polynesian gods and geometry mats

[okie]

"... any Axis Tilt -- to the right (Backstroke) or left (Downstroke) -- is accomplished by the Hip Slide, a.k.a. the Weight Shift. This is the Hula-Hula Flexibility of 7-14." - yoda from the axis tilt primer.

Thank the polynesian gods that you will never see me in a grass skirt! This happy state is not due to my culturally mandated masculine fashion sense but rather due to my poor sense of (my own)hula-hula flexibity. The feel associated with me tilting the axis during startdown is moving my right shoulder down plane. I do not however achieve this (or at least it does not feel that way) with a lateral shift of the hips. In fact, Tom Tomasello describes what I feel in the "armless pivot drill" in Chapter 1 of his video series. My hips do slide, but the associated FEELING here is that my right shoulder causes the hip slide. The good news is that I achieve the coveted inside-out impact to the inside aft quadrant of the ball with gleeful regularity. These days however I am attempting to match the feel to the proper mechanics. Mechanics are primary, feelings are associative. The question: The hip bump that produces the neccessary axis tilt may just feel like the right shoulder moving down plane? When I focus on my hips I tend to overdo the slide. Any thoughts or comments?

Second Item:

If I were going to make a lower rent geometry mat, kinda like Ben Doyle's, to stand on all winter what manner of lines should I include? Has anyone attempted a home-spun version?

Okie Out