OOAK Table Tennis Forum

So recently I Learned Pivoting, but I cannot have the confidence to 3rd ball attack the incoming ball, any ways to develop this?

Pivot is basically serving and moving to BH corner to FH attack the ball because the ball will definitely come there (calculated), as a penholder this is my main weapon. How to develop this eh?

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Setup 1 : (JPEN) Yinhe 985 + Fake Tenergy 05 FX
Setup 2 : (Defender) Joola Falcon Medium + FH Jupiter II 39 + BH Stiga Chop n Drive

Foot work?

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No more political prisoners in Catalonia.

Just do it. It's only by trying that you find out for real. And let's face it, trying it in practise is the place to make and learn from mistakes so don't be hard on yourself if you fail. The ball and what happens after you attack third ball will also help tell you what is going right or needs changing.

One way to improve (assuming you have a good feeder/training partner who does what you ask) is to introduce semi irregular patterns in to the drill you describe. At first start of regular ie you know the sequence of shots to be played so can anticipate it based on that. This should ensure you move in to position straight away and are ready to play the shot. Focus on technique, consistency and accuracy of your shots. Only then move on to speed and power of your third ball attack. From there, introduce semi-irregular feeds. Sometimes feed is straight in to the hitting zone for your BH, sometimes a little wider left (if you are right handed). The same can happen on FH third ball attack. It's rare an opponent will put the ball exactly where you want it and often 6 inch variation in placement can be more effective than switching from BH to FH as players tend to get lazy and lean rather than move correctly when only small movements are required - bad thing to do as eventually you'll lose control of the bat angle at point of contact. You can also give yourself targets to hit on your third ball attack. Put some plastic cups or bottles on your opponents side of the table and try and hit them with your FH attack off the pivot. Sometimes by introducing a target a player stops thinking about "movement" and just does it, as they are more preoccupied with hitting the targets. It's a form of distraction but can simplify the drill and have excellent results.

Ultimately, just do it. Don't over think it and make it fun and challenging. There is no shame in making mistakes in practice and no need to get frustrated.

I'm going to write this to remind myself also as I'm slowly getting back into things.

Step 1: Are you confident looping a long backspin ball when you don't need to move your feet? Having a strong fundamental stroke is the start.

Step 2: Are you confident serving and then looping a long backspin return when you don't need to move your feet much and it goes to a known location? Are you watch your serve too much? Are you adjusting to the height and spin being returned? Serving and attacking is a whole new level of difficulty because of the recovery time and less assurance of what you will get back.

Step 3: Can you serve and loop a long backspin return coming to your backhand with your forehand? This is your question.

First off, use some of step 2 to your advantage. I'm going to write this as a right handed player vs right handed player. If you serve down the line (to the forehand) then it is impossible to create a strong angle to the corner. It can only go down the line or to your forehand. Add a little side spin that curves towards the forehand and this will often aid you further in having to cover even less of the table. Don't expect to pivot if you serve to the backhand. Use the angles to your advantage to limit the table coverage.

Next up is going back to step 1 but with footwork. Right foot moves first, then left foot (pros do this at the same time often). This pattern lets you keep your balance. So have a partner give you a backspin ball to your body. Start small. You need to make the footwork steps and attack the ball. Keep low while doing this. If you are not in great shape this should make the legs burn.

Of course after that start serving and getting a known return location to where you have to pivot. Once that is somewhat reliable start playing weaker players and working on this. Playing in matches and trying to add things that you are practicing at is a good way to get that new thing added quicker.

Lastly, if someone serves to you deep to your backhand - pivot too! Lots of times you can pivot in a match once you have a handle on the footwork and it can dramatically change the outcome of a match. No more safe spot backhand against that penhold guy!

Start by just pivoting and blocking the ball, when you're confident, change to a counter. Not too hard and fast, just get it on the table. When you can do that, you can change to a spinny loop. After that, a powerful loop or hit depending on the quality of the ball. Gradually increase your aggression. Don't go beyond your range of proximal development, practice one simple thing at a time and don't overwhelm yourself.

That being said, FH attack from the BH is a great way for your opponent to block you out of position and get an easy point, making you run back and forth in the process. Very few people will be fast, young, powerful and fit enough to pull it off. It also opens you up to suprise balls to the exposed FH corner when you move to your BH too soon, which will start to happen every now and then. I suggest that you learn RPB and attack with that instead. However I understand that a coach may be telling you to do this BH pivot, and most coaches are stubborn about it.

I do actually play both Jpen and Cpen RPB, I have really good and consistent RPB, Only from the Wang Hao Instructionals in YT.

I did learn Jpen because I simply like it more than Cpen w/ RPB.

I'll take your advice, and hopefully I'll get better.

For footwork, I've got it covered, I'm still 15 and although I'm really overweight, I still have good footwork from training too much [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY].

Sent from my SM-A730F using Tapatalk

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Setup 1 : (JPEN) Yinhe 985 + Fake Tenergy 05 FX
Setup 2 : (Defender) Joola Falcon Medium + FH Jupiter II 39 + BH Stiga Chop n Drive

I don't have a coach, all I have is some friends who are willing to help.

Sent from my SM-A730F using Tapatalk

_________________
Setup 1 : (JPEN) Yinhe 985 + Fake Tenergy 05 FX
Setup 2 : (Defender) Joola Falcon Medium + FH Jupiter II 39 + BH Stiga Chop n Drive