Can a European Forehand have advantages over a Chinese style forehand?

[TenPercentWinRate]

I encountered this question when I changed to Shakehand.

For rallying forehand topspins, I feel that a bent forearm seems more consistent especially in fast encounters. Sure, a straight arm forehand backswing gets additional power, but seems like a bent forearm position allows higher margin of error.

Does a European style forehand have advantages over the Chinese counterpart? Or am I just hallucinating in my shots?

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Euro advantages:

1. Amateur friendly
2. Higher margin of safety

 

[NextLevel]

I encountered this question when I changed to Shakehand.

For rallying forehand topspins, I feel that a bent forearm seems more consistent especially in fast encounters. Sure, a straight arm forehand backswing gets additional power, but seems like a bent forearm position allows higher margin of error.

Does a European style forehand have advantages over the Chinese counterpart? Or am I just hallucinating in my shots?

No one hits the ball one way all the time, even the top Chinese and the top Europeans.

 

[MORTtheORT]

Personally, I think the difference styles is overshadowing the real thing making the difference. Footwork and physical conditioning.

If you can get into the right position and have the core strength to transfer the power...then it doesn't matter which one you do. In a match even the pros are not using perfect techniques as the opponent is there trying to make it difficult for them.

 

[victormanriquey]

Most high players in our club have a euro/non-chinese FH stroke and it's fine so the answer is yes at the amateur level, for sure.

Just be careful not to be too tense on the arm/shoulder, I see this often as people try to add more power, this leads to injuries in the medium/long term.

 

[MORTtheORT]

Most high players in our club have a euro/non-chinese FH stroke and it's fine so the answer is yes at the amateur level, for sure.

Just be careful not to be too tense on the arm/shoulder, I see this often as people try to add more power, this leads to injuries in the medium/long term.

If I feel myself lifting my shoulder when trying to generate power....It generally means I am standing too upright. For me just telling myself to lean forward, lowering my shoulders gets the legs and hips back into the picture and takes that shoulder tension away.

 

[PenHoldSandro]

The Chinese forehand is pretty much more powerful. More powerful doesn't mean better, because the CH forehand takes longer to perform.

Euro forehand (smaller, more compact stroke) has many advantages, like for many consecutive attacks near the table for pressure, and more versatile. The Chinese forehand (longer backswing) is more powerful in speed and spin. All pros use both, depending on the situation. Just play what's best for the ball, like what most other posts here say.

 

[joshmak10]

Chinese: Great Power and Spin but harder to recover and can be more demanding
Euro: Fast, Compact, and Easy to stay in a rally but can lack spin

 

[Lazer]

Its a shorter swing so it should be faster to execute, but with less power.

Cheers
L-zr

 

[Amayzde]

I personally dont call the technique either European or Chinese. The principles are the same for both.

I think that what everyone calls the 'euro' technique is just the basic technique everyone should start with to learn the forehand topspin.
Once you get more advanced you start adjusting the length of your stroke for more or less power. But it all depends on how much time you have for the incoming ball. You dont always use the one or the other.

Here is a clip of WCQ training his 'euro-forehand' and only uses his 'chinese-forehand' on the very last ball:

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

Euro easier on downspin ball; those who tried using chinese forehand on downspin ball will know how hard it is to execute consistently against random ball.

But if it is a topspin ball; euro or chinese is whatever flood your boat.

 

[NDH]

This questions comes up quite a lot, and like with everything to do with table tennis, a lot is open to how you interpret what it is and how it should look.

For me, the biggest difference is not the stroke - It's the footwork.

Euro easier on downspin ball; those who tried using chinese forehand on downspin ball will know how hard it is to execute consistently against random ball.

This comment is a very good example of that! I agree with Gozo, I'd find it much easier playing a "Euro" forehand against a backspin ball..... Not because the stroke is easier, but because I can promise you my feet are not going to be in the perfect place, and my movement will be too slow.

Most amateurs (and even semi professionals) will not have the consistent footwork to get into that perfect, low position to execute a Chinese style forehand to perfection.

