How to fix backhand?

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I'm having some issues with my backhand since changing to a new bat. Before I was using a Stiga Infinity VPS with Hurricane 3 on my forehand and Tin Arc on my backhand. My backhand was much stronger than my forehand. I felt confident to flick the ball or close the bat and hit the ball around 1-2 o'clock to generate topspin with my backhand.

I wanted something a bit faster so I chose the Fang Bo B2 blade with Hurricane 3 Neo Provincial and Tin Arc. It felt easier to hit forehand strokes especially away from the table but my backhand is not so good compared to when I used my old bat. My training partner told me to close the bat and hit the through the ball like before. I can do it if the incoming ball is quite strong or has topspin but I'm having trouble returning weaker balls using that technique. When I try to flick serves or weaker balls, it usually ends up in the net because I brushed the ball without hitting it enough.

While looking up different blades and rubbers, I read that the Fang Bo B2 blade is stiffer and the Tin Arc rubber is slightly hard but I didn't think it would be a problem for my backhand. Using a slightly closed bat angle helps but I'm struggling to a good balance between brushing and hitting the ball. I feel like I have to hit even harder than before to make the ball sink into the rubber and the throw angle seems lower.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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Adapting takes time and practice, I think. Make your full stroke, let your body get the feeling. Use a robot for a while; yes, predictable and non-human balls, but for the basic feel and regaining confidence in your basic strokes that works. At least, it does for me.

And if it turns out not to work even with lots of patient practice, you might consider slowing things down a bit. When I got to horse around with an Infinity VPS V it felt like a very lively blade to me. Your Fang Bo B2 might be faster even, and though I like somewhat stiffer blades myself I get uncomfortable with the combination of stiffness and speed. I've never cared much for the relative mushiness of softer rubbers, tend to prefer hardness in the rubbers, precisely for both my brushing and strong spins; then again, I know others feel very differently about that. Much like many others swear by using thick, thick sponged gear, whereas I'm fond of some of the aspects of thinner sponged stuff. Diff'rent strokes, I guess.
 
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Adapting takes time and practice, I think. Make your full stroke, let your body get the feeling. Use a robot for a while; yes, predictable and non-human balls, but for the basic feel and regaining confidence in your basic strokes that works. At least, it does for me.

And if it turns out not to work even with lots of patient practice, you might consider slowing things down a bit. When I got to horse around with an Infinity VPS V it felt like a very lively blade to me. Your Fang Bo B2 might be faster even, and though I like somewhat stiffer blades myself I get uncomfortable with the combination of stiffness and speed. I've never cared much for the relative mushiness of softer rubbers, tend to prefer hardness in the rubbers, precisely for both my brushing and strong spins; then again, I know others feel very differently about that. Much like many others swear by using thick, thick sponged gear, whereas I'm fond of some of the aspects of thinner sponged stuff. Diff'rent strokes, I guess.

Thanks for your reply. The Fang Bo B2 is definitely faster but the throw angle on the Tin Arc side seems lower. So I need to find a way to get the ball over consistently with enough speed and spin. Maybe I'll use the Hurricane 3 Neo on my backhand instead because it has a higher throw.
 
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When you say you have trouble against weaker balls , can you describe what kind of weak balls ? As in , underspin half long low or high , no spin half long ... generally if you are having trouble against so called "weak" balls , its because you are not able to make enough spin , I don't think it has to do with the change in the power of the setup , it could be because there is less dwell and less forgiveness in the setup because of increased stiffness in the blade . You might want to try brushing or spinning the ball more till you get used to the setup ...


Thanks for your reply. The Fang Bo B2 is definitely faster but the throw angle on the Tin Arc side seems lower. So I need to find a way to get the ball over consistently with enough speed and spin. Maybe I'll use the Hurricane 3 Neo on my backhand instead because it has a higher throw.
 
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When you say you have trouble against weaker balls , can you describe what kind of weak balls ? As in , underspin half long low or high , no spin half long ... generally if you are having trouble against so called "weak" balls , its because you are not able to make enough spin , I don't think it has to do with the change in the power of the setup , it could be because there is less dwell and less forgiveness in the setup because of increased stiffness in the blade . You might want to try brushing or spinning the ball more till you get used to the setup ...

I think you're right about the setup being less forgiving because of the stiffer blade. If someone serves a long fast ball with no spin or topspin, I can topspin or do a sidespin flick. But currently I'm not very consistent compared to using my old bat. Against a no spin serve or a push that is long and low without much power, I find it difficult to make a strong return. I tried closing the bat slightly and brushing upwards on the ball around 2 o'clock while following through the stroke. The ball gets over the net but it is very weak. Maybe I need to engage the rubber more. Though if I hit more, I worry if it will end up in the net.

I found someone wrote this when I was reading reviews about my backhand rubber. "This rubber develops a higher throw angle if you hit hard, which took me by surprise in bh flicks when I really went for them."

