Forehand Strokes
From TableTennisTraining
Contents |
Basic Strokes
There are several fundamentals that apply to most if not all strokes:
- Use Footwork to get to the best position before beginning the stroke
- Strokes other than blocks can be divided into three phases: back swing, forward swing towards the ball, and follow through after ball contact.
- Back Swing: Begin your back swing as the ball passes over the net coming towards you. This should give you plenty of time to decide whether you need to make a forehand or backhand return of the ball (when you backswing, you are committing to one of these two strokes).
- Watch the incoming ball as you begin your back swing. At the very least, don't take your eyes off the ball until you see it how it bounces off your side of the table.
- Forward Swing: For most shots, you should not begin your forward swing until you've seen how the ball will bounce. This allows you to account for things such as the spin on the ball and irregularities on the table surface that affect ball trajectory. It's particularly helpful in enabling you to return Net Balls. If you begin your forward swing before seeing the bounce, a misjudgement will mean you need to change the motion of your racquet in midstroke, which will frequently cause you to miss and at the very least will reduce the placement control and power of your shot.
- The trajectory of the racquet for most forward swings should be a straight line, except when you need to correct midstroke for a misjudgement in ball location or spin.
- Follow through: Lack of sufficient follow through is a typical beginner error that results in weak shots. However, it's also important to avoid overextending follow through to the point where balance is lost or to the point where it takes to long to recover for the next stroke.
- Try to maintain balance throughout the stroke. This will allow you to hit the ball more consistently and also leave you better prepared for your next shot.
Counter
The counter stroke is one of the first strokes taught to most players. It is relatively easy to learn and is one of the most energy efficient strokes (for example, a loop stroke requires a lot more energy to make the ball travel at the same speed as a counter). The forehand counter stroke is primarily a flat stroke, although it's common for a counter to impart a light topspin to the ball because the bat is held slightly closed. Because the counter stroke is intended to be a flat stroke, the bat is hit directly into the ball rather than grazing the surface of the ball as you would in a loop stroke.
Block
The primary attribute of all blocks is that they do not add significant energy to the ball and require very little motion to perform. Instead the blocker relies on the energy from his opponent's shot to return the ball.
The basic forehand block is struck to the side of the body in approximately the same place you strike the ball when performing a forehand counter or a forehand loop, but instead of hitting into the ball, use a very short upwards brushing stroke to generate a light topspin (this helps you control the ball while blocking). It is also possible to block the ball in front of the body, but this prevents you from changing your mind and attacking the ball if you decide at the last moment that you have time for a more agressive shot.
Blocks can be attacks
Blocks are primarily a defensive shot, used to return attacks from your opponent which don't give you enough time to use a full stroke. Despite this, blocks can be used very effectively to score points against overly agressive opponents who attack predictably but with great force, as the speed of the blocked ball is directly proportional to the speed your opponent used to attack the ball. Blocks are particularly effective against an opponent when he follows through too much during his attack stroke, since a fast block can catch him before he regains his balance and/or position.
Smash
A smash is a very powerful downward flat stroke that can only be used to attack balls that are high enough that there is a direct line-of-sight from the ball to your opponent's side of the table that clears the net. In this case, the ball can be hit as hard as the smasher is able (assuming he can still hit in the required straight line) without needing to rely on gravity or topspin to pull the ball down to the table.
When executing a smash, the bat should begin higher than the ball. However, it's generally better not to try to smash a ball while it's higher than eye level, as it is difficult to hit the ball with the required line-of-sight when you can't line up to see it and because your bat angle will change on strokes delivered above head level as you stroke through the ball. To get around this problem, you can either try to hit the ball before it's risen above your eye level, or more typically, wait until the ball falls back to your eye level before smashing. This situation can occur quite frequently when your opponent is lobbing back your smashes. A consistent smasher has the overall advantage in this situation, as long as he maintains his patience while smashing.
