OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Yeah. When you are playing people who play at a snail pace, no one cares. Then all of a sudden the game gets faster and you wonder why when that ball comes to your forehand all you can do is reach for it and pat it upwards.

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a little content to nitpick


I think the backhand looks a little wonky still. The thumb is in the right spot and I've been doing it in matches too, so that's progress.

Yeah, it wasn't a perfect example, although it's all I have. I don't like to use video that I didn't take or at least someone gave to me. I know you can claim "fair use" for education, but I don't want to do it.

FZD isn't getting worse but he is on a bit of a downswing. There is a very big difference and most people don't understand how it works. I find myself explaining the difference to elite players on a regular basis.

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There is nothing to debate.

Russ is right. You start the body rotation/bow when you should. It's almost always immediate, except when the opponents is way back from the table or the ball is hit very slowly.

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The forehand is perfect.

Now I have 2 backhands to choose from. The first one looks about right and the second one is slightly disjointed. It means your arm and body worked independently or, in other words, your body didn't actually propel your arm.

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Right. Footwork is jumping into connecting rotations and bows.

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Form Follows Function.

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Yeah, it's all you really need in life.

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Can you give an example of when it is optimal to start it after moving? Maybe we are just using words here when the specifics are more important.

I have had people watching my semi cross tell me my approach is wrong because I start the backswing before or while moving.

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Say someone is 30 feet from the table and does a very high lob. You wouldn't start your smash backswing immediately because you'd be stuck at the end of the backswing for 4 seconds. There must be a fairly seamless connection between the backswing and forward swing. You'd wait till the ball is in a zone closer to you and then you'd start the shot. So on a very slow lob, you can walk around and slowly get into position without starting the backswing.

I don't really like that we are talking about backswings and not body rotation / bow. The body moves the arm, so this discussion should really be about when to rotate/bow. In almost every TT situation, you should start the rotation/bow immediately because we are always strapped for time. If you have more time, the rotation/bow should be longer/deeper. If you have less time, the rotation/bow should be smaller. It's a luxury to be able to rotate or bow fully and it rarely ever happens. If a coach tells you that you are rotating too early, they are almost always wrong.

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I have considered those things part of the backswing. You move to play a forehand, you need to be in a position when you rotate. When you smash, you need to get side on to the table most of the time and to keep your racket raised on anticipation of the incoming ball. That is why I said it can be semantics. Preparation and getting your feet into the right position is can be defined as part of the backswing. Or not.

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Getting your feet into position is about jumping into the backswing on almost all open rally shots.

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[quote="Richfs"]
Ironically this is what I've been trying to practice in training when switching between backhand and forehand. I look forward to this vid.
https://youtu.be/kMQvoNfOoUE?t=5
Like Freitas is doing here, sort of a mini hop while spinning his hips back for fh and a mini hop into bow position for the bh. I think you've covered some of it on your videos./quote]

Freitas is jumping into the backswing on every shot.

He often practices with one of the guys I'm working with, so I watched him from this angle at the Aus Open a couple of weeks ago.

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There is another time where it gets used ALL the time: net balls. You do a backswing and the ball hits the net, the ball loses momentum and then you reset and do it again. If I just wait in the backswing position I will lose any sort of swing speed.

I think my point, in the absence of debate, is that stroke preparation even when you have time often requires you to adopt a stance that biases you towards the shot relatively early even when you have forever to play the shot. If you don't call it backswing, and prefer shot preparation, fine. But even against a net, you aren't going to start our backswing late, you are going mostly hold it while adjusting to the ball or just chop as bailout, which defeats the whole point of optimal shot preparation.

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"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training" - Archilochus