How can you walk before you run? How could chip, pitch, punch (just one example - not the best example, just AN example) ever not help someone's total motion? Impact is the same from "hip to hip." Lunacy...........
i feel that short shots and full swings can be, and mostly are, two different patterns.
eg you can have arm dominated chips and pitch shots. and a full motion where the pivot leads and powers the whole motion. in fact, i'd probably recomend that to most people.
now im not saying that you cant learn to hit chip and pitch shots with more pivot participation. if you did, basic motion would work a whole lot better.
also, if it is the case that short shots are not just smaller versions of the full swing, then i feel it would be infinitly better to teach a full, no-flip swing initially and then teach a pitch shot after that. its how i was taught.
i know from personal experience that basic motion can work great until you get to about punch w/ swivel, then this crazy hand-controlled no pivot arm swing doesnt work so great on full shots as it did on shorter ones.
brian, does this mean you think you building blocks material is redundant and poor?