It took me a good four or five months of practice and practice and then more practice to be a “decent” player. As in plastic or rubber ball, I had no teacher or couching, so I learned it the hard way all by myself. Only after years of playing did I start to develop form, since the most natural way to throw a forehand shot to someone who has not being correctly taught, is a mixture of a baseball/football throw, and that not only looks odd, but it adversely compromises the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of the shots. From watching the pros, and actually playing with some of them who went to practice to the amateur court sometimes, and feedback from good players, I finally got the hint that as with golf, sometimes what may initially seem awkward, is actually the correct way of executing a shot. The correct way to throw the ball is with the arm straight, and most of the work done by hips and shoulder, It took me a long time to get used to not bending that elbow.
Was it all worth it? Absolutely!, I played over 14 years and not once did I see anyone get hit on the head, or call the rescue for any type of injury, and I wasn’t a casual player, I was there 2-3 times a week and played in countless leagues. After looking back, I got hurt much more playing baseball and softball with a dislocated finger from a slide, a few pulled tendons, frequent burns from slides and quite a few “hit by pitch” with fastballs, than I ever did in jai-alai. In all fairness I did see some near misses, including myself, where a quick reaction saved my face from a certain disfigurement and some of the most daring front courters stupidly going for dangerous shots, but still, no one ever got seriously hurt. So don’t let the exotic advertising keep you from the joy of playing one of the most fascinating sports ever, which is also a very good exercise to keep you fit.