Enter TableTennisMaster Xtreme Competition

'To win this pendant'?

Footwork is important because your opponent and his coach will always look for your weaker spot, could be your elbow, sharp forehand or whatever. To reduce your opponents chance to take the initiative you need fast feet. If you don't get in position in time your opponent takes over and you are in defense. So I think footwork is especially required in the opening strokes of the rally, where serving and pushing are done. If you are able to get in position in time, you will have the initiative and the advantage in the point.

Explosive power is quite obvious, if you can do your stroke in a very explosive way you get a faster/spinnier stroke and you also win time to get in position for the next shot. So a combo of footwork and explosiveness is what makes you able to play aggressive because you can attack from multiple places on the table in any point in a rally. This combo is in fact what trademarks the Chinese players.

I think currently Ma Long or Xu Xin have the fastest footwork, Ma Long being more explosive when u talk about the whole stroke. ZJK has the most explosive wrist I think. So the best combo should be Ma Long.

Great competition Dan...thx

I think that good footwork is important in table tennis to move fast around the court, and to better place yourself before making better shots.
It is also very important to have good explosive power so that you can quickly execute shots that your oponent cannot return. If you are able to push an opponent far away from the table by making powerfull shots with explosive power, then you have a big advantage. When you are fishing far from the table, it is also very important that you can be able to counter-attack to turn the ball over to your benefits. If you are able to do this, you will surely gain more points in every set you play.

Players with incredibily good footwork in my eyes is:

ATM the best I think is Wang Hao, but in his prime, J-O Waldner was clearly the best.


About explosive power, I think that Kalinikos Kreanga and Jörgen Persson are the ones that has the most explosive power shots.
Today I think it must be Kreanga, because his shots with backhand are always very powerful and full of speed and spin.

That is what I think about footwork and explosive power in table tennis, and I hope I can win, it would mean a lot to me if I won.

Thanks for reading.

Dan said:

Hehe, corrected thanks for pointing out, i used the same template from the previous competition.. nice post good luck WIWA!

Click to expand...

Haha yw, and thanks

To me RSM is the perfect example how important explosiveness (remember the speedglue-times and his olympic victory) and footwork are.
He used his fast, nearly flying feet to equate his disadvantages as a Jpen-player. Weak BH and weaknesses in blocking forced him to run the longest ways to play one hard topspin after another, he made up his significant style out of misery.
Tabletennis develops and every established coach will tell you: Modern TT focuses and more on the aggressive FH-Play!
It is the most attractive and effective way to dominate the game. The times of BH-orientated playing are gone (especially in eastern Europe very popular: Andrzej Grubba (maybe one of the best allrounders ever seen)) and will never come back.
The powerful forehand and explosiveness are pretty much related in the game. With the explosive FH-attack, you force your opponent back from the table, he is forced to run. If he is able to get in a good position for his shots, he can equate this distress.

(I'm not sure about my english, but this are my first thought about the topic and I hope you enjoy reading it (besides of grammar mistakes )

No doubt, footwork is the most important criteria in table tennis. Important because it will dictate how well you may execute your shots. Speed and power comes in close second. And as for technique, it covers all the above; footwork, speed and power.

Without good footwork, one may face difficulties in defending as well. As some people might agree, defensive players too requires excellent footwork.
Footwork allows players to get into good positions to execute their shots, be it having to stretch on their forehand or backhand to reach into their shots, but also to get their bodies out of the way to execute shots coming into their body. But above all, good footwork will result in excellent recovery time and to get into positions to prepare yourself to face the next shot coming to you. Since table tennis are played at tremendous speed with 2 players only a few feet apart, good footwork can only be perform if one have explosive power.

Explosive power comes hand in hand with almost everything in table tennis. Unlike squash, badminton and tennis where there are more long rallies for these players to strategize their attacks before unleashing their explosive power for winners; table tennis players do not have that luxury. Every play needs them to utilize their explosive power, be it to produce energy draining shots or even getting into positions to achieve those almost impossible shots for us mortals..

