OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Over the last 2 months I have put a lot of time into practising my serving. I have developed a topspin pendulum type serve in contrast to a backspin by tilting my bat back. This works quite well against lower graded players as I can vary pace and depth by taking more or less of the ball.
However, I think it is easy to pick. It looks nothing like the videos I have watched on the variations of the pendulum serve. Could anyone explain the technique of how you get topspin when it looks like the ball is hit on the bottom ?

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Hi Pakman don't worry it's not the same as the top guns, the main thing is that you are actually practicing your serves (most of us don't lol)
Try and get a front on Video of you doing 3 same serve motions from the same spot with the same height throw and same after serve actions.

remember it's about deception and it's the only time you have the advantage , and you should know that the serve will either be poped up or be attacked either way be ready in a offensive way
1. So speed is important (keep practicing to s-p-e-e-d it up)
2. placement right at thier elbow (less reaction time)
3. Vary your serves direction
4. try and get some to double bounce
5. remember what they did last time (it will help you with your third ball attack)
6. practice the same actions for the different serves (and after serve actions)
7. have another serve that looks like it has spin (soft touch)
8. Use your serves in tandom (ie do the top spin one first sometimes and attack if possible ... then do the bottom spin one but make them think it's the same by looking like you realy want to attack again so they hit it small into the net)

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Blade Ulmo Duality| FH Tibhar mx-p Black, Dawei 388D-1 red OX
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Thanks rodderz! I know that my serve does not have to be the same as the guns.....but. There is a video on utube called The answers (to 10 different serves) that shows a topspin pendulum variation where I would like to understand how that topspin is created. If I cant pick it in a slow motion video I will not be able to pick it in a game situation. As far as the speed goes I do try to practice but when I try to speed it up most go off the table.

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Re-impact Tachi+Juic Turbo 999 blk. BH- GD Talon Oxred.
Hallmark Aurora FH-GlobeNat 999 blk BH-Giant Talon Ox red.

nswer to
So practice more lol ,
there is no simple answer to giving and recieving serves ,but be ready and always be ready for offence first and have a plan B, one thing about the normal pendulum serve (top or bottom) is that the spin is forcing it back to (for a right hand server) thier left side .
some tricks are: for recieving serves
1. be in ready position always (get low ,bat near center of table, feet apart, arm lenth away from the table, and be ready to come forward)
2. some people can look at the stars or name on the ball to watch the spin
3. Be ready to attack in every case
4. when in doubt aim for the middle of the table
5.Most people only do 4-5 serves so watch ,learn and adapt
6. If its long try and always loop
7. hit back to thier weak side
8. Don't worry if your return is not good ,just be ready for the 4 th ball
9. Give your best serves back to them
10. Practice

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Blade Ulmo Duality| FH Tibhar mx-p Black, Dawei 388D-1 red OX
NZ table tennis selector, ask a question
My Blog here..How table tennis objects are made
Table Tennis abbreviations, and acronyms

Rodderz wrote U a decent two plus chapters on serve technique and theory. Cool advice.

You will still have to discover for yourself with piles and piles of balls hit into collection net. You might discover something that no one else seems to do. With enough repetitions, you can eventually hit the different contact points/timing with basicall the same swing and work on the deceptiveness with a smoother swing and follow through motions. It will come, but not right away.

Someone already stressed the important thing - that you are committed, attempting to learn and are practicing serves and how they will help your offense.

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Thanks for all your advice. I still do not quite get the technique for topspin serve. I will go out tonight to practice. As I understand it does the serve go as follows? Toss the ball.....backswing.....ball falls....swing forward.... as ball nears contact flick back to create topspin?

LKT ayous hinoki FH Gambler Outlaw BH Neptune 1.0

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Re-impact Tachi+Juic Turbo 999 blk. BH- GD Talon Oxred.
Hallmark Aurora FH-GlobeNat 999 blk BH-Giant Talon Ox red.

Hi I find that for me.... its just easier to make it pop up is to slide the ball.
and to make it go down is same action but cut it

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Blade Ulmo Duality| FH Tibhar mx-p Black, Dawei 388D-1 red OX
NZ table tennis selector, ask a question
My Blog here..How table tennis objects are made
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Some player will have several forward/backwards movement during a swing, and picking during what movement they contact the ball is the deception.

Remember also that topspin will be produced just from the downwards speed of the ball making contact with your bat, even if you don't move it. This is one of the reasons high-toss serves are done... the speed of the ball is faster, so you can get more spin or variation. So by adding some movement to that, you can make variations.

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If you have a reasonably high toss then you will automatically produce some topspin even when moving the bat downwards. You can produce side and bottom, just side, or side and top depending on where abouts in your swing you contact the ball. I personally tend to move my whole forearm upwards during contact to get the topspin. It puts more on the ball, but is less deceptive than using the wrist alone.

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Fred 28

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Defense Blade with pimples on one side ...

Ok so this is obviously going to make me sound like an amateur (and I am) but how does he get soooo much spin on those serves in the instructional video with so little movement? I realize part of this might be the rubber as what I use is nearly completely non tacky or grippy, but it seems like he puts such a tiny amount of effort into his amazing serves.

it's all about how much contact, the contact angle and how fast the bat is moving at that point

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Chasse Patate

Also in developing a serve, you must go through this sequence. Spin>Control>Placement>Height>Speed>Variation

With correct serve stance and execution in mind, First try and get as much spin as possible not thinking about the other components of the serve and letting the ball bounce on the sides of the table of course. When you have the feeling in brushing the ball, try and develop the control for the ball. You must be able to control where you want the ball to land with keeping in mind the effect of the spin. Once you have that settled, try and be more precise with the placement. Then try and keep the ball at least 1-2 inches above the net. Then try to serve with speed in mind. The serve must be at least 1-2 sec in traveling to your opponents side. Then try varying the speed, spin and placement.

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Training, Training, Training....and - of course - the right rubber/wood combination..... and take your time before you serve... In the video I was kind of in a hurry ( I thought more abt. quantity over quality regarding the number of serves and on the other hand I knew every secons of video material will cause more work in the post processing )... In reality you definitely need to do it more slowly and with more concentration.

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Defense Blade with pimples on one side ...

Sit on the sofa for 10 mins each evening with your bat and the ball and practice throwing the ball across onto your bat and spinning it back into your hand. See how long you can make the ball spin in your hand. Experiment with different grips, but make sure you can quickly switch back to your normal grip after you serve.

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Fred 28