Ma Long's free arm?

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Hey has anyone else noticed the Ma Long's free arm is quite strange. When he play's his backhand he seems to hide his bat with it, and when he play's his forehand his arm comes right across him stretched out. I know you use you free arm for timing and balance but why is Ma Long's free arm so weird?

foto_K%C3%BCnstler-am-Ball-Der-Chinese-Ma-Long_047ceffa5321f6b6a7b9d04758aef60e6636d3a3e7.jpg
 
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Hey has anyone else noticed the Ma Long's free arm is quite strange. When he play's his backhand he seems to hide his bat with it, and when he play's his forehand his arm comes right across him stretched out. I know you use you free arm for timing and balance but why is Ma Long's free arm so weird?

Hey dont think i have noticed this, do you have a video and time point when you see this happen please
 
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Nice Question,I think i have the right answer but i am not 100% sure
The match vs Kenta we see that kenta is on defense and ma long stretchs his free arm to get more power (more swing) => the ball will be faster
Vs. Timo
You can the that Ma Long anticipated the position of Timo's topspin wrong or he thought he hasnt enough time to do a side step. The consequence of this he has to do move his upper body to the left( from his view) => To achieve the balance, he moved his free arm to the right ;)
I hope it was understandable :D
In my opinion ma long has the best body balance of every player ( watch Ma long multiball on youtube)
Timo falls down very often :D but its always spectacular when he falls so it is okay ;)
 
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if you look at seiya kishikawa, his free arm's movement is complete opposite of ma long. his free arm never move. ma long's free arm moves a lot!!!
i think ma long's free arm helps him generate power and balance.
every time i see ma long hit a high top spin ball, his free arm movement looks like power rangers(the movement) haha! :)

foto_K%C3%BCnstler-am-Ball-Der-Chinese-Ma-Long_047ceffa5321f6b6a7b9d04758aef60e6636d3a3e7.jpg


86365943.jpg


seiya kishikawa
kishikawa_seiya_duesseldorf_vorhand_roscher_323x400.jpg
 
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I don't know exactly ._."
I think it's because he is a power player, while Seiya is more of control. Depending on how much you twist your free arm, the more power and momentum you gain
 
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I think the fore arm is to help him generate torque. I do the same thing on my backhand to help keep my stroke straight, as opposed to flipping my wrist down like a lot of people like to do.
 
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Hey has anyone else noticed the Ma Long's free arm is quite strange. When he play's his backhand he seems to hide his bat with it, and when he play's his forehand his arm comes right across him stretched out. I know you use you free arm for timing and balance but why is Ma Long's free arm so weird?

I have only noticed this in the last week. I am relatively new to the sport (2 years). I believe there are a number of benefits to what he is doing with his left hand/arm. These are my observations since trying it.

Backhand
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Holding your arm out keeps your shoulders rounded and stops you from coming up on the shot.
The arm gives you a visual guide for when to hit the ball, ie: just at or past the hand, which will stop you reaching for the ball early (so cool).
It also stop you hitting the ball outside your body (to the left) and makes you either lean or move your feet (also very cool) - an arm that helps with footwork ... who would have thought!
It also makes your hitting arm start at the right height for the ball, that is, if you lift your left arm to the height of the ball, your right arm naturally comes up with it, as do your shoulders and upper body, so your whole body position is better and more in control simply due to placing your hand/arm at the height the ball will be when you want to contact it. Both arm heights seem to naturally work together.

Forehand
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I believe his arm movement on the forehand is for similar reasons as the backhand.
He seems to use it for timing, that is, contact the ball near where his left hand is before his forward rotation starts. This way he is less likely to hit the ball to early or late as he has a visual reference for contact point rather than an "empty space:.
It also helps with his shoulder rotation. He gets same shoulder rotation with same arm placement which improves consistency. Ensure shoulders are side on.
It also helps with distance from the body contact the ball, that is, if he contacts the ball at where his left hand was (or there abouts) before the forward rotation begins, then he will be consistently at full (or near full) extension with the right arm, and again, not be reaching too far for the ball or be cramped.

I am so trying to implement this approach and it has made quite good improvements to consistency already.

Some slow motion to support my theories.



Good hitting!
 
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I don't know exactly ._."
I think it's because he is a power player, while Seiya is more of control. Depending on how much you twist your free arm, the more power and momentum you gain

The same thought crossed my mind. Not to mention the differences in rubbers.
 
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Balance for sure, good balance creates more power I think he also uses it as a "mark" to adjust his body to the ball and after so many repetitions it has become habitual for him like a walk in the park. If you watch some slow motions you will se that 9/10 balls his palm and fingers are always in the same "spot" relatively to the ball, and he does that with his BH also.

I think its something of his own "innovation" never saw another player do that so accurately, or maybe a coach told him to do so when young. His FH at age 14 is almost identical as today but with lesser waist rotation before and after the stroke


There are some videos with close ups and slow motion that you can actually see that ma long uses his free arm like some kind of "body adjustment compass" . I dont know how to accurately explain it in english with geometric terms :p I hope you get my point
 
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I dont know if my "theory" is accurate but after watching some FH in slow motion, he always removes his hand away exactly at the time where the ball is on its highest point or a little before it reaches its highest point. Strokes off the bounce, unexpected balls and wide FH balls he almost never extends his hand cause he simply does not have the time to do so.

Same situation for the BH. On fast BH rallies he does not extend his hand but on underspin and balls that he has the time to extend he does it and again he removes the hand a little to the back & down when the ball is on its highest point. So I believe it helps him with the timing also

Damn now that I have watched his FH and BH again and again, I realize its a "multitasking" kind technique with one move he achieves many things. Definitely worth doing and teaching, especially on beginners and players who have problem with their BH which is way more difficult to execute correctly, compared to a FH stroke because your timing needs to be perfect
 
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