With modern table tennis, these two criteria have become more prominent. An excellent table tennis player may not have one without the other. Many current top level players trained for these two fundamental elements over and over again; proving how important these two elements are. A good example for me of a complete player who has both, has to be Da Li, or better known as Wang Liqin.

So, footwork.. I never knew what is it..
I got to pingponging at the age of 16, so noone really told me what to do, because I was too old.. So all I know, all my .. "skills" are from watching TV and lot of trying.. That is why my technique is so weird and unclear.. Disasterous for me when I am watching me..
Anyways, when I got to university and started to play in their team, my couch told me, that I have no footwork.. I did not understand, what he was meaning by that, because I was able to catch almost everything, when it got to lobbing defense.. (maybe I really should play defense, lol) I thought he is stupid old freak.. Well, he was a little, because in that moment he should tell me what he ment, but he didnt.. I found out, what footwork is, when I saw Zhang beating Timo.. That is the moment, when I realised, what I am doing wrong.. (and that is why I dont think Timo will ever able to beat Zhang) ..
Since then I try to do a lot with my footwork, but .. well I learned it all wrong till now, how am I supposed to do it better? Its hard..
Footwork is all about get in a position to play every shot comfortable - and that is pretty tuff..
That is what is making this sport really difficult for physical conditions, hehe..

And now, how about explosive power?
Lol - watch some match of Kalinikos Kreanga - you will understand..
Or - newest power player - Ma Long ..
I dont think I can explain why is it good for a play better than just to watch any match of those two..

Well, that is all from me.. I think I didnt forget anything..

SHOOT I REALLY NEED THIS...

HERES MY ANSWER :

As a table tennis player , footwork for me is the foundation of an explosive shot.
I really never knew the right footwork, so i guess i can't really discuss about it. What i know
is the key to an explosive power is body and leg coordination.
Footwork isn't really essential when you master the forehand
and backhand strokes like Kalinikos kreanga.Foot work is really
important for players like me, who still doesn't have a consistent
backhand so i think footwork will help me develop fast side
steps and quick recovery from a really fast cross step. ))

For (ME) Wang Hao uses his fast footwork to produce the
necessary power needed for his strokes like the RPB.Recent
videos shows that Wang Hao's footwork is one of his
foundations and also one of the best in the world.

CHEERS TTD MEMBERS ))

Hello everybody

Footwork and explosive power are two important things in table tennis.
Your footwork allows you to move all over the table and try to catch every ball. If you have some weakpoints, for example, after a wide forehand topspin to come back to your backhand, then your opponent will play there until you got it right or better. With good footwork, you have also good strokes, you can put yourself in good position before making your stroke. Footwork is in addition to the basic strokes an important thing when you start playing table tennis. My coach, the only coach who takes me seriously, teached me that I should first train my footwork and the strength of my shots will become better.

The explosive power is only usefull if you have a good footwork. My coach told me that: If you have good footwork and your technique is good, then the eplosive power will come out. It's true, one or two years back, my forehand wasn't so powerfull than now. The things I practised were footwork and timing. Explosive shots are very usefull if you want to finish the point or impress the opponent and put pressure on him. These are quite helpful but very risky (depends on much criteria: where do you execute which shot and where and so on and so forth). If you do it well, then you got the point immediately. If you did it good, then the opponent is under pressure and you can finish the point. If you did it bad, then the opponent got you and plays there where you'll have difficulties to get. That's why, explosive power needs good footwork: you have to be good placed and fast after you did the shot.

As a conclusion, without footwork, table tennis is difficult (at high level) and explosive power is good if you have good footwork.

For me a player with awsome footwork was Waldner is his prime time, now I think it's Ma Long.
The player with the most explosive power is for me Ma Lin, his third ball attack shows explosive power! Another player with explosive power is Kreanga, his backhand and forehand are not so academic like the chinese but they are great and powerfull.

