Good Backhand Technique

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Hi Guys,

I would like to ask some questions:

1) Should you get shoulder soreness from practising backhand (drive/topspin/block) or am I using the wrong technique.
2) Any tips or pointers to keep in mind (technique wise) while practising backhand. I have always had a bad backhand and I am trying to improve it. I personally finding my shoulder is aching after prolonged practice with backhand.
3) Should your elbow remain in a fixed spot when you go through the backhand stroke?
4) Does your grip change slightly when you switch from forehand or backhand. I find that mine does. If I keep my grip exactly as before and just change my racket over I find it hard to play, I have to adjust slightly (not huge change but still significant) in order to play my backhand strokes. Any help/tips appreciated :)
 
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it's hard to give advice when we don't know what you're doing wrong.

1) always keep as relaxed as possible
2) i find people often emphasize the wrist in backhand play but so many things can go wrong there. if you have a weak backhand i recommend keeping the wrist in a steady position and rotating your forearm instead. if the inside of your forearm is facing upward at the end of the stroke you are doing it right. for a backhand loop you will need to use the wrist but it will be easier if you first get a feeling for hitting a regular backhand counter without much wrist
3) find brett clarke's video about this on youtube, it's called "table tennis basics tutorial- like a boss!"
4) only switch grip if you're very good and consistent on both wings, if not stick with the neutral grip
 
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hi izra. does your arm only move elbow onwards (elbow to racket). In other words your shoulder and upper arm stay motionless. Also starting racket angle, is it vertical or slightly closed.
 
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i consciously try to move only the lower arm but it's natural for the elbow to move a little bit. the shoulder should stay pretty much in the same place. the racket angle is slightly closed but there is one more important factor at the start of the stroke... try to watch where the tip of your bat is pointing. i find people with bad technique often drop their wrist and let the tip of their bat point downward at the start of the stroke, while it should be pointing to the side or even a little bit upward. to stay clear of this mistake i make my students start with the tip of the bat in a 2 o'clock position (looking from the opponents side) and end the stroke with the tip pointing to wherever they are playing the shot (and the inside of the forearm facing up).

you will see a lot of good players doing exactly what i just told you not to... this is because dropping the tip of the bat down at the start of the stroke adds topspin to the shot, but also makes it more difficult to time and control.
 
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Like others have said try and be relaxed as possible. Waldner said he used to practice as relaxed as possible to help him stay relaxed in his matches.

Make sure you are not lifting your shoulders i see a lot of players doing this which makes the shot less effective.

Try not to incorporate too much wrist atm until the backhand technique is solid, just focus on geting it very consistent and being able to play it comfortably.

And lastly keep it simple to create good technique takes time so be patient.
 
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Hi Guys,

I would like to ask some questions:

1) Should you get shoulder soreness from practising backhand (drive/topspin/block) or am I using the wrong technique.

If you ae sore, it should be your legs and hips from lessons. It is possible someone had you do a few thousand balls of hits in multiball over and over that could get you sore too. Likely, it is as you suspect... you are not using effecient mechanics. we would need to see you in action in both practice and match play to help you narrow that down.

2) Any tips or pointers to keep in mind (technique wise) while practising backhand. I have always had a bad backhand and I am trying to improve it. I personally finding my shoulder is aching after prolonged practice with backhand.

Korean pro Kim Jung Hoon advocates creating a certain "Zone" of space in front of you that will define your hitting zone. He moves his lower arm around and around like it is a turning drum. The shoulder and elbow points are pretty much still. The elbow pivots at the joint for arm snap. Often, when a new player is using his shoulder, he is often coming accross his body and using his upper arm. The upper arm and elbow shouldn't be moving anywhere in the stroke but only a little.

3) Should your elbow remain in a fixed spot when you go through the backhand stroke?

The elbow is pretty much set in the spot once you are in position. The lower arm will pivot at the elbow joint for arm snap and you use a little wrist close to table (vs topspin) and more away from the table. Vs underspin, it is a very explosive stroke using the whole body. vs topsin, you can simply be stable in your stance and use a little hip swing or forward weight transfer to add power.

4) Does your grip change slightly when you switch from forehand or backhand. I find that mine does. If I keep my grip exactly as before and just change my racket over I find it hard to play, I have to adjust slightly (not huge change but still significant) in order to play my backhand strokes. Any help/tips appreciated :)

There is an eternal debate over this grip change. Personally, I slide my thumb up to middle of blade for a better shot vs underspin. I have time to get the grip there and to recover, I am usually going for spin, sometimes a smash, but when you smash, the point is often over, not always though :) vs topsin, there usually isnt time to think of anything but to get the bat on the ball cleanly and make an aggressive stroke.

I believe in having a player learn "Right" and "effective" things, but TT isnt an easy sport and you cannot go combat speed right away, it will only mess stuff up. Somewhere, there has to be a system of progression and monitoring and advancing.

I like this well viewed youtube vid not only for the easy explaination tof how to strongly counter a dead ball or a light drive, but for the principle of it taking the player from a stable block to simply moving the body to the spot and moving the lower arm through the ball to make a strong shot.

That is the kind of progression and evolution I am talking about.

Remember, there are different BH shots and the form for all these has differences. Biggest key point of all is to be in position in time. One can hit a FH on the move, the FH is very dynamic and adapting, but the BH doesn't have this kind of leeway - you gotta be in position. Vs underspin, it is important to get DOWN and use the legs/waist. You also get that elbow up at chest level and in front. You are funneling the power from legs/waist into the upper arm (but that stays relative still) and use that elbow joint as a hinge and lever to "open" your topspin shot. Concept is similar for ball vs flat shot or topsin, but you are moving more forward with the shot and your weight transfer comes from a tiny step forward to generate momentum, or you simply borrow it from the ball and stay stable and move lower arm through the shot. The stroke doesnt have to be very long for a BH vs topspin, it is better to begin with a shorter stroke for this to get accustomed to the timing of it all and later add a little more length and power into the shot as you get better.
 
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It could be just that your shoulder does not have the strength right now to sustain backhands for a long time. It could be that you are doing something wrong.

First off, describe the pain. Is it pain while you are doing it and then 3 min after your shoulder feels fine? Is it pain that lasts the rest of the day? Is it sore, tired, muscle pain? Is it something that feels like a needle or a knife in the joint but not in the muscles?

Also, how old are you and how long have you been playing?

And, can you make a video of you practicing backhand so we can see if there is something mechanical that you are doing that is bad for your shoulder? Or if it is just the strength of the shoulder issue?

Also, any preexisting shoulder issues that you have? Like, have you dislocated this shoulder? Or, damaged your rotator cuff muscles?

My first guess is that your rotator cuff muscles are just not strong enough. But practicing your backhand will get them stronger. You could research rotator cuff muscle strengthening exercises and do them to make that get stronger faster. But to know how to actually give you the right information we would need answers to the questions I just asked and a video of you doing your backhand.
 
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also make sure to keep both shoulders at level height. people with stiff backhands tend to either drop or raise their playing shoulder.

That is a good point. Players who can loop an underspin can drop their non hitting side to loop the incoming underspin, but that will get you in trouble vs topspin.

Rain, here is a vid where KJH talks about the BH. I summarized what was important and if you want to know what is being said, tell me what time reference in the vid.

Wide stance, keeping shoulder and elbow stable, rotating arm in front of body like a drum give KJH a lot of control. He even admits there are so many different BH and approaches to using a BH.

http://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/f...m-Jung-Hoon-show-some-good-BH-nuggets-of-info
 
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