Brett Clarke - Forehand Topspin like a Bear

[Brett Clarke]

Thanks Brett! I've applied it to my matches today, and I would definitely say my topspin loops became better.

That's great. After watching the bear swing his Xu Xin knock-off forehand, I always think about it whenever I find myself warming up with forehand topspin.

 

[MegaZZ]

I'm not a dramatic type of guy but this is probably the most insightful table tennis video I have ever seen. It takes a form of genius to explain a concept that few top coaches understand using nothing more than a stuffed toy.

I often get asked what should start your swing - your body or your arm. I challenge you to find me better forehand topspin technique than this darn bear.

I especially love the bit about Xu Xin around 1:20 in the video, Xu Xin's nickname is roughly "python" in chinese (for the way he plays his FH strokes, especially wrapping his body around the spinny lefty sidespins), I wonder what he would think if Dan could show this to him next time they meet at Sweden Stiga headquarters. Now I know Xu Xin is really a "python" who has mastered bear like techniques

I will be trying to adjust my FH technique after this, will come back to this post after a few months to see if I improve my FH strokes

 

[fais]

At first, I thought LL Bear was Algerian and named Al Albeari

This is the most fundamental principal behind every sport, be they martial arts, cricket, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming, even rock climbing... the key to maximizing speed, power and control is to leverage weight transfer correctly while being completely relaxed and not tensing the muscles.

 

[Brett Clarke]

At first, I thought LL Bear was Algerian and named Al Albeari

This is the most fundamental principal behind every sport, be they martial arts, cricket, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming, even rock climbing... the key to maximizing speed, power and control is to leverage weight transfer correctly while being completely relaxed and not tensing the muscles.

Hi fais, Nice level of understanding. Great post!

There is no good time in life to have excessive muscular tension. Some muscle contractions which occur in a natural order is all that is needed for maximum speed.