The full stroke is one of the basic and most important strokes for programming the hand and part of the forearm correctly. When it is learned well, the drummer can use the natural rebound of the stick from the drum or cymbal much more efficiently. The wrist works more rationally, and we get the maximum result with the least unnecessary effort. The idea of the full stroke is simple: the only real effort is the initial push into the drum. The stick returns because of its own energy.
Before the stroke, focus on the feeling in the little finger. At the moment when the front part of the hand sends the stick toward the drum, the little finger works as a support point and as the axis around which the stick begins to rotate. A common beginner mistake is opening the little finger too early, usually as a way of avoiding blocking the rebound. But then the stick is not controlled well enough, and this later creates limitations around the drum set.
The full stroke belongs to system and is used for loud accented notes. Since the stick returns to the same high position it started from, a full stroke is a loud stroke before another loud stroke played by the same hand. The Gladstone system also includes three other strokes, each chosen according to the sequence of accented and unaccented notes.
When practicing the full stroke, it is important to remove all unnecessary hand motion and stick wobble. There should be no extra wind-up before the stroke: the stick is already in the starting position, and it returns there after every full stroke.
By training the full stroke, we can set up the wrist mechanism correctly and make our overall drum set playing more efficient.