Push
Looping
Loops are the primary offensive stroke in table tennis today. Loop strokes put heavy topspin on the ball that causes the ball to curve downwards in flight so that the looper can hit the ball hard and still have it hit the opponent's side of the table. A loop stroke begins with a slow contact with the ball, followed by an accelerating elbow stroke. Effectively, one "catches" the ball on the bat (the slow contact), then "throws" the ball with a brushing stroke using friction to spin the ball. It is extremely important to start the contact slowly so that one can properly spin the ball. Maximum spin will only be achieved with a very firm friction contact with the ball (which requires the initial contact to be slow) and a slow contact also enables the bat to be accelerated during the stroke, maximizing the time the ball can be kept in contact with the bat (increasing spin and control of the ball's flight).
Loops are generally performed with a great deal of force, so it's important to avoid losing your balance while performing the stroke. If you lose balance, you're more likely to miss your target, plus it will take you longer to get in position for a return shot. To avoid losing balance when looping against a heavy backspin ball that needs to be lifted over the net, you should generally sink into a low stance with your knees well bent (vaguely reminiscent of a "horse-stance" in karate).
If you're a right-handed player, make sure your right knee is "close" to the underspin ball as it reaches the top of the bounce and starts to fall (or left knee if you're left-handed): this will keep your center of gravity under you as perform the stroke so that you don't become unbalanced.
Loop Drive
A loop drive is a "fast" loop where the ball travels in a straight line during the first part of it's trajectory. To loop drive a ball, a brushing contact should be made near the top of the ball. Elbow snap is used to generate the spin and a strong rotation of the upper body (rotation point is just above the waist) generates the forward force. There is also a significant weight transfer from the back foot (same foot as playing hand) to the front foot as the loop drive is executed.
Spin Loop
A spin loop is a "slower" loop with a lot of topspin where the ball travels in an arc (in fact, these loops are often referred to as "slow loops"). To spin loop a ball, a brushing contact should be made on the upper back of the ball. Move of the energy for a spin loop comes from the snapping of the elbow joint and to a lesser extent from the snap of the wrist. Spin loops don't use the upper body as much as a loop drive for power, since a spin loop has more spin and less forward speed. So the rotation about the waist should be more of a slow guiding turn rather than a strong ripping turn.
Difficult to return
Although slower in initial speed than loop drives, spin loops are very difficult to return because of the speed increase and change in angle of incidence generated by the topspin when the ball hits the opponent's side of the table. Spin loops generally have so much topspin that a standard block return attempt will cause the ball to rebound too far and miss the table. The proper way to block a spin loop is with a Punch Block.
Good setup for a follow-on attack
In addition, even successfully blocked spin loops usually come back as slow high balls that can easily be relooped or smashed. A blocked drive loop, by comparison, is typically fast and hard to handle. One common strategy is to slow loop an underspin ball to setup an easy return than can be finished off with a loop drive or a smash.
Excellent ball placement
Spin loops give the looper considerably more control over ball placement than drive loops, because of the ability to arc the ball more. This makes spin loops a great choice for cutting the side lines, and particularly effective for hitting the "net corners" of your opponent's court.
Sidespin Hook Loop (Inside loop)
A hook loop is the most common form of loop with sidespin because it requires only a slight variation on the standard topspin loop. It is executed by contacting the outside of the ball with the racquet instead of the back of the ball. This generates a loop that has sidespin as well as topspin. The sidespin can be generated either by the elbow joint, the wrist joint, or both. Adding sidespin with the wrist is particularly effective for this stroke, because it's difficult for your opponent to detect the amount of spin added and its resulting effect on ball placement and bounce.
Sidespin Fade Loop (Outside loop)
A Sidespin fade loop creates the opposite spin from an inside hook loop. This loop is performed using windshield-wiper-like motion with the elbow (always makes me thing a little bit of Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid :-). It's called an outside loop because the ball is hit with the ball hitting on the "outside" of the bat (the bat is between the player and the ball), unlike a standard loop or an inside hook loop. The outside loop is usually hit closer to the body than the inside loop, so it can be useful surprise loop technique when standing in the backhand court, since it allows you to a forehand loop without moving as far as you would need to move for a standard forehand loop. The outside loop also tends to generate a ball that cuts the backhand sideline of your opponent (assuming you are both right-handed or both left-handed), both because of the angle at which the ball is hit and also the fade sidespin it puts on the ball. Below is a short video demonstrating outside looping: Media:OutsideLoopAganstTopspin.avi
Advanced Defense Strokes
Lob
Lobs are topspin strokes that return the ball with a very high arc (at least 8' feet higher than the table surface to make it difficult to attack again). Lobs are typically a "desperation" shot used to return a powerful smash or loop from an opponent, especially if the ball is close to the ground where it is difficult to counter loop the ball. Generally the lobber will fall back away from the table, giving the ball time to slow down, before executing the lob stroke. A good lob should have lots of topspin and should be placed as deep as possible into the opponent's court so that it is difficult to smash (90% of the time, the correct way to return a lob is to smash it). Adding sidespin to a lob can also be effective against an unwary opponent, especially if his view of the lob stroke is obscured by the table (this can happen when you need to quickly rush up to the table and lob the ball to return a soft block).
