Which player should I model my forehand after?

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I am fairly new to table tennis and I would like to know which player has the best forehand topspin techniqe that I should model mine after? My current forehand is ok but the recovery takes a while and the stroke is very long and it is not very spinnyso during the rally it is really inefficient and i dont habe enough time to make the stroke most of the time. So i think it would be better to rebuild it from the ground up. I am a 6 foot 1 right handed shakehand player with long arms and I am in good shape if that makes a difference.
 
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If you have the physique of FZD model the chinese players which are quite similar overall.
Same goes for the equipment ofcourse and your technique.

If you are weaker and dont have a good core stability, go for the more european style of technique and players you want to model.
I know many players who try to imitate the Timo Bolls strokes with great success. His strokes are easier to recover from and are really controled. He even has some videos on his own around his playing style.
 
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OP,

At your level, take a look at successful amateur players around you a few levels better, look for what they do to be successful.

That will have a LOT more you can take away and apply to yourself than a recommendation to coopy a pro you will never be able to copy.
 
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Get a coach. You should not be trying to copy the pros really. You should keep practicing, training, and improving. Trying to copy someone else won't really do anything but mess you up. And odds are, you will think you are doing a FH like the person you are trying to imitate and it won't be anything at all like what they do on so many levels that you won't even have a clue what you are not doing. :)
 
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I am fairly new to table tennis and I would like to know which player has the best forehand topspin techniqe that I should model mine after? My current forehand is ok but the recovery takes a while and the stroke is very long and it is not very spinnyso during the rally it is really inefficient and i dont habe enough time to make the stroke most of the time. So i think it would be better to rebuild it from the ground up. I am a 6 foot 1 right handed shakehand player with long arms and I am in good shape if that makes a difference.

i) Six footer - checked
ii) Good physical shape - checked
iii) Long stroke - checked

There are plenty of Tall, lanky, good physical shape long stroke European player you can model after.

i) Emmanuel Lehbesson ( FRA ), Liam Pitchford ( ENG ), Dimitri Ovtcharov ( GER ), Franziska Patrick ( GER ) et al. You have many role models, it is like a buffet selection for you.

 
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Understand the kinetic chain. Find videos which explain kinetic chain of forehand in table tennis. Then when the couch tells you something you can understand why it will work, how it works, etc. You will know what to try, what to improve. Then when watching players you'll know what to look for. And by then you will already know whose forehand you admire the most.
 
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I am fairly new to table tennis and I would like to know which player has the best forehand topspin techniqe that I should model mine after? My current forehand is ok but the recovery takes a while and the stroke is very long and it is not very spinnyso during the rally it is really inefficient and i dont habe enough time to make the stroke most of the time. So i think it would be better to rebuild it from the ground up. I am a 6 foot 1 right handed shakehand player with long arms and I am in good shape if that makes a difference.

hi bandit
if you dont see the game with a coach’s eyes its difficult task to rebuild your game. Many of the. things which might impress you about a particular pros game in fact might not be right for you early on in your development. For instance I am always hearing about the big topspins that ML FZD TB etc play but not enough credit is given to the brilliant touch and blocking that is constantly going and is nearly always part of what wins them matches. So for example maybe sometimes on those occasions when you feel you dont have time to do a great ‘big shot’ there Would be time to do a great creative blocking shot.
If you want to be your own coach I can confirm its a very interesting journey but may lead you down some blind alleys. I have tried to be my own coach for 50+ years but by that I dont mean I was not coached. I went to many training camps and recieved helpful advice from many ranked players. However in my own mind I owned responsibility for the result.
In your situation you at least need to be a member of a strong club with some intelligent communicative members to help you sort out your technique

BTW in this thread there is a great vid of Kristian Karlsson demonstrating some fantastic power in a training situation. But its rather deceptive because in a real match situation he would be using much more sublety and change of direction in order to succeed.
good luck

 
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hi bandit
if you dont see the game with a coach’s eyes its difficult task to rebuild your game. Many of the. things which might impress you about a particular pros game in fact might not be right for you early on in your development. For instance I am always hearing about the big topspins that ML FZD TB etc play but not enough credit is given to the brilliant touch and blocking that is constantly going and is nearly always part of what wins them matches. So for example maybe sometimes on those occasions when you feel you dont have time to do a great ‘big shot’ there Would be time to do a great creative blocking shot.
If you want to be your own coach I can confirm its a very interesting journey but may lead you down some blind alleys. I have tried to be my own coach for 50+ years but by that I dont mean I was not coached. I went to many training camps and recieved helpful advice from many ranked players. However in my own mind I owned responsibility for the result.
In your situation you at least need to be a member of a strong club with some intelligent communicative members to help you sort out your technique

BTW in this thread there is a great vid of Kristian Karlsson demonstrating some fantastic power in a training situation. But its rather deceptive because in a real match situation he would be using much more sublety and change of direction in order to succeed.
good luck

This is a great post. Very valuable indeed. You guys should be hitting the like button on PingPongPaddy's post.

 
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You can do some training on FH&BH transition and FH quick loop.

If you want to model someone, it is better to be a female player or an advanced amateur player as others suggest above.Those top male players possess something you don't have: quick reaction and strong muscle. Those allow them to do quick and powerful two wing loop close to table. An normal amateur player won't be able to copy them.

I had tried to learn something from FZD's quick loop. We all know that the stroke of close to table quick loop should be short and fast, it focuses more on recovery than power. But if you check FZD's quick loop, his stroke is even bigger and longer than our power loop. This is not what we can copy.

Alternatively, you can check the video in this post:https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/showthread.php?25816-Coached-vs-un-coached-player
Dan in this video was doing long swing power loop and he has some problems with recovery. Don't copy his stroke, because this is not a standard loop stroke. I refer to this video for the point that if you plan your game well, you can still reach a good level even you have problem with your recovery.
 
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"Almost all tennis players have experienced playing over their heads after watching championship tennis on television. The benefits to your game come not from analyzing the strokes of top players, but from concentrating without thinking and simply letting yourself absorb the images before you." - The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey

There's a lot to this; I've experienced what he describes. But I don't agree there's no benefit to be had from analyzing strokes of top players. Some have especially clean technique and make good models. If you watch Kristian Karlsson's forehand, for example, you might notice the consistent start and end positions of the racket, the smooth swing plane in between, the hip turn driving the swing, the leg movements driving the hip turn. I think it can be useful to keep these kind of images in mind while working on forehand.
 
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Hii,
If you think that you don’t have enough time for strokes then it’s best to practice multi balls, it will hell you develop your foot work and also the speed and quality of your stokes.
 
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Kristian Karlsson's loop is more flawed than FZD. The difference between these two is mainly in the timing of the racket acceleration at the ball contact. I have seen Kristian miss the ball on numerous occasions when he's doing his forehand loop at a blazing speed.

What FZD does is that he drops the racket down and rather than swinging outright, he cleverly brings the racket to the side of the ball and only then starts accelerating the racket really fast to the point that it makes it very barely noticeable that there is even any difference between Kristian's looping but there is, which is like already mentioned mainly in the perfect timing and the right acceleration.
 
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