Help to improve transition between BH and FH

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 27, 2017

when i get in to a rally with a opponent I usually tend to stay on my BH throughout the rally even if it is a wide FH ball i tend to get it with my BH.

Next thing is i struggle with the transition between FH and BH it doesn't come naturally its like stuck somewhere. Can you guys suggest any drills on table, footwork drills, shadow drills, mental exercise or anything that can be used to improve this part of my game

. I think this would improve my game by a huge margin. Thank You.

songdavid98 · Mar 27, 2017

I'll assume that you are an absolute beginner.

I'm sure lots of people will suggest random drills.

Have somebody hit to your backhand and forehand randomly. Start slowly. Make sure you are able to do this first.

As you get better at this, have the player start hitting balls closer to you elbow.

At this point, you should choose whether or not you want to use your backhand or forehand to hit shots that go to you elbow. Personally, I use my forehand, but I can do both.

Make sure that you are able to do these random drills from both corners of the table. A lot of players can handle random balls coming from one corner, but not so well on from the other corner.

As you get better, start speeding up. Play out a fake points with a partner.

**************************

As for mental tips, the best thing in a game is to do whatever you think of first. If you change your mind in the middle of your stroke, bad things happen.

However, if you want to improve, simply have a growth mindset. Just know that you will fail and make mistakes at first. It's part of learning.

Mentally, you should be able to distinguish where the ball is going to go (to you backhand or forehand) very quickly. If you can't do this, you can first try to predict where to ball will bounce on the table. It should help a little bit.

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 27, 2017

songdavid98 said:
I'll assume that you are an absolute beginner.

I'm sure lots of people will suggest random drills.

Have somebody hit to your backhand and forehand randomly. Start slowly. Make sure you are able to do this first.

As you get better at this, have the player start hitting balls closer to you elbow.

At this point, you should choose whether or not you want to use your backhand or forehand to hit shots that go to you elbow. Personally, I use my forehand, but I can do both.

Make sure that you are able to do these random drills from both corners of the table. A lot of players can handle random balls coming from one corner, but not so well on from the other corner.

As you get better, start speeding up. Play out a fake points with a partner.

Thanks for your reply,

Actually I've played for about 12 years straight and then had a two years break. before the break i had no problem i was playing okay now i've been playing for about 2 years after the break and now it doesn't comes naturally to me. currently i'm no where near like i used to play in my opinion i have to train my mind somehow to react like that that's why i looking for methods to achieve that.

songdavid98 · Mar 27, 2017

Tharindu Manawadu said:
Thanks for your reply,

Actually I've played for about 12 years straight and then had a two years break. before the break i had no problem i was playing okay now i've been playing for about 2 years after the break and now it doesn't comes naturally to me. currently i'm no where near like i used to play in my opinion i have to train my mind somehow to react like that that's why i looking for methods to achieve that.

Ah. Well, it's really hard to tell what level players are on the internet. It is always best to introduce your background beforehand, or take a video of yourself playing beforehand.

You can definitely train your mind to predict where the ball will bounce on the table. This way, you will be able to decide which stroke to use beforehand.

yoass · Mar 27, 2017

Random? Ok, but I'd go for the Falkenberg drill first --

Ilia Minkin · Mar 27, 2017

There is a simpler random drill for this: ask your partner to block to your backhand a few shots (amount = random), then to play to your forehand wide. After that either return to BH-BH exchange, or play the point out.