Chop
Advanced Blocks
Soft block
Soft blocks are a form of "over-the-table" block where the racquet is held with a very loose grip. The racquet will "give" during the rebound, absorbing most of the energy from the ball, causing the return ball to be slow and not travel very far.
Soft blocks are especially useful for returning a ball when your opponent is back from the table, as it will force him to run in quickly to attempt to get to the ball. For this reason, soft blocks are most often executed against a lob or a long-distance loop from your opponent.
Soft blocks are sometimes deceptively referred to as drop shots because the return ball tends to drop quickly, but the technique used is quite different from a "true" drop shot.
Chop Block
A chop block is a variation on the standard block where you execute the block with a downwards chopping motion. Similar to a standard chop stroke, this puts backspin on the ball, slowing down the return ball. Unlike a standard chop, the chop block stroke is relatively small (usually just 3-6 inches stroke path) and is most typically performed while the ball is over the table or just as it passes beyond the end of the table (whereas a standard chop is usually executed away from the table after the ball starts to slow down). Because a chop block slows down the return ball and returns it with backspin, it can throw the timing of your opponent if he tries to continue his attack.
Punch Block Against Heavy Topspin Attack
In order to block a slow, heavy spin loop, you typically need to press slightly downward while executing the block. This downward pressing is executed with a relatively small, quick stroke, so this block is often referred to as "punch block" as you punch down on the ball to overcome the spin. This can feel slightly counter-intuitive, as it seems like it would cause the ball to hit on your side of the table (as it would against a less spinny ball), but this downward push is required to overcome the lift from your opponent's strong topspin and avoid the ball popping upwards off your return.
Strokes for returning short balls
Short Push
A short push is very similar to a standard push shot, but the intent of the short push is to return an underspin ball so that it bounces twice on your opponent's side of the table. A short push can generally only be performed against a short ball, as it is difficult to remove sufficient energy when trying to short push return a long ball.
The short push is the most common method used to return a short underspin ball, both because it returns a ball that is difficult to attack and because it can generally be performed without missing the table. The main things to look out for when short pushing is to avoid pushing the ball too long or popping the ball too high, giving your opponent a shot that is easy to attack.
Drop Shot
The drop shot is executed by placing the raquet underneath a short ball and very lightly "dropping" the ball over the net, so as to return to your opponent a short, no-spin ball that cannot be attacked well. Drop shots can be performed against short balls that bounce lower than the net height, but in this case, the ball must be slightly lifted to the level of the net before performing the drop.
Flip
A flip is an over-the-table topspin shot used to attack short balls, most commonly against short serves. There are a number of variations on flipping technique, but for virtually all the variations, most of the power comes from the wrist and/or the elbow.
It's difficult to generate a lot of power on a flip shot unless the ball is higher than the net level, so it's important to place the ball well. Because flips are performed relatively close to the net, there should generally be a good opportunity for a wide-angle flip shot that cuts a sideline. Another common target for a flip is deep into a corner to either jam the server or catch him flat footed.
Flip Against Underspin
Flips are generally most effective when performed as a surprise shot. One common technique for delivering a surprise flip shot is to come under an underspin ball as if you are going to push it, then roll over the ball once you make contact.
Jab
A Jab shot is a medium speed flat shot hit in front of the body. Jab shots are typically used to attack short serves that bounce too high, although they may occasionally be used to attack a weak spin loop.
