Second Polo-Learning how to Lean for Better Ball Leverage

Speeding horses and leaning over the side is not an intuitive act. You feel as though you are going to bounce off and at the very least change the balance of the horse with a disastrous end. Thus, the practice of learning how to center yourself while giving enough leverage to still hit the ball clear of the horse and other players is a pivotal skill in polo. It may be the one still that separates those who can play from those who can't!

I'm not saying I can play that well yet. However, I am slowly learning how to move my knee into the side of the horse and my other knee to away from the horse in the direction I am going to hit the ball in an effort to give myself enough leverage while still maintaining balance. The knees lock you in place as you lean over keeping you securely mounted.

One of the ways to practice this is to do it right each and every time you hit the ball. Muscle memory is important here. While it may feel awkward eventually your body will get it and it will become a natural movement that you don't need to to think about. That is where you can start to focus on other things.

While I believe that complex sports like this can take time to learn they are based on simple movements and steps that can be learned. It is necessary for any good coach to break these complex movements into simple steps that can be learned. Where there are general deficiencies one can work on improving those as well.