I enjoy the extra power of my new setup. I found it easy to smash high balls with my backhand. But I need to work on looping with power on my backhand. On my previous bat, I could just close the bat and hit through the ball. The bat was quite flexible and forgiving but I found it too much work to generate more power. I miss opening up the rally with a backhand flick. Now I use my forehand to flick or loop back low balls.

Some players asked what happened to my backhand. It was much stronger when using my old bat. Even stronger than my forehand. Now my forehand is stronger using this new setup.
 
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I don't know about the level of your game , for all I know you might be at a higher level than me. Having said that, this what would be my approach in this situation , EJs can comment more because they have more practical experience in handling this situation. I would try to hold the paddle a little less firm and and make sure you firm up at the exact time of contact not earlier .... and I would try to create more whip in my stroke to impart more spin even when you close the angle . I don't understand the exact motion where you said you are closing the angle and going upwards, I would think it would be more of close the angle and go forward with the brush ... again I have not played with Tinarc to know the exact characteristic you referred , but this would be my approach to the situation you described. More spin in loops !

Now for the situation in the flicks , to start off my approach would be a little different to develop a feel . I would try to graze over the ball and do a soft flick focusing more on placement than speed or spin , simply so that you can develop the appropriate feel to hold the ball . there are some no spin variations , especially the ones with slight spins on some weird axis that makes it difficult to immediately create spin especially with a faster setup . Once you figure out the axis you should be able to wrap around with sidespin flicks to make them on the table. Now since , over the table there is less room to create spin , my approach to do the adjustment is a little different in case of over the table shots vis-a-vis shots that come out of the table ...

Not to EJ's : Please feel free to shred my suggestions if you feel they are not appropriate. I tried to volunteer since I felt the OP has given enough information for forum members to put forth suggestions ...

I think you're right about the setup being less forgiving because of the stiffer blade. If someone serves a long fast ball with no spin or topspin, I can topspin or do a sidespin flick. Against a no spin serve or a push that is long and low without much power, I find it difficult to make a strong return. I tried closing the bat slightly and brushing upwards on the ball around 2 o'clock while following through the stroke. The ball gets over the net but it is very weak. Maybe I need to engage the rubber more. Though if I hit more, I worry if it will end up in the net.

I found someone wrote this when I was reading reviews about my backhand rubber. "This rubber develops a higher throw angle if you hit hard, which took me by surprise in bh flicks when I really went for them."

I enjoy the extra power of my new setup. But I need to work on looping with power on my backhand. On my previous bat, I could just close the bat and hit through the ball. The bat was quite flexible and forgiving but I found it too much work to generate more power. I miss opening up the rally with a backhand flick. Now I use my forehand to flick or loop back low balls.

Some players asked what happened to my backhand. It was much stronger when using my old bat. Even stronger than my forehand. Now my forehand is stronger using this new setup.
 
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I don't know about the level of your game , for all I know you might be at a higher level than me. Having said that, this what would be my approach in this situation , EJs can comment more because they have more practical experience in handling this situation. I would try to hold the paddle a little less firm and and make sure you firm up at the exact time of contact not earlier .... and I would try to create more whip in my stroke to impart more spin even when you close the angle . I don't understand the exact motion where you said you are closing the angle and going upwards, I would think it would be more of close the angle and go forward with the brush ... again I have not played with Tinarc to know the exact characteristic you referred , but this would be my approach to the situation you described. More spin in loops !

Now for the situation in the flicks , to start off my approach would be a little different to develop a feel . I would try to graze over the ball and do a soft flick focusing more on placement than speed or spin , simply so that you can develop the appropriate feel to hold the ball . there are some no spin variations , especially the ones with slight spins on some weird axis that makes it difficult to immediately create spin especially with a faster setup . Once you figure out the axis you should be able to wrap around with sidespin flicks to make them on the table. Now since , over the table there is less room to create spin , my approach to do the adjustment is a little different in case of over the table shots vis-a-vis shots that come out of the table ...

Not to EJ's : Please feel free to shred my suggestions if you feel they are not appropriate. I tried to volunteer since I felt the OP has given enough information for forum members to put forth suggestions ...

Thanks for your suggestions. I will try them out at my next practice session.
 
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Regardless of the setup, on a b& flip it is essential to step in all the way under the table, get that elbow in front and up... Then xfer power as ball is rising to net level.

It is possible you were not doing that and the catapult of the rubber allowed you to get it over the net without optimal impact positions and dynamics.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
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Regardless of the setup, on a b& flip it is essential to step in all the way under the table, get that elbow in front and up... Then xfer power as ball is rising to net level.

It is possible you were not doing that and the catapult of the rubber allowed you to get it over the net without optimal impact positions and dynamics.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I found there is not much catapult from my new bat unless I topspin and give some forward momentum while getting a good contact on the ball. Before if the ball was low, I was just brushing it upwards without putting enough power into the shot.

It's the fourth time I've played with the bat. I felt a lot more confident using my backhand today. I managed to perform quite a few over the table flicks with enough power. Though my sidespin flicks seem lacking in sidespin.
 
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