Cheers guys & girls

What a great competition dan! this draw winner will be very lucky.




blade: STIGA offensive oversize
forehand: Palio emperor dragon
backhand: Palio drunken dragon

The importance of footwork cannot be stressed enough! Having been apart of a junior training program and now watching the new juniors it is astonishing how when watching these up and coming juniors you see so much potential but you still feel like something huge is missing, and its footwork. If all kids practice (and adults too for this matter!) is the forehand winner down the line or Zhang Jike's explosive backhand flip because it's more fun, then yes eventually they will get good at that shot, but whats the point when it comes down to a match, fifth game at 9 all and they don't get to use these awesome shots because they find themselves leaning to the ball and forcing awkward weak shots that cost them the match. Footwork is absolutely the foundation to improve your game, and once you establish good footwork ability the rest of the pieces fall in line, including power. I'll always remember how my coach was described about his excellent footwork. They said, "He's like a duck swimming on the water, composed and balanced on top but what you can't see are his feet going a million miles an hour beneath the table!"

Like I said, there is no way you can use awesome powerful shots if you can't even get to the ball in the first place. But once you've got your Ryu footwork down, (haha we all wish!) then you have the ability to start ripping harder shots that adds a definitive personal style to your game. I think this is one of the key importance of power. I think we all can remember back to when we first picked up a paddle and went to a club and saw the "good guys" play, and they were always described as being known for there one killer shot, and for me I still remember watching this guy who was at the top of our club and how he will forever be recalled upon as the guy the the flat, rocket backhand. Having great footwork ties into your ability to unleash your power by letting you get to the ball, regain your balance and then make the best possible shot. And of course power is what is going to make your opponents cringe with fear if they happen to pop that drop shot just a little bit too high!

To grow our sport we need to inject it with some youth! And what better way to hook them on the sport then to allow them to rapidly get better by teaching them the proper way to play! TT is struggling here in the USA and if I were to win a set of these DVD's trust me they would spinning up playing in my laptop at the club faster than Ma Long's forehand loop! It's always fun to watch up and coming juniors with all their energy throw down and upset the tried and true veterans of the sport! And teaching the roper way to play will develop not only juniors, but anyone who is willing to learn and work for it, and it will increase both your skill and knowledge of the game and also boost your enjoyment out of it as you find yourself making shots you never thought possible before!

Obviously with the speed of table tennis footwork is ridiculously important and to have the kind of speed you need you need to develop power in the legs, but you also need to build endurance and stamina in the leg muscles. At any level a player should constantly have their weight on the front of their feet, explosive power allows a player to react to what they are seeing and move quickly, the majority of movement in table tennis involves pushing off one foot, in the case of side to side movement this is 100% of the time, also in and out movement requires precise footwork. To be able to cover the angles which opposition can achieve in table tennis it is important to have footwork mastered, not just in the technical aspects of footwork such as basic one foot movements, side steps and cross steps but also in the physical conditioning side. Knowing the importance of footowork and leg power and how a player can build and optimise that are key to success.

Of all players I have always found Xu Xin to have exceptional and inspiring footwork and I'm sure many of you will agree. I think Xu Xin is a prime example of how many pengrip players whos forehands are their much stronger attacking strokes, require a greater velocity of movement to be able to cover the table with that stroke. Ryu Seung Min is also an example player who can link in to this idea. Though all international players have a very high level of leg power and footwork I feel Xu Xin has shown he can time and time again cover vast spaces across the table to get to shots which many players would not be able to achieve, but also that he is able to do it with such speed. I chose Xu Xin because I feel (as players strengths can be their forehand loop, backhand loop, chop etc) that Xu Xin is one of few players who's key strength is speed and efficient footwork.

Dan Great Compition wouldn't like to be you because you have to pick the top two which is going to be extremely hard. I deeply want these videos I need these tiny perks to help me improve and become a better player. I am No.61 in England U13.

great Compeition

I've always been very fast. And almost no matter what sport I played, I would be the fastest.
But in tabletennis, it's so complicated, I haven't quiet found the way to put my speed into my footwork yet. If I could do that, I think it would improve my game dramatically.
Although, I might not be superfast on my feet in tabletennis, my entire game has almost always depended on it, since I don't really have a backhand, so I use forehand all over the table. Therefor, if I could take my speed into my feet and improve my technique on how to use them, it would help me a lot!

