balance coach posture guru relaxation proponent has a current and longtime student who is 96. She also glides effortlessly about the studio belying her age. Our subject then is posture which our mothers nagged us about Feher considers posture or balance the foundation of All that he teaches and believes. Great athletes begin with posture. Posture can improve a runner s gait and Speed. Feher lunged across the studio floor to demonstrate a Point. When your body is balanced your mind is balanced he said. Balance leads to relaxation in the Feher Way of thinking. And the Man was preaching relaxation As a key to a fit and healthy life Long before Bookstore shelves were stacked with tomes devoted to the subject. The More you press against the Earth and it supports you the More relaxed you become he said. Relaxation is everything. When you relax you function  there is a mantra he teaches his students and they sometimes chant it As they exercise the lighter you Are the  or the stronger the lighter the lighter the  All of this is Vintage Feher and it washed Over a recent visitor to his studio like mild surf in a warm sea. His gentle earnestness conviction born of a life of work Are persuasive. Soon a visitor had his coat off and stood in front of the Wall of mirrors. The foundation of Feher s posture is the Earth. Feel new York times posture guru Milton Feher 75 leading a class when your body is balanced your mind is  yourself press into the Earth he instructed. Feel the Earth holding you  to do this you focus on your feet on the toes and Arches and heels. Specifically your weight must be equally distributed Between the toes and the heels. When a person is relaxed toes and heels Are supporting the weight equally he said. This is the foundation of posture. The More you press against the Earth and it supports you the More relaxed you  it turned out to be More difficult than it sounded. You must stand with your Knees slightly Bent and concentrate on heels and toes consciously distributing the weight. Thus oriented Feher demonstrated his Core exercise. Stand with your feet shoulder Width apart pointing straight ahead. Turn so that you Are in profile to the Mirror. Bend the Knees slightly and concentrate again on the heels and toes distributing the weight equally. Next raise your arms out straight in front of your body at the height of your face. Alignment is everything. The shoulders should be directly above the hip Bones which should be directly above the Arches of the feet a straight line. The Abdomen should be tucked in but the buttocks should not protrude in the rear. Should either be out of alignment you must tilt the Pelvis one Way or another. The goal Flat stomach buttocks tucked in straight lines. Assuming this position to the master s satisfaction is difficult. But with practice a certain fluidity develops. The student s goal is to put the feet apart Bend the Knees raise the hands align the body lower the hands straighten the Knees and then repeat the Cycle again and again. From this fundamental exercise Feher said Graceful posture will naturally flow. Next stand balanced on one leg knee slightly Bent. The other leg is lifted into the air knee Bent. Again the weight must be evenly distributed Between toes and Heel of the single leg. The tendency is to cock the body toward the one leg supporting it to hike one hip higher. There might be some swaying about to maintain balance. Avoid this. The body tilts slightly toward the supporting leg but the trunk is straight. Feher assumed this stance and held it effortlessly not a hint of imbalance visible. We live in the age of science and technology and papers in journals that have been refereed by a committee of Peers. There must be a rational explanation for everything grounded in the reality of proven knowledge. Feher flies in the face of this and his ideas take on an ethereal Quality when in one sentence he links a straight body properly aligned Bones relaxation and a sound mind. This can sound like so much Humbug and Feher admits that some have reacted this Way Over the years. Still after half an hour a visitor has Learned to stand straighter be lighter on his feet. The movements Clumsy at first come More easily. Is it the inherent truth behind the theory or the persuasiveness of the theory s proponent but never mind. You walk from the studio feeling erect and Graceful. A few Days later it seems not so hard to stand a full minute on one leg the other lifted up a Stork standing in the shallows of a Pond. Three tactical variables can make Tennis easier Page 16 the stars and stripes by Alexander Mcnab new York times of can make Tennis tactics sound As technically complicated As a pro football playbook if you want. For instance Here s a tactic you might want to try against a steady Baseline draw him wide with an angled topspin Cross court backhand Roll to the Side to in the and court to make him reach with his two handed backhand then hit a slice backhand approach shot Down the line so it bounces Low to his Semi Western forehand then close in on the net positioning yourself in the Center of his Angle of possible return and Knock off the Volley into the open court for a Winner. Got it if not you could try taking Chalk in hand and drawing it out on a blackboard. There s an easier Way though to think about Tennis tactics. According to Carlos Salum an Argentine teaching pro who sometimes serves As a hitting partner for Gabriela Sabatini the world s no. 5-ranked woman player it can be As easy As 1-2-3. There Are three tactical variables that Are essential Salum says. Right left High Low close to the net Short close to the Baseline deep. Learn to explore the dimensions of the  Jimmy Connors has run opponents ragged for 15 years by hitting from right to left to right to left. Harold Solomon and Andrea Jaeger each reached the French sunday july 10,1988 open final by masterfully mixing frustrating Moon balls that cleared the net by Yards with hard Low shots. Chris Evert still wins Points by pinning her opponent Way behind the Baseline with deep drives then caressing a Clever drop shot just Over the net. Watch Sabatini or Miloslav Mecir. They use the geometry of the court in creative ways that you might never have considered but that fall within the three variables Salum has outlined. The Challenge of Tennis the fun of the game extends far beyond developing the stroking skill to hit 50 consecutive hard deep backhands Down the Center. It involves the strategic skill to outwit and outman Uever your opponent to put him in an uncomfortable position or to make him hit such a predictable shot that you can win the Point with your next swing. There Are times when a hard deep backhand to the Baseline will do that Job. But there Are also times when a soft Short one to the sideline will do it better. Hundreds of dollars Worth of lessons and hours of drills can t guarantee that you will always make the Ball land at the optimum tactical location. In fact they Are no guarantee that you la learn what that location is. So once you have control Over the Basic strokes and can sustain a rally you should begin to work on developing a feel for the three major tactical options and their various combinations. Instead of exchanging identical ground strokes with your practice partner from Baseline to Baseline play