First of all, welcome aboard. LBG feels like home to me since I found it recently.
Regarding shanking....from my favorite book(since you do not have a copy yet I will type):
5-0 - "If you feel your game isn't reflecting your understanding of Alignments - STOP MONITORING THE CLUBHFACE INSTEAD OF YOUR HANDS. Unless otherwise specified, at all times - but especially during Start Down - maintain the Clubhead Lag relationship to the Plane Line - not the body. That - failure to clear the Right Hip (Roundhousing) can initiate almost every alignment disruption, including SHANKING."
2-F - "Clubhead "Feel" is Sweet Spot feel for #3 Pressure Point sensing functions. If Lag Pressure is lost, the Hands tend to start the hosel (instead of the sweet spot) toward Impact - that mysterious "Shank." When in doubt, "Turn" the Clubface so both the Clubshaft and the Sweet Spot will be on the same Plane at the Start Down. Both Planes always pass through the Lag Pressure Point.
You also say "I'm not sure if I'm using angled hinging." My first question to you is are you hitting or swinging? I think it is very important to program with practice swings beforehand weather you will hit or swing. As per the STAR SYSTEM TRIAD. A general guidline is: if hitting, use angled hinging....if swinging use horizontal hinging. They are more compatibale with eachother.
I think basic motion is the best place to work on hinge action (among every other part of your stroke). Just hold that finish. I like holding my basic motion finish with the programmed hinge action and, and I say to myself "vertical", "angled", "horizontal". Sometimes I will do all 3 in a row. Sometimes I will focus on hitting and only use angled. Yoda explains and demonstrates this many times in his videos very clearly. Actually, before I understood the 3 hinge actions (before I found LBG when the pictures in 10-10 were mysterious to me) I did not know what type of hinge action I used in any swing I made. Now I know it is 1/3 of the basic golf stroke, therefore I program it before every swing.
2-G - Learning only one (hinge) Action isn't helpful because you won't know their differences.
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"Golf is not a subject but a motor skill which can only be learned and not taught." - Michael Hebron
"The Body, Arms and Hands have specific assignments during the Golf Stroke, and they must be coordinated into one efficient motion." - Lynn Blake
I like your quote...there is a lot of truth to that statement! You know, I've been thinking about whether I hit or swing the basic motion. Well I hit, but I use the swinging set-up. Ido this because of the Tommy T. videos. He advocates firing the right arm thru as you turn the hips. He mentions the flail analogy that prevents flipping.
Anyway, I was at the range today & I'm surely using angled hinging. I believe, Martee that is why my motion produces higher shots than you low-straight-draw spin horizontal hinging basic motions.
I tried to use horizontal hinging, but its hard to do when hitting. When I got home I tried to swing the basic motions...and wouldn't you know...I got shots like Martee.
My thinking in my first post about what I thought I was doing to cause the shanks seemed to be true. When I concenrated on keeping the bend on my right elbow and extending it to low point not cotact or before contact...I hit those types of shots that Yoda talks about....downward, outward, and forward sound that tells evrybody around about it!!! I love that qoute.
On my last 10 balls or so I tried acquired motion and AWESOME!!! TGM rocks!!
I have another question: When you set-up at imoact fix & you adjust your self back to adjusted hands or mid-body hands, does your club face appear slightly close? I read about this on other sites months ago, but wanted to ask you gents about it as well. Just curious if I'm maybe doing something else wrong!