OOAK Table Tennis Forum

When I practice serves, I pick ONE serve to work on. I am thinking about placement, height, length, etc. I also concentrate on a spot on MY SIDE of the table for the first bounce of the serve.
One of the indicators of how well I am doing is how small a group the balls make on the floor. I play on a rug surface so they don't roll forever. I am real happy when most are in a 5 foot circle. This also gives you an idea of the amount of spin by how it reacts when it hits the floor.
I also start each serve (most serves) with the edge of my hand resting on the edge of the table. I decide WHICH SERVE I am going to do before I serve. I am sure many people don't know what serve they will do untill the ball is falling.
I agree with the lower body position.
If you use the upper body (rotate) you will feel what I mean by it dragging or pulling the leg/foot around to the ready position.
Like all sports, follow through is an important part, golf, bowling, etc. If you don't do it in practice, you are practicing a bad habit.

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Shakehand, left handed.
Blade, Yinhe, W-1
Forhand, H-3 National
Backhand, Sriver FX Max

Good advice IMO.

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the covers blown, mission over

At this point I am just trying to get basic variations of about eight or 10 different serves down. Increasing spin will definitely be the next step. However, one of the things that I'm not really working on to emphasize is underspin serves.

I realized that, being a fairly aggressive topspin type player, I really don't want to get into a pushing game right after the service and service returns. Therefore I don't really want to have a whole lot of underspin serves. I certainly do want to mix some in now and again -- but for the most part no spin, side spin and topspin serves is really what I am looking for.



Great point! I will have to look at doing this, because one of the things that I am noticing is that, while I have no problem with service returns to my forehand or to my middle -- I am missing the majority of serves to my backhand side. Clearly an indication that I'm just not getting around fast enough and getting ready for the service return.

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Currently playing classic defensive style (a la Chtchetinine)
American Hinoki Single Ply 9mm Bald Cypress
Palio CJ8000/1.2mm Dawei Butter
Saviga V 0.6

I assume that you are referring to the fact that I never stopped moving. I just pull the ball out of the bucket, It against my rubber, catch it and immediately begin the service toss. I never do this in a game. I always stop, and then began the service toss when I'm playing in a match.

But again, the lesson comes across: I should practice like I play in a game.

And I thought about mounting the camera lower, but thought that that meant that I would have to remove the robot to practice my serves. I'm just too lazy to do that! Perhaps the camera will see through the netting of the robot without any trouble and I should just lower it anyway. I'll give it a try!

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Currently playing classic defensive style (a la Chtchetinine)
American Hinoki Single Ply 9mm Bald Cypress
Palio CJ8000/1.2mm Dawei Butter
Saviga V 0.6

I was mostly referring to cupping the ball in your hand actually.

What if you put the camera off to the side of the net?

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Chasse Patate

Cupping the ball is probably the foul serve that more people do than any other but it is rarely picked up at most levels. It seems a bit of a relic from the past to me as any spin (usually slight) you can put on the ball when tossing will be either taken off or completely changed when hit with most rubbers.

This, like the unobscured service contact point rule, is another virtually unenforceable rule. I have yet to see a player at ANY level called for not serving from a flat palm.

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Currently playing classic defensive style (a la Chtchetinine)
American Hinoki Single Ply 9mm Bald Cypress
Palio CJ8000/1.2mm Dawei Butter
Saviga V 0.6

It would be enforceable if it were a rule.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

I thought that the palm of the hand had to be 'stationary, open and flat' ?

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the covers blown, mission over

Maybe you should check the rules again?

http://www.ittf.com/ittf_handbook/hb.asp?s_number=2.06

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

Vindicated!

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Currently playing classic defensive style (a la Chtchetinine)
American Hinoki Single Ply 9mm Bald Cypress
Palio CJ8000/1.2mm Dawei Butter
Saviga V 0.6

Closed vs open cupping, neither one flat:


However if you cup that much you probably break a few other rules: umpire can't tell if the serve is legal because he can't see the ball; obstruction of the ball after the ball leaves the palm; spin imparted on the toss. "Flat" used to be in the rules, but it was removed about five years ago.

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Equipment: Matsushita PowerDefence, Spin Art 1.9 black, Xiying 979 ox red
Style: American | US Rating: barely 2000

Another example of this 'omitting' rules by the ITTF.

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the covers blown, mission over

I have just placed a new video (mostly to play around with and learn Windows movie maker) but thought I would let you guys see it as well. I changed a couple of things from the last video: I changed the camera position to be more like where a right-handed player would be receiving the serve, removed the robot, and added a beginning and ending onto each one of my serves such that they're hopefully now legal and at the end of every serve I am practicing being ready for the service return.

Obviously, I still need to work on getting the ball a bit lower (especially on the Tomahawk/reverse pendulum serves) but the serves aren't too high to begin with...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DWiQe5vLtE

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Currently playing classic defensive style (a la Chtchetinine)
American Hinoki Single Ply 9mm Bald Cypress
Palio CJ8000/1.2mm Dawei Butter
Saviga V 0.6