Lau's Laws
While the debate on Linear vs rotational hitters rages on, the basics of Lau's Laws still hold true. While this book by Lau Jr. is sometimes a little too self congratulatory, the advice is sound and easily understood by non-experts who just want to improve or help their Little League team hit better. Like must instructional books, if you pick up one or two helpful tips and ignore some others, the read is worthwhile.

The Only Bad Thing About This Book Is The Cheater On The Cover.
Well done. A great overview of the science of hitting. I do have a problem with the cheater on the cover. I can't stand to look at this lying cheat. I'd be willing to bet that the sales of this book would increase if it had a real hero like Aaron, Musial, Mays, Mantle, Ruth or Williams on the cover.

The First Book in a Series of Must Reads
A few years ago my son was about to start his first season of Tee Ball and I found myself in a conversation about hitting with Dan Evans, a former General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then, a year or so later I found myself confirming the information Dan & I discussed in a subsequent conversation with Kevin Malone, who succeeded Dan as the Dodgers General Manager.

Dan recommended to me these three books to read in order:
1. Charlie Lau Jr's "Lau's Laws on Hitting"
2. Charlie Lau Sr's "The Art of Hitting .300"
3. Ted Williams "The Science of Hitting".

If you are a parent or coach who is serious about teaching his/her child or players how to hit you *MUST* read these books.

The first book in the sequence is Charlie Jr's book "Lau's Laws on Hitting". It explains the mechanics of the hitting technique his father created in a very clear and easy to follow way. If this is the only book on hitting you read there is no doubt you will be able to provide your child/player with a solid foundation from which they will experience great success based on this technique.

Once you know what to look for it's easy to identify a swing based on the Lau technique, the same technique that is currently used by over 70% of all major leaguers today. Unfortunately, the Lau's are not getting the proper credit for the technique they created.

This technique teaches how to create the most energy/power a batter can create and then to control the flow/release of that power into the point of contact... in otherwords, how to hit the $*#^ out of the ball.

Jr's book does a great job of asking and answering the following:
*What is the difference and significance of static and dynamic balance?
*What is the significance of a rhythmic motion while in the stance?
*Why does the batter's weight HAVE to shift back before going forward?
*Why is it important to stride with a closed toe?
*What is the significance of having the toes on the rear foot pointing down while swinging?
*Why do we want to create backspin vs. topspin?
*What is the significance of releasing the top hand off the bat after contact?
*Why is it important to finish the swing high?

These are just a few of the many questions associated with the technique that Jr. answers in a way everybody can easily understand.

Jr's book is a short cut to his father's hitting technique and as such should be read before Sr's book. Reading Jr's book more quickly puts the pieces in place to build a swing based on this technique.

Sr's book on the other hand, "The Art of Hitting .300", is more comprehensive and technical exploring more of the technique in greater detail. Jr's book is all you'll need to learn and teach the technique but to really understand it you'll want to read Sr's book.

Lastly, you'll also want to read Ted William's book, "The Science of Hitting" to learn the mental approach.

While the Lau's and William's hitting techniques share some areas of comonality, there are just as many areas of contradiction forcing the reading to choose between the two styles.

Through countless hours of video study, the Lau's have isolated common traits of a successful swing from among the game's greatest hitters and are now sharing their discoveries in these books. The individual elements that make up this technique are referred to as "Absolutes".

Since the Lau's hitting technique contradicts William's technique in several areas (an example of which is the Lau's teach that power comes from the bottom hand while Williams states that power comes from the top hand) I do not recommend reading William's book as a source to learn "how to swing" as it has been exposed to contain many falacies & flaws.

I can strongly recommend it however as a mental compliment to the Lau's hitting technique. The real value to Williams book is it teaches the batter that there's much more to hitting than just walking up to the plate and swinging a bat. It teaches the batter how to prepare, what to think about as you walk up to the plate, what to look for while in the batter's box, and how to make in at-bat adjustments.

Now, what I have learned is... to be prepared for a certain amount of resistence and interference you as a parent will encounter by teaching your child this hitting technique.

Most baseball coaches are well meaning parents who may have the time to coach but in all liklihood haven't studied hitting. They are only teaching what they learned over the years, what has been passed down to them and in turn are passing it down again.

EVERY one of my son's coaches to date have tried to change his technique because they are unfamiliar with it and don't understand it. For most of us, what we don't understand we reject preferring the comfort of familiarity.

His most recent coach was a former high school baseball coach who, when he saw my son lift his front leg to shift his weight back said, "That's the worst thing you can do" instead of asking, "Why are you doing that?".

Instead of taking the time to learn about this technique most coaches would rather teach what they're familiar with. Unfortunately, they are teaching a flawed hitting style that will limit your child's/player's abilities.

The good news is that usually by mid-season they leave my son alone because by then he's already shown that he can consistently drive the ball with authority to all fields and at that point they no longer want to mess with something that's obviously working.

Consider Jr's book the shortcut to perfoming this technique, Sr's book more comprehensive and necessary to properly understand the technique, and Ted Williams book as a compliement by building a proper foundation to the mental approach of hitting.

Hoped this review helps and as Charlie Jr. says, "Sweet Swings!"

Off the bat into the outfield
I don't know Mr. Lau but he knows what he's talking about. The first game I applied these laws and I went 5 for 5. The next I went for my old ways I went 1 for 4. Luck? I don't think so. These laws are simple and comprehensive. Even teaching them to youngsters is easy and giving them tips which give immediate results just gives them an incredible boost. Keep up the good work Mr. Lau and my next hope is to get to the Lau trainig facilities to get hands on coaching to the next level.

To Charlie Lau you must listen
Charlie Lau, Jr. takes up whether his famous father left. His instructions are great, as are most of the illustrations and photos. The book gives you a very good guide as to the types of swings you should have to be successful in hitting. I would not calls his techniques "Lau's laws" because by nature, the choices and styles of most people vary, if only slightly. However, the regimen outlined in the book is excellent and a must read for every serious coach and student of the game. He needs to mention that baseball, though mental enough, involves many nuances which we cannot control. I don't believe any one person revolutionized baseball more than the VCR did years ago. Highly recommend this book!!