OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I have been using the reverse tomahawk serve for awhile, it has become competitive now. But, for years, I was mainly using only my wrist to create the side spin. One day, i decided to try to use my entire arm and my wrist, using my elbow as a sort of pivot point. I can now generate a huge amount of extra spin and it became much more difficult for the opponent to return. However, now, after I give my best serves too many times during a practice session, using my whole arm, my elbow started to hurt because of the strain on that part of my arm. To check if I am doing it properly, I looked at ding ning's serve here, and it appears that she also uses her whole arm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuaDkFSKb6g .

Does it sound like I am missing something when I use this serve? Am I doing it wrong somewhere, or how can I prevent my elbow from hurting after doing too many of that serve.

Are you using the "whip" movement that Brett talks about on the video I linked to in this post?

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=42562#p408090

Iskandar

I don't do the reverse tomahawk myself, so read my suggestions with that in mind.

Make sure that your arm movement is "extending" from the elbow, not "twisting". I see the elbow twist a lot when players first learn the backhand loop, resulting in pain like what you are reporting. The reverse tomahawk may be performed by a similar twist, but the opposite direction. Torsion around the upper arm may give RSI type ailments in shoulder and elbow.

Footwork is important. A service stance with your right foot more forward (if you are right handed) may give your arm a better angle towards the ball, so you twist it less.
That "whip motion" mentioned above is probably more essential, also to help avoiding the upper arm torsion. You need the rubber to really "dig in" and grip the ball.
Ummm ... not sure that I like the way that last sentence came out. Maybe the time of day