NextLevel wrote:
Here are things I think you could work on - I will list them not in the order they will improve your game, but in the order they show up in the point.
1. Your pendulum serves are far more advanced than your loop and your ability to read spin is, so you struggle to attack behind your serve. This problem is not as uncommon as you might think - I sometimes have it and I have seen 2300-level players have it. Learn to serve with less spin while make it appear that you are adding spin, or just serve a straight ball so you can read what the opponent did to the ball. If a ball is straight and low with not so much spin, it is easy to tell what the opponent did if you know how to overpower a no-spin ball. You can also know where the main spin axis is more easily and avoid it by looping around the side of the ball - that will give you more success. That said, it seems you have a bigger problem attacking behind the pendulum than behind your backhand serves - that might mean that your loop naturally hits one side of the racket and unaturally hits the other. But your backhand serve is also has less sidespin on it (has more pure backspin) so it is easier to read what comes back.
The pendulum is really new to me and I'm still working out the 3rd ball attack. What's remarkable is my regular partner (who I faced here) actually chops the top spin ball. He's the first person I've seen do it and yea, it gives me problems - in fact I was shocked it was so low and with so much backspin (twice!). I will keep this in mind in matches that 'matter' more (do any really matter at my level?!?!).
NextLevel wrote:
2. You receive with your backhand on your forehand side and do a flat flick or a push. The forehand racket angle for returning reverse type serves (backhand serve or tomahawk) is initially difficult but critical to learn as using the backhand on the forehand side will open you up to transition strategies that move you over to the forehand side and then to the backhand side. The key to mastering the short forehand is table distance and being able to take one step into the table so you can get your elbow over the table and closer to the ball. This lets you control the stroke better and make the right racket angle with your hand more easily (you need to bend back the wrist towards your forehand a little in a relaxed manner for most but not all pushes).
Yes I agree. My hip pain is the worst when I try and move my foot in and then back out. It's very tough for me right now and that's why the exercises are so important. My buddy has picked up on this and pretty much only serves to my forehand short. Ugh.
NextLevel wrote:
3. Stop backing up after you return the serve or after you serve! This is especially important if your opponent is not attacking the ball or playing fast balls. Wait at the table so you can easily put away the next ball. If you feel the need to back up this often, work on your blocking game. You should hold the table unless your opponent forces you to yield.
Interesting. I've never been very good at playing right on the table. I'm not sure how to fix this one very easily.
NextLevel wrote:
4. Racket head speed is king. IT's one of the reasons why I keep my students on ALL blades and rubbers (Dawei XP 2008) for as long as I can. I want them to learn to produce their own spin before going on to rubbers that basically loop for you. My guess is that you are getting more out of your rubber than your stroke deserves and cannot control over overpower certain kinds of spin with your current stroke. You need to rebuild your loop by start to loop slowly but feeling the grip of the rubber on the ball. Since your robot doesn't produce no spin, pick a light backspin level and have the robot shoot the ball into the table so that the table kills the spin. Then loop that ball and watch how much spin you can get on it. Try to spin it by hitting different points on the ball and get different effects. Try to loop it by playing over the ball as much as possible - it's hard to get much better if you can't loop by playing over the ball as this is required to some degree to loop or active block topspin balls close to the table. Also loop on the back on the side. Try to do this with slow brush, heavy brush and thick brush, but ALWAYS brush.
With a good loop (or if you think you already have one), you should after seeing how the ball is spinning (and you should read this sometimes based on how the ball is coming at you in the air), figure out where to make contact with the ball and loop it. If you can't do this, just guess. If the ball is high enough, just smash carefully. And if the ball lacks spin, add spin by contacting the back if the ball is low and adding spin, or contacting over the ball if it is high - do not lift no spin balls!
This is very much a problem of mine...bat speed? Hah, I need to actually make solid contact with the ball! I'm actually working on the very start of Brett's forehand loop series right now. Drop the ball and loop it. I'm doing this nightly right now. For what it's worth, the forehand loop actually feels a little better than it was a week ago. I am really trying to make a habit of watching the ball hit the paddle on the forehand.
What I really don't know how to do is how to practice producing more speed. Mental block of some sort happening here.
NextLevel wrote:
5. If you can't loop the third ball, you must loop the 5th ball or try to set up a way for you to do so. The two main ways are a fast push to the wide backhand and to push with less spin or sidespin (or to fake a push and bump the ball slightly). The goal is to get a popup so that you can attack the next ball decisively.
The only 5th ball plan I have is short push to forehand -> deep push to backhand and then loop the hopefully weaker response.
Thanks for the response, You've given me more to think about. I think my next step is to practice the forehand loop more and more until it looks right. I'll make some video of my practice for the world to pick apart. The funny part is that my forehand is much more solid than it was...but as usual, move up in skill and it turns back into a weakness.