But honestly, before playing random drills I'd do a lot of fixed ones, like one backhand, one forehand wide. Or backhand, forehand from the middle, backhand, forehand wide.

ttmonster · Mar 27, 2017

I would say start with 2-2 and first fix your transition . 2 on the backhand , 2 on the forehand . Which is not random.
Once you get comfortable with that , you can increase the randomness by making it 2 on the backhand 1 or 2 on the forehand and the other way round . Then you should be able to make it completely random. Other things to watch out for is whether you are resetting properly after your forehand stroke , watching the ball too long , using the reset hop etc.
A video of your play and/or some indication of your level would definitely help for people to suggest

NextLevel · Mar 27, 2017

It is likely that
1) you don't have a concept of a neutral/ready stance
2) your grips are different for both sides and you don't practice anticipation and switching.
3) you don't anticipate the ball well enough because your shots are often of insufficient quality to control the ball against the level of opponent you have this problem against.
4) your stance tends to favor a shot and once you enter that stance (see 1), you can only play the shot you feel comfortable playing in that stance in that stance. As you get better, you need to have one stance for both forehand and backhand for the most part.
5) in addition to all the above, you don't practice playing one forehand, one backhand in a way that forces you to play both at the same depth from the table, making your forehand comfortable at one depth and your backhand comfortable at another, making transition very difficult.

There are other causes, but these are the main ones that come to mind. You need to diagnose the problem properly before any remediation is possible as you could go down a blind path. Video is helpful but in the end, you have to look at all these things.

Shiro · Mar 27, 2017

Normally to help with my transitions, i tend to have someone block for me from corner to corner. After each hit, i will transition. I will first do a backhand loop, and then step around to use the forehand, and then get back into position again using the backhand and so on. This helps with footwork and helps with your transitions mainly as you don't have to worry about placement. After you feel confident with that, begin having your partner do 2 blocks down the line for you to use your forehand, and 2 blocks to the backhand corner for your backhand to keep practicing.

Also, when you are in a rally, always try to remain in "neutral position" after every hit. Do not have a backhand grip after a hit during the rally as they can always hit to your forehand. Its best to have your paddle stay neutral that way you can transition to either forehand or backhand easier without the delay.

UpSideDownCarl · Mar 28, 2017

I think there have been some very good posts so far. I think there are many drills that could help. However, I think there is something else that could much better and much faster. It would be worth seeing if you could take a session or two with a coach who can diagnose the problem in person and give you drills specifically for what he sees going on. A live coach could also adjust the drills to your exact needs.

Even if you don't usually take coaching, it may be the best and fastest way to sort this issue out to take 1 or 2 coaching sessions. More would be fine too. But a good coach may be able to set you in the right direction in just 1 or 2 sessions.

Dan · Mar 28, 2017

Lots of good posts already. I completely agree with Carl here a Coach will be able to give you a few pointers to put you in the right direction.

As mention by many of the posts. Drills such as 2 backhands and 2 forehands are very good for this. On my level 3 course I went on at the weekend, England head coach Alan Cooke said to have a good transition from backhand to forehand you want to be relatively square to the table so you have quick recovery to your ready position. Look at the video below at 2 min and 55 seconds:

Watch how Tiago's feet position allow him to move quickly from backhand to forehand.

I think sometimes when players (right handed players in this case) play a lot of backhand especially on the forehand side they tend to have their right foot in front of their left. This makes it really difficult in a match to adjust quickly and play a forehand.

The other practice you could do is play practice matches where your opponent puts the ball directly to your forehand after you have played 1 backhand. If you play a backhand from the forehand side you will lose the point

Good luck and let us all know how you get on.

Lula · Mar 29, 2017

I agree with all above! I also think you should try to look more at the opponent and less at the ball. By doing so you can more easily anticipate where her/his shot is going.

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

songdavid98 said:
Ah. Well, it's really hard to tell what level players are on the internet. It is always best to introduce your background beforehand, or take a video of yourself playing beforehand.

You can definitely train your mind to predict where the ball will bounce on the table. This way, you will be able to decide which stroke to use beforehand.

i feel that a big part of the problem i in my mind i will try to improve it thank for your encouraging word

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

yoass said:
Random? Ok, but I'd go for the Falkenberg drill first --

I started doing it and improving little by little, thanks for your comment

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

Ilia Minkin said:
There is a simpler random drill for this: ask your partner to block to your backhand a few shots (amount = random), then to play to your forehand wide. After that either return to BH-BH exchange, or play the point out.

