Read everything before you reply to this.
Answer for the rookie players:
I'll assume you know how to drive the ball.
If you are still learning the stroke, the most important thing that needs fixing is the backswing. You have to change the starting and ending points of your swing. If you want to spin the ball, you can't have your paddle having a head-on collision with the ball. Swing in a way that you'll skim the ball.
There isn't much for me to say here. Just keep practicing; that's the easiest way to improve now, so get off the internet (or watch ping pong videos, but I don't really recommend that because you'll get distracted.)
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Answer for the intermediate players:
Great, you know how to spin the ball now.
Right now, you are in this gray area where there actually isn't any single most important factor.
Chances are, you guys are having trouble with AT LEAST TWO of the things below.
Timing: don't miss it
Footwork: move your feet; this is a sport.
Forearm: snap it
Legs, core, and the rest of your body: use it. turn into the ball. Follow through
Recovery: get ready for the next ball
Reading the ball: judging the incoming ball's characteristics.
etc.
Work on these things. Also, you have to learn different variations of the forehand topspin in order to deal with every shot.
For example, against serves, pushes, chops, blocks, and loops.
You guys can argue over which of these things are most important. I don't really care, because they are all important.
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More In-depth answer for more experienced players that have already mastered the above:
Obviously, there are many aspects and factors that go into the forehand topspin.
Many of them are all listed here, but they all accumulate into one thing: the swing.
Timing: if you mistime your swing, you will obviously miss the ball.
Footwork: If your footwork is bad, you aren't going to get a good swing at the ball. You don't want to ball to be too far away or too close to your elbow.
Forearm snap: helps you follow through on the swing and accelerate.
Legs, core, and the rest of your body: helps you follow through on the swing and accelerate.
Recovery: helps you prepare for the next swing.
There might be others I missed.
All of this applies to the backhand too.
If there was any one single factor that would help your swing, it would be this:
YOUR EYES. Learn how to read and optimally adjust to the ball.
Every ball is different, whether it be speed, height, depth, pace, or spin.
If you can respond accordingly to all of these factors with every swing you take, you'll find that you'll be able to make longer rallies, because you are adjusting your stroke to perfectly match every shot. It's like giving each ball your personal attention.
Don't say this is impossible, because all it takes is focus.
Also, the forehand loop is meant to be ADJUSTABLE. If your forehand topspin is adjustable, then it can truly adapt to every ball and actually be a one size fits all kind of swing.
If you can't adjust, then you will soon figure out that THERE IS NO ONE SWING FITS ALL. There is no one specific swing that will get every shot on the table.
You can't just focus on one thing part of your swing and expect to make all of your shots.
One of the worst things you can do in a match is think about your stroke.
Pay attention to the ball, because that is what is most important.
I used to be like you guys, thinking about, discussing, and talking about different parts of the swing. One day, I would practice snapping my forearm, and another day I would be trying to get the top of the bounce every shot.
Now, I just think about what is the most optimal way to hit that one ball, that would have the most consistency and give my opponent trouble at the same time. To me, every shot is individualized, because your opponent can do so many different things to the ball. Your comfortable forehand loop against one player might not be optimal against another player.
I've been doing this lately, and my consistency with EVERY shot improved, not just my topspins. Granted with the topspins, it is easier since you have more time to accurately judge the ball's speed, height, spin, depth, etc. But if you give personal attention to every shot, you will get better service return, better blocks, pretty much better everything.
Never do mindless training; there is no way you can personalize every shot if you don't use your brain.
Always be mindful and be aware of the ball coming to you.
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Personal:
I used to change my stroke a lot because I used to think my stroke was wrong. (Changing your stroke actually isn't that hard. Just stop caring about missing.) I did all sorts of things with my forehand and my backhand. I think I've gone through every understandable type of topspin stroke, in search of the most optimal one. One day, I just stopped and decided to think about what the pros did.
So I posted a thread here about this, to gain some insight.
Thanks guys.
Here's the thread by the way.
http://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/f...-Difference-between-a-2100-and-a-professional
So I started to pay attention to ball quality and reading the ball.
I used to never really pay attention to the height of the ball (unless it was extreme), but as soon as I started to pay attention to it, it was a lot easier for me to adjust my backswing and judge the ball's characteristics. Everything became easier.
I've been getting longer rallies lately and I think this is how you improve your shot quality. Counter-looping got a lot easier. This is probably my path of improvement.
I am no longer ONE LOOP MAN, I am SERIOUS CONSECUTIVE LOOPS MAN.
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P.S.
I'm starting to think lately that 'good touch' is just another term for 'adjusts well to the ball.'
EDIT: grammar edits