Tips for improving

Training can mean lots of things, training by yourself or with friends is very different from training with a coach, and there are different levels of coaching if you really want to dig into that. If you feel your stroke isn't strong enough from mid distance with Mark V, then you'll probably have even more trouble with Hurricane 3 if you ask me.

Also, before we go into whether stomping your foot when looping is ideal or not, which foot are you stomping? And what kind of loop is it, i.e. high arc slow spiny loops or fast long flat power loops? Is it against down spin, flat, top spin? What's the distance you are looping from?

It's a bit strange to stomp your left foot on all loops, but I could see that after looping a really spiny downspin ball you pushed off so hard that you jumped up and stomping your left foot when landing.

Btw, spiny and low arc doesn't really come together, unless your ball speed is really fast, but since you feel your loops aren't strong enough I doubt it has much speed. And since the spin of your own ball can't really be observed by yourself, only the arc is, I would say your ball most likely have not much spin. So switching to Hurricane 3 will help you with your spin, but it won't help you with getting stronger shots, but from what you said here I don't think the rubber is the issue, most likely your stroke has some problems. An over simplified analysis: ball speed is the result of hitting the ball, ball spin is the result of brushing the ball, if you're lacking in both then something must be seriously wrong, you might want to post a video in the video footage safe thread.

Oscarting said:

I'm an intermediate club player, (I go to training 3 to 4 times a week) I usually play a midrange looping game with my Mark V, but I'm switching to a Hurricane 3. I feel like my loops aren't strong/spinny enough? Also I have a bad habit of stomping my foot when I do a loop trying to transfer my weight, is it normal? Feel free to give any general tips for improving my game, mental or strategy wise.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

One possibility of the stomping is that your feet are not wide enough. The wider they are, the harder it is to stomp, consciously or unconsciously (look at pros like Ma Long and see how wider there feet is, then video yourself while playing a match and compare).

As for the strong/spinny, the spin is weird as H3 ought to naturally give you much more spin. For the strong, try changing your technique to hit more forward with hit+brush. Remember to get good body rotation (really rotate the shoulders in the backswing) and propel your arm and body forwards and up slightly).

I assume you are using booster with H3, right?

I’d say stay with Mark V it’s spinny enough and being slow is an advantage. Forces you to hit harder. I don’t know about Hurricane but if it isn’t any faster it is probably good but don’t expect much more spin, it’s in the technique not the rubber.

Cheers
L-zr

do you have a coach?

Oscarting said:

Thanks for the reply! As for the booster - I'm not sure whether to get it or not. Is it worth it? And what differences does it make?

Click to expand...

Sorry, I mixed up this thread with another one in my head and thought you already had H3. If you feel like you lack speed and spin with your current setup, you may benefit from an equipment change, but it may also very well be your technique too. It is just as important to name the blade you are using with your rubbers, so what blade are you using?

Yes, you will need to use booster with H3. Some say you don't, but that is a minority of players...

Boosting is not that inconvenient, but if you want the spin of sticky rubber without needing booster, I can recommend hybrid rubbers (sticky topsheet with porous springy sponge).

The good thing is, when you are stomping left foot, that means you have got weight transfer to left foot. But it also means when you are looping, you have lifted up your left foot. This shouldn't have happened usually. Some improper strokes may cause result in this. As we don't see your video, I am not sure how this happens. I assume you are too upward when you are looping as this is a common problem.

Any chance you can show footage? Footage will help people give you better advice. Without seeing you play, it would be hard for advice to actually be relevant to your actual needs.

Lycanthrope said:

The good thing is, when you are stomping left foot, that means you have got weight transfer to left foot. But it also means when you are looping, you have lifted up your left foot. This shouldn't have happened usually. Some improper strokes may cause result in this. As we don't see your video, I am not sure how this happens. I assume you are too upward when you are looping as this is a common problem.

Click to expand...

UpSideDownCarl said:

Any chance you can show footage? Footage will help people give you better advice. Without seeing you play, it would be hard for advice to actually be relevant to your actual needs.

Click to expand...

exactly what I’ve said above, we need more info to understand what’s going on.

DukeGaGa said:

exactly what I’ve said above, we need more info to understand what’s going on.

Click to expand...

I just did not want to let the "post video" info to get lost. It is okay if he hears it from several of us.

I mean, in a way, asking for advice without posting footage is a bit like if I asked you to tell me my shoe size when you can't see or measure my foot. But sometimes people don't realize it and think their explanations of how they play allow us to see and know. But the truth of the matter, often when people see footage of themself playing, they realize a lot just from looking at the footage.

How to improve?

Buy a BTY Viscaria... or better yet, a Super JZK blade... get National H3 and a few hundred dollars of booster... get Dignics 115 for your BH (the 115 dollar version) and go on all the forums and ask how is your setup. You will be an internet champ.

That is usually the pattern many follow - go full blown equipment crazy and go full fanboy on hte internetz.

There are so many thinks going on that learning adults need to see and improve upon... usually it has a lot to do with reading hte opponent, the impact, the ball, where it will go how/when with how much of what so you can get to the point of impact, set the strike zone, and play the shot you need to play.

You the non-serve/receive (you still have to do that on receive) this is the lion's share of what to improve if you have even 1/2 azz OK shots.