"P's UPDATE," the official Pacific League TV program, updates the common sense of baseball world and updates itself. This time, as a "Konoike Theory Special Edition," the theme is "Your body has a type."

The guests included Norihiro Nakamura, who currently serves as a high school baseball coach; Toshiaki Imae, former manager of Tohoku Rakuten Eagles; and Yuji Kaneko, a two-time stolen base champion. In addition, Toshiharu Kono, the proponent of the Kono Theory and representative of the Kono Sports Academy, also appeared on the show. The discussion began with an explanation of the Kono Theory and then moved on to its philosophy.

Are there two types of bodies? The Konoike Theory

Kono-san served as a trainer for the Japanese national baseball and softball teams at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as well as in the first and second World Baseball Classics, supporting many top athletes. Currently, he also provides advice to Major League Baseball players.

The Kono theory, advocated by Mr. Kono, states that the human body can be divided into two types: "arm-dominant" and "leg-dominant."

"Arm-dominant" individuals are generally characterized by a hunched posture and a tendency to improve body coordination by moving from the arms. On the other hand, "leg-dominant" individuals are characterized by an arched lower back and a tendency to improve body coordination by moving from the legs.

"I'm a 'strong-armed' type, right...?" What's your body type, Imaie-san?

Imaie, who received support from Konoike during his playing days, asked, "I used my arms to time my batting, so I guess I'm arm-based, right?" When Konoike simply replied, "No, that's not right," the studio erupted in laughter.

Konoike analyzed, "I was using my arms to time it, but ultimately I stepped forward with my right foot, so the real timing was that my right foot was the starting point." He revealed the reason for using his arms to time it, saying, "I was just creating the prelude (with my arms), but my back muscles were that strong. I was doing it to relax in order to make the most of the strength in my back muscles."

How can you determine your body type? Shohei Ohtani also analyzes it.

One way to determine which type you are is to try lifting a heavy object placed on the floor. According to Konoike, people who lift with their legs wide apart are the type who first sense the weight of the object with their hands. On the other hand, people who lift with their legs together and bent over are the type who sense the vector with their knees and lift with their whole body.

The conversation also touched upon batting form, and regarding Shohei Ohtani, he analyzed that Ohtani is a leg-dominant player, saying, "He uses his right foot to time his swing and his left foot to push off. That's why the Tommy John surgery (on his arm) has absolutely no effect on him."

In the second half, we will explain body types based on the form of active athletes, and introduce self-check methods that you can do yourself.