OOAK Table Tennis Forum

This will be a series of videos critiquing the shots of TTEdge members who have shots that Brett wants to analyze and correct.

Please feel free to compliment or rip apart my technique - this is the one shot in my game I need to get better. As someone said on another thread, I have stagnated at 1950-2050 for the last eight months and need to fix this as one of my issues (the other issue, well, that will take a lifetime to fix).

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The swing size differences here have to do with footwork which take a lifetime to fix. Angle of the swing is ok because you're hitting a high slow arcing shot.

That is quite likely true - my footwork sucks and isn't helped by bad knees. But even if I jumped into position, I would likely still do the bad stroke. I am just speaking as someone who is trying to figure out how to do this. I have also seen much better players than I am hit the shot that I hit.

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If you swing very forward too much it implies you use good grip rubber or did at one time. Fixing it is matter of judging how low to backswing. Lower the racket enough for balls that need lift and swing fixes itself.

Usually, the bread and butter for some players is high arcing, slow topspins and I tend to hit those off the table - what's the approach supposed to be mentally? Take them low and early? And what to do when they get too high? Or when I am late and ball is dropping?

If I could consistently counter these, a lot of my results would change because I would be far more comfortable vs heavy topspin.

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NextLevel, I'm going to make a video today to show you the shot I feel is best off these higher balls. Your shot in the video is on the right track.

Cheers,
Brett

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Do you think the 'best' shot for these particular balls is always (basically) the same, or does it vary a lot depending on the person and their strengths/limitations?

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I personally think if you get a high topspin, you should hit a winner off it with similar technique against everyone. I will post a video soon.

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I don't think technique for amateur players need to be too complicated. If you're not getting winners it means you're not hitting hard enough, and if the hard hit shots are going long it means there isn't enough spin. You can only get more spin by contacting the ball faster with the racket at an angle. This means seeing and anticipating the trajectory better, and timing a faster swing right to where the ball will be. Players who are fast enough can get away with a much smaller swing by taking the ball early, and so on. Personally I try to attack the ball early as possible, but this depends on how confident I am which depends on my positioning and relative attacking ability to their defense among other things. Some people are more confident against heavy topspin, some less so.

There's no big secret to this. You try to get the best possible shot in, and the best shot depends on all the circumstances.

Without more info it looks like you're an opportunistic player, meaning don't have to move well as big man because you wait for attacking opportunities to come to you. If you play at that level it means you judge those opportunities alright, meaning read spin so don't make low-percentage attacks. It's a good style, just need better execution. As part of basic strategy if aggressive counterlooping just isn't your thing then vary your blocks better.

NextLevel, here is the video I promised. Shot 1 is a hook off a very high topspin, shot 2 is a fade and shot 3 is taking the ball early. I prefer shot 1 and 2 for such high ball. Shot 3 is turning a high ball into a low ball, but it's okay if you are good at it. Former world number 1, Wang Tao, effectively took every ball very early although he often faded it.

The first 2 shots are very similar to the your shot I analyzed in the first post here. I have used sidespin on my strokes as it tends to make things easier and helps to avoid hitting the ball off the end of the table. I'm going to make a tutorial video on ttEDGE soon.

Cheers,
Brett

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This video is an analysis of Andy's forehand topspin. I believe Andy has timing issues on his forehand which are very common with learning adults.

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Thanks for the video, Brett. Makes a lot of sense and I have been explicitly trying to offer the full face of the bat on many of my rebuilt shots so I can see why I run into this problem.

Reminds me of one of my favorite videos, though I like it largely for the celebration after hitting the shot:



Moving on to Andy, getting your whole body to work in harmony to produce optimal power/racket head speed isn't easy. For whatever reason, it is much easier for me on my backhand than my forehand, though I don't do too badly looping off block. Timing the ball is hard even for some advanced players who try to mimic stroke forms completely, as opposed to finding a good but natural motion that produces good timing and power. I guess finding that balance between good technique and personal technique is hard.

Andy has only been playing a short time though so it will be interesting to see how his progress goes. What you wrote about Andy has a broader application but I am not sure many players who should see it in themselves will.

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Love the analysis and demonstration Brett Clarke, great work!

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NextLevel, WLQ's counterspin fade was one of the best shots ever and it's exactly what I was trying to demonstrate in my video.

The timing of the backswing and stroke on your forehand isn't an issue and it looks right to me, so don't go chasing your tail trying to fix something that isn't broken.

All Andy has to do is bend his knees and wait for the ball a little longer before starting his backswing...nothing more. His mechanics are surprisingly good considering everything.

Cheers,
Brett

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