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Over the past few years, I slowly find little tricks and techniques that I didn't know or realize before and nobody really tells you these things. The problem is I often forget the very things that I discovered. So I wanted to make a list of little hacks that I have discovered. This is not a complete list, and I would like to keep adding to the list as it comes to memory. Let me know if you have any little hacks.
1) On serve, do some random serves where you yourself don't even know what spin is on it. The less "clear" your spin is, the harder it is to return. If even you are not sure what spin it is, your opponent won't know either. For example a pendulum serve where you don't commit to underspin or topspin, but just take your chances with whatever it ends up being.
2) On serve, half-long serve is very useful. It is too long for opponent to push short, but it is just short enough to make a loop risky.
3) Somewhat related to #1, but serving dead-ball is unusually effective. Giving heavy underspin invites a simple push return. But serving dead-ball makes it very awkward to return.
4) If you're unsure the spin on the ball, doing a strong loop is often the best choice. A good strong loop will often provide enough arc to cover the range of spin on the ball from underspin to dead ball to light topspin.
5) Doing heavy sidespin serves often comes back to bite you, as your own sidespin is still on the 3rd ball.
6) On receive, looping everything long ball and pushing every short ball is a good starting framework.
7) On receive, receiving with bh is often better than fh. BH gives you more range of motion in a short reaction window, so it's easier to loop or flick a ball with the bh.
8) Because your own spin is on the 3rd ball, it is often much easier to wait for a 5th ball to loop than the 3rd ball. Looping 3rd ball takes special training and awareness, and is much more advanced shot than 5th ball.
9) When blocking, it is much easier to block in a straight line back. If you attempt to block wider than 30 degrees, the ball will often drop into the net.
10) Tacky rubber really makes a huge difference. At first, it seems unimpressive because it slows down the ball. But the extra lift and grab on the ball really helps to loop underspin or to counterloop. In a real game situation, it is very beneficial.
1) On serve, do some random serves where you yourself don't even know what spin is on it. The less "clear" your spin is, the harder it is to return. If even you are not sure what spin it is, your opponent won't know either. For example a pendulum serve where you don't commit to underspin or topspin, but just take your chances with whatever it ends up being.
2) On serve, half-long serve is very useful. It is too long for opponent to push short, but it is just short enough to make a loop risky.
3) Somewhat related to #1, but serving dead-ball is unusually effective. Giving heavy underspin invites a simple push return. But serving dead-ball makes it very awkward to return.
4) If you're unsure the spin on the ball, doing a strong loop is often the best choice. A good strong loop will often provide enough arc to cover the range of spin on the ball from underspin to dead ball to light topspin.
5) Doing heavy sidespin serves often comes back to bite you, as your own sidespin is still on the 3rd ball.
6) On receive, looping everything long ball and pushing every short ball is a good starting framework.
7) On receive, receiving with bh is often better than fh. BH gives you more range of motion in a short reaction window, so it's easier to loop or flick a ball with the bh.
8) Because your own spin is on the 3rd ball, it is often much easier to wait for a 5th ball to loop than the 3rd ball. Looping 3rd ball takes special training and awareness, and is much more advanced shot than 5th ball.
9) When blocking, it is much easier to block in a straight line back. If you attempt to block wider than 30 degrees, the ball will often drop into the net.
10) Tacky rubber really makes a huge difference. At first, it seems unimpressive because it slows down the ball. But the extra lift and grab on the ball really helps to loop underspin or to counterloop. In a real game situation, it is very beneficial.