Footwork is the art of moving your feet to get into position. Footwork is important at all levels because when you are in good position, you are able to generate more power in your strokes and achieve higher consistency. If you are slow on your feet, a ball that comes too close to you will force you to return it awkwardly.
Too often players, plays with the feet almost parallelle to the base line of the table, they do not engage enough the body into the table which provoke less efficiency in their stroke but also making them coming to late when the next ball is coming back deep in the forehand side…

Ryu Seung Min is arguably the best on his feet and can move great distances in a short amount of time to load up a big forehand loop. Penholders are known for generally having better footwork since they often rely on their forehand more and prefer to step around and use their forehand instead of staying put and using the backhand.
Footwork is often overlooked in developing players and developed later.

Explosive power is important as the same reason footwork is.. The faster, the better. The more power you give the ball, that less time does the opponent have to react in. Which will force the opponent, to either not catch the ball or make an awkward return, and then you keep on attacking instead of defending. But sometimes it's good to play slow balls, to stress the player and try to force them to a mistake.

In top table tennis there is tendency of development of speed and power. Speed is essential.
Increased power is also the reflection of this tendency.
Wang Liqin's whole playing style is built around his power, speed and strength.
If he wasn't build such athletic, I don't believe he would have reached the hight he is at now. Of course the concentration, focus and trainingdrills takes part, but he doesn't seem to have the same technical mind as other chinese players have.

1) footwork and explosive power is important in table tennis

Footwork is needed in situations where you need to reach the ball in shortest possible time. Practising footwork techniques allows you to cover a great length around the table with minimum movement and lesser time. Since the smashes come at a speed above 100 km/hr, a better footwork technique helps us to react more effectively with the short of our choice.
Explosive power is required where you want to cripple your opponent giving him almost no time to react or mis-judge the shot/spin. Smashes with are effective only with explosive power. The backhand return of Kreanga, for eg., is one such example of explosive power which the opponents find it really difficult to return.

2) which of the best world players have used footwork and explosive power to their advantage

Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Ma Long, Wang Hao and Xu Xin seem to have abundant technique for footwork and explosive power.

thanks for al your vids so far

Table tennis isn't ping pong as we know but at least 75% of the world doesn't. To become a top player in table tennis you need lots of abilities you need ball feeling technique and if course focus and concentration (mental). If you are good in al these skills maybe you can play 10th division in china (maybe even not i dont know). Only skills and mental strenght isn'tenough. The modern day table tennis is at least 75% footwork. Every table tennis player can hit a backhand and loop a forehand but only a few players have quik and efficient footwork. That is what makes the difference. to be honest my own footwork isn't great this would be a great chance for my so as my whole training group to become much better in the physical side of table tennis and also (if what i said was right) become 75% better players i hope you read this and there are if course lots and lots of other people with also good reasons why they should win those video's and even when i don't win this competition i keep watching al your vids!

Footwork is the base of a good player because forehand is the most powerfull weapon we have in table tennis.
You need to have good footwork in order to use your forehand most of the time and to get more power into your strokes because your hand should be the final component in your strokes just to give the ball it's direction and some of the spin, whereas the power should come from your legs flowing through your body and finally guided to the ball with your hand and racket. Secondly, good footwork allows you to allways be prepared to your next shot where ever it will have to be hit.

As an example of good player's utilizing footwork greatly, I have two penholders: Ma Lin and Xu Xin.
They use their footwork very differently, as Ma Lin plays close to the table and his signature shot (Massive forehand loopdrive from his backhand corner to opponent's wide forehand or backhand) is totally based on good anticipation and quick footwork, and on the other hand Xu Xin really shines away from the table looping below the table height. The difference is that Ma Lin has got a shorter distance to travel but he also has got less time to react, when Xu Xin races across the playing field longer distances with more time to move to the ball. In both cases they definately don't have extra time to fuzz around, so they both need to - and they do - have great footwork in order to get to the ball in time and execute perfect shots.