I took my first tennis lesson 40 years ago, and I still remember it vividly. What was remarkable about it was that at no time during the lesson did I actually strike a tennis ball with a racket. Instead, the lesson began with a lecture on “eastern” versus “western” grips–a topic my instructor had apparently made a bit of a study of–after which we spent a few minutes “shaking hands” with our rackets, then watched as the instructor repeatedly demonstrated a proper forehand, and finally ended with a session of “air tennis” where we all swung our rackets while the instructor critiqued our form.