Dropping bat when FH against block or topspin

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Does anyone have an opinion on why many players drop their bat against TS? I've watched a lot of
training videos where the action is like this....

https://www.facebook.com/butterflyttofficial/videos/280477182619957/

Would it not be more efficient and quicker to have the back swing come back without
dropping it?
It seems like adding another angle or plane to the equation when you see, the
stroke is quite forward. Any ideas?
 
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You should also consider that he is spinning the ball, that is why he has to drop the bat a little bit. Also, consider that he is hitting the ball at peak of the bounce always and not when it starts to drop so even if he dips his bat the timing, he could still hit the ball with power.
 
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He still have the racket pretty high i think. I can imagine some people drop it down a bit because they are relaxed in the arm. I think Maybe he could have the racket even higher to become even faster But he seems pretty fast already. I can also imagine it is somewhat more safe to drop the racket down a little since you proably get a little more arc in the ball.
 
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This is the correct execution of fast aggressive top spin return at close distance, when the incomming ball rebounce at net level.
At even closer distance the swing would be shorter with the bat starting from a higher position.
At longer distance the swing would be longer with the bat starting from a lower position.
If the incomming ball rebounce higher than the net level, you may do a straight swing withiut dropping the blade and snap the ball with no spin or sharp top spin with closed bat angle dpending on the window, but all these are different kind of stokes.
The excercise in the video is a classic example for the stroke.
 
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Fan Zhendong has a very pronounced arm drop on his FH loops:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DqSasLOXO0
As to why exactly they're doing it like that, I don't know. Lula's suggestion that it helps relax the muscles is probably correct, at least it helps me do exactly that. The horizontal backswing you're proposing makes sense too, some people use it without a problem.
 
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I agree that some are dropping the racket, but i also think that when the play are fast many good players are good at keeping the racket high to be able to play fast and keep up with the pace. I do not watch much tabletennis of the chinese since i do not find their play so enjoyable, but i can imagine that they drop their racket more when they have the time like when ther are further away from the table. But close to the table they have it higher because of the high pace.
 
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Xu Xin lowers his blade to the ground basically and really nobody can answer his topspins or countertopspins except by happy lucky chance :)
 
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Does anyone have an opinion on why many players drop their bat against TS? I've watched a lot of
training videos where the action is like this....

https://www.facebook.com/butterflyttofficial/videos/280477182619957/

Would it not be more efficient and quicker to have the back swing come back without
dropping it?
It seems like adding another angle or plane to the equation when you see, the
stroke is quite forward. Any ideas?

The racket is high. See him loop against backspin to know what a low position really is. If you see him loop one backspin and one topspin, you will see the difference. You are confusing his close to the body backswing with dropping the racket.
 
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I think OP's just asking why start backswing low, when the actual swing starts at proper height. Compare the racket positions, that's within one FH:
cache.php


Some people do horizontal backswing, they don't drop the racket but instead pull it back sorta behind their back.
 
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I think OP's just asking why start backswing low, when the actual swing starts at proper height. Compare the racket positions, that's within one FH:
cache.php


Some people do horizontal backswing, they don't drop the racket but instead pull it back sorta behind their back.

Taking the racket back to the hip (which is what gives the appearance of keeping the racket low) makes it easier to backswing quickly as it makes the backswing shorter and rotation required easier. Also makes it easier if you recover for a backhand. If you do the straight line, it takes more energy and you risk being caught cheating on the forehand side all the time.
 
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In my opinion he could try to have his racket high as he have at the second picture, now it seems like he only do like an extra motion to lift his racket up where the ball is and then swing. I feel like he should lose alot of time doing that. But as long as it works for him!

Regarding xu xins forehand almost touching the floor, i think that is only the case when he is far away from the table or against backspin. If he is close to the table the pace is so high so he have no time to lower the racket to the ground. I think that if we watch him do multiball against topspin where the pace is high he will have his racket pretty high.
 
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In my opinion he could try to have his racket high as he have at the second picture, now it seems like he only do like an extra motion to lift his racket up where the ball is and then swing. I feel like he should lose alot of time doing that. But as long as it works for him!

Just about every modern player recovers the way he recovers if they are not excessively rushed by the opponent. He backswings close to the body and his rotation and the close to the body motion keeps the racket down but when he wants to come forward, his body orientation and adjustment brings the racket up and then forward.
 
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Maybe they do. Is it because they tense a little when they snap/accelerate more with the forearm when they contact the ball? Then they relax again and therefor drops they racket a bit?
 
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Maybe they do. Is it because they tense a little when they snap/accelerate more with the forearm when they contact the ball? Then they relax again and therefor drops they racket a bit?

If you backswing close to the body, your racket will be almost always pointing down and low to increase the speed of the rotation especially if you fold your torso. It is just the nature of the backswing.
 
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Another explanation is simply outdated technique not keeping up with the modern game (take that however you want). The 'pros' coach where I train has been drilling shorter motions into players for a long while now with a funny accent. "No time no time! Today's game, short stroke" over and over.

Also he yells at you if you topspin the 5th ball instead of driving it when your 3rd ball was just blocked back. So, completely against lowering your bat.
"Why topspin?? Hit! On the table!"
 
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If you backswing the racket directly back to where you want to start your forward swing on the forehand, you have to bring the racket to a complete stop before starting the forward swing, and so you start your forward swing from a stopped position. By dropping the racket and going through a semi-circular motion, when you start your forward swing the racket is already moving and so you have more power. (The same principle applies on the backhand.) Note how he also brings his racket in toward his body during his backswing, which gives a quicker backswing, then extends the arm some for the forward swing, adding power.
-Larry Hodges
 
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I think that this forehand technique you describe is what Timo Boll does which to be honest looks efficient.

https://youtu.be/9x4AmMcXgSI

If you backswing the racket directly back to where you want to start your forward swing on the forehand, you have to bring the racket to a complete stop before starting the forward swing, and so you start your forward swing from a stopped position.
-Larry Hodges
 
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I think that this forehand technique you describe is what Timo Boll does which to be honest looks efficient.

https://youtu.be/9x4AmMcXgSI

Yes, the more "straight-line" loop (such as Boll demonstrates) is more efficient, easier to time, quicker, and more popular among top players, and so that's what I'd recommend as well. When they need extra power, they can either extend the backswing a little bit, or in some cases, against slower or slightly higher incoming balls (which are easier to time), use the semi-circular method. If you go to 1:14 of the Boll video above, when he's on the right, FH looping from backhand side from a little off the table and seemingly going for more power, he does a bit of semi-circular looping, as in the sequence shown earlier. (You can see this even better if you stop the video and go frame by frame by using the period to move forward one frame, a comma to move back one frame.)
-Larry Hodges
 
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