OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hi! I am a modern defender with inverted on both sides, and would love to know your ideas on how to execute a dead chop and a dead push. I would like to add this to my arsenal of weapons. Right now when I want to chop dead I catch the ball as close to the handle as possible to impart as little spin as i can. Any other ideas would be great. Thanks!

By "dead", I suppose you mean less backspin than normal, or no backspin? I do this by "lifting" the ball rather than stroking downwards (at a tangent) with fine contact (which is how you put heavy spin on it). Same principle for varying topspin as well - you can either hit the ball "flat" (less spin) or contact it at a tangent (more spin). Same principle for serve variations, too. And it you can make the two look the same, you can then fool your opponent into putting the ball where he/she doesn't want to put the ball.

Now, the really cool trick is to produce slight TOPSPIN with what looks like a push - yes, it can be done, and it definitely works at the level I play at (which isn't very high). You do this by using the same principle that you use in the pendulum serve - depending on how early or late you contact the ball, you'll have side-backspin or side-topspin. The challenge is to make it all look the same.

Iskandar

Thats awesome! Thank you for your response!

I have no problem chopping dead with inverted, it's creating significant backspin that gives me trouble...

Just don't brush the ball, I guess, that should do it. If your opponent is smart, I think they will be able to tell them apart by the sound of contact, though.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

If you want the chop to "look" like under, try chopping closer to the handle and toward the back. I don't do this personally, but there is an inverted chopper at my club who does this on purpose...all the time. It's maddening.

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Blog: "Holy Chtchet!" ⇝

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Incidentally, it seems the secret to getting heavy underspin on a chop is the same as getting heavy topspin in a loop - high racket head speed and loose wrist, thin contact. If you look for Brett's video that features that Japanese drum toy, he talks about (when executing loops) not starting the backswing too early, to time it so that the backswing and stroke are one continuous motion. Well, my limited experiments show it works with chops, too - when I do it right the guy I'm hitting with invariably pushes it (none of the people I play with can attack backspin ) into the net. I don't use it in games at this point, I'm just consistent enough to return long serves to my forehand this way.

Iskandar

I am a double inverted and loves chopping.

I do the " dead chop " when my opponent is a looper at the back hand. I mask my chop and instead of giving a heavy chop, I brush the bottom of the ball and the angle of my racket is flat. It looks like a chop and if my opponent try to loop it, the ball dives into the net.

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Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

Confused - dead balls usually go long when someone tries to loop them as if it was a true chop, since there is no backspin to be lifted...

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

I cannot describe it accurate enough since we use local language when describing it and I don't know the exact term in english. Timing is critical because if you do it incorrectly, the ball will float too high and easy to smash.

I time it a bit late trying to hit the bottom of the ball and the angle of my racket is flat. Normally, I return the ball a bit short.

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Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

Thanks for clarifying.

I *think* what you are describing is a push/chop that is short, low, and heavy (high backspin) - based on your description of thin brushing contact and bat angle that is almost parallel to the ground. These are easy to net

I suspect OP's question was about 'dead' chops - the ones that look like they should have heavy backspin, but actually do not. These are usually looped 2 meters beyond table end by unsuspecting loop-happy opponent.

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USATT: 1807 | League: 1887

To add,

They another way to return dead ball that lost it momentum and fall on the table, provided You stand in good chopping distance*

When chopping,

Hold Your blade as loose as possible, even actually let go off the blade. Some player even use long fingery grip (Chtchetinine) for this.

*dependent on incoming ball momentum / speed, faster further.

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