Fingerspin Serves

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birding&table.tennis

Post subject: Re: Fingerspin Serves

Posted: 10 Mar 2015, 06:22

Comeback Chopper

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fleetwood999 wrote:

hookshot wrote:

You can not tell what spin is on a fingerspin except how it bounces on the table.

The ball being squeezed between the thumb and first finger can be released by the thumb or the first finger. Both different spins.
The bat may be held in any position, even over the ball or in front of the ball angled down. The bat can be used to hide the other hand.

There is a famous player that won a World title using the finger spin serve. Anybody know who it was? (he was a friend of mine that gave me some lessons in the 50s.)

Sounds like Sol Schiff.

Back in 1971, when I was 14 years old, at the US team championships in Detroit, I had a long conversation with the legendary Sol Schiff about the fingerspin serves. (To me, at that time, through my young eyes, he looked as if he was 100 years old!) That was exciting for me, since I had previously read about Sol Schiff being world men's doubles champion and his fingerspin serves. I was so impressed that this famous table tennis player would spend so much time talking with me.

If I recall correctly, Sol Schiff told me that he had to deal with many boos from the audience and I think that someone in the audience even hit him. But, fingerspin serves at that time were legal. I found a New York Times obituary about Sol Schiff at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/sport ... .html?_r=0

There is a biography of Sol Schiff at http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis ... Sol-Schiff Here his knucklespin (fingerspin) serve is described in detail. There is also discussion on the rule changes and the banning of this serve by the ITTF.

Steven

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Baal

Post subject: Re: Fingerspin Serves

Posted: 10 Mar 2015, 12:10

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I wonder if there is an existent video of someone doing this?

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iskandar taib

Post subject: Re: Fingerspin Serves

Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 22:09

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The web page previously mentioned

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis ... Sol-Schiff

gives some surprising details.

Quote:

Moreover, to use them well, perhaps even ambidexterously, took plenty of practice's ometimes the server's shot-off ball would miss his racket! Since Sol was left-handed, he would hold the racket somewhat awkwardly in his right, non-playing hand, then make sure that the ball rested on his left thumb, against the middle finger, pressured into place by the index finger. After the ball was positioned precisely between thumbnail and bent thumb (careful, the ball can't touch the nail), it would then be spun off the middle finger, marble-like, slowly for best results.

and

Quote:

For Victor (Barna), as he was to write later, had expressed amazement on first seeing these serves: "Serving sometimes under the table, sometimes with his back turned," Schiff made the ball come "either like a bullet or zig-zagging all over the place. I did not have the faintest idea how to make a return." On coming back to Europe, Victor said, "I urged the International Federation to follow the USTTA example and ban the fingerspin service universally before it could harm the game. I was not successful."

So you're supposed to be able to strike the ball with the racket in your non-playing hand, then transfer the bat, and serve from under the table and/or with your back turned... wow.

If people today feel table tennis and the ITTF has "gnarly problems" - plastic ball and all - it seems it was gnarlier back then. Getting suspended because Parker Brothers put your name on some bats...

Iskandar

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