But honestly, before playing random drills I'd do a lot of fixed ones, like one backhand, one forehand wide. Or backhand, forehand from the middle, backhand, forehand wide.

Thank you now i'm mostly focus training in to improve this aspect.

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

ttmonster said:
I would say start with 2-2 and first fix your transition . 2 on the backhand , 2 on the forehand . Which is not random.
Once you get comfortable with that , you can increase the randomness by making it 2 on the backhand 1 or 2 on the forehand and the other way round . Then you should be able to make it completely random. Other things to watch out for is whether you are resetting properly after your forehand stroke , watching the ball too long , using the reset hop etc.
A video of your play and/or some indication of your level would definitely help for people to suggest

Thanks and i really like the 2-2 drill you can really feel your improvement thanks for sharing it and i will focus better on opponent body language to predict the placement.

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

NextLevel said:
It is likely that
1) you don't have a concept of a neutral/ready stance
2) your grips are different for both sides and you don't practice anticipation and switching.
3) you don't anticipate the ball well enough because your shots are often of insufficient quality to control the ball against the level of opponent you have this problem against.
4) your stance tends to favor a shot and once you enter that stance (see 1), you can only play the shot you feel comfortable playing in that stance in that stance. As you get better, you need to have one stance for both forehand and backhand for the most part.
5) in addition to all the above, you don't practice playing one forehand, one backhand in a way that forces you to play both at the same depth from the table, making your forehand comfortable at one depth and your backhand comfortable at another, making transition very difficult.

There are other causes, but these are the main ones that come to mind. You need to diagnose the problem properly before any remediation is possible as you could go down a blind path. Video is helpful but in the end, you have to look at all these things.

no.2 and no.4 are the most noticeable issues and i will work to improve. thanks for your words

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

Shiro said:
Normally to help with my transitions, i tend to have someone block for me from corner to corner. After each hit, i will transition. I will first do a backhand loop, and then step around to use the forehand, and then get back into position again using the backhand and so on. This helps with footwork and helps with your transitions mainly as you don't have to worry about placement. After you feel confident with that, begin having your partner do 2 blocks down the line for you to use your forehand, and 2 blocks to the backhand corner for your backhand to keep practicing.

Also, when you are in a rally, always try to remain in "neutral position" after every hit. Do not have a backhand grip after a hit during the rally as they can always hit to your forehand. Its best to have your paddle stay neutral that way you can transition to either forehand or backhand easier without the delay.

thanks for your time to submit a comment i will work on my grip too currently it is a bit backhand oriented and now i see the problem

Takkyu_wa_inochi · Mar 30, 2017

i've been working a lot on BH FH transition with my coach

there is no miracle. (at least for me). i have improved a lot in what was a weak point of my game but it took a lot of time and a lot of (random) drilling and (random) multiball training. multiball is really the best exercise if you have some partner able to do it for you.

I have also learnt to shorten my BH stroke, improve my neutral position where i am trying to prepare in priority to play a BH for the next ball (because you have more time to react if the ball goes to the FH), that will help as well.

Tharindu Manawadu · Mar 30, 2017

UpSideDownCarl said:
I think there have been some very good posts so far. I think there are many drills that could help. However, I think there is something else that could much better and much faster. It would be worth seeing if you could take a session or two with a coach who can diagnose the problem in person and give you drills specifically for what he sees going on. A live coach could also adjust the drills to your exact needs.

Even if you don't usually take coaching, it may be the best and fastest way to sort this issue out to take 1 or 2 coaching sessions. More would be fine too. But a good coach may be able to set you in the right direction in just 1 or 2 sessions.

thanks for taking your time to give me a advice. currently i don't have a personal coach but i understood the importance and i will get few training sessions from my school coach.

Help to improve transition between BH and FH

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