Hi BB,
Power from the ground is also used in golf.
There are frauds in golf too!?.
A coach I used to have lessons with has a pressure plate in his coaching unit.
He used to say he should use it more regularly when coaching.
The idea is to make yourself weigh more during the swing process.
One guy could add about 5 pounds!! Others struggled to add a pound or two!!
i think the idea is to load up your legs and then ‘spring’ out so to speak. Put your weight into your legs/feet/ground and then use the ground to push off from. We do this regardless but it can be improved.
Just because you push off on a pressure pad doesn't mean you weigh more. Your mass didn't increase.
Only a couple of measly pounds? You should see what American football players could do.
I am a mere 130kg. If I move at all, i will apply much more than that.
I know, it isn't the transfer of weight. It is the speed of the paddle. The ball doesn't weigh that much.
Do you have any idea how much force a TT ball applies to a paddle when the impact speed is only 10 m/s? Hint, it is much more than the wimpy 2 to 5 lbs of the golf players.
Think about this. What is the impact force. Make some assumptions and do the math.
So you are right in that the player produces the power / energy, it’s more a case of using the ground better as a tool to assist in the power transfer.
Obviously I need something to push off from when I twist my body. If I were on a friction-less rotating table then twisting my body wouldn't be very effective.
So the reason I can twist my body is that I can apply a force to to ground and the ground applies the same force back. The ground does not provide power it is just something to push off from.