Another "advantage" of the Euro forehand (for lots of people) is the ability to play "inside out" shots.

Imagine playing a forehand loop from the backhand corner, cross court.

A Chinese pro (or someone playing in that style) would be able to move their feet quickly, and be in position to play a very similar stroke to normal.... Just across court from backhand side to backhand side.

A Euro forehand style can do much more with the wrist, open the body, and not need such good footwork.

That isn't to say you don't need any footwork (footwork is still one of the most important things), but the flexibility of the wrist can make up for the less than perfect footwork at most levels!

 

[blahness]

I personally dont call the technique either European or Chinese. The principles are the same for both.

I think that what everyone calls the 'euro' technique is just the basic technique everyone should start with to learn the forehand topspin.
Once you get more advanced you start adjusting the length of your stroke for more or less power. But it all depends on how much time you have for the incoming ball. You dont always use the one or the other.

Here is a clip of WCQ training his 'euro-forehand' and only uses his 'chinese-forehand' on the very last ball:

Yep, even CNT players dont straight arm loop all the time now. It is mostly bent arm (esp against topspin pressure), and only going more to straight arm loop for slower and opportunity balls.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

just a two sessions ago, I told my partner to serve me long and deep down-spin ball while I try to loop-drive ala chinese fh style. My percentage was very low, maybe two out of ten lands. From here I understand from direct experience how difficult it is. Also, it is easy to do when you are fresh, but doing it after many shots, fatigue sets in, the shot becomes even more impossible....Imagine in real match, you are 3-3, your success rate for chinese style loop will be almost zero. Speaking from personal experience.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

advantage of chinese fh:

Every shot that lands is an Instagram / tik-tok worthy moment!

 

[dingyibvs]

There's really no difference anymore. Most Chinese and non-Chinese players these days have the same FH structure these days. If you look at Franziska's FH structure for example, it's probably straighter armed than WCQ's. Also, my understanding of the old straight armed loop is that you swing your whole arm through the ball, without the emphasis on bending the elbow at contact. That's not what Ma Long does. Nobody does that anymore, and the last top level player to do it was probably Ma Lin.

Franziska FH:

Ma Lin match:

 

[Metaxa]

Is the Chinese (long arm swing) still taught today? I'm still of the old school, so I've never known anything else but using your wrist at the end, which allows you to correct the direction you want to go in, but I think that with hybrid rubbers it's now better and easier to use the short (European swing). I find it rather difficult to use a Chinese movement with hybrid rubbers, although the top players don't seem to have any problems with it.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

No one hits the ball one way all the time, even the top Chinese and the top Europeans.

Lin Shidong and Iulian Chirita...who has the Chinese forehand and who has the Euro forehand?

 

[NextLevel]

The other thing that played

There's really no difference anymore. Most Chinese and non-Chinese players these days have the same FH structure these days. If you look at Franziska's FH structure for example, it's probably straighter armed than WCQ's. Also, my understanding of the old straight armed loop is that you swing your whole arm through the ball, without the emphasis on bending the elbow at contact. That's not what Ma Long does. Nobody does that anymore, and the last top level player to do it was probably Ma Lin.

Franziska FH:

Ma Lin match:

A role in this was equipment speed, sticky rubber allowed you to put more into sitting balls and non-sticky less, but non-sticky also allowed you to get more with less effort in the celluloid era. IMHO, the nature of Dignics (not just 09c) is more hybrid than full Euro-Jap when you contrast it with Tenergy. Because of equipment speed and overall style, you were more likely to see European players lobbing and fishing as opposed to trying to finish pf the point with strong strikes close to the table. Doesn't mean the best players played that way, but that the faster equipment enabled lots more blocking and diverse styles at the top of Europe.

With the bigger ball now, everyone has to be physical. Its actually the guys who pivot less who are outliers but such guys all have powerful backhand technique. The game has pretty much homogenized with the stylistic differences being fewer and more subtle.

 

[zeio]

The so-called Chinese forehand actually differentiates between various situation-specific "subtypes" of the loop stroke, and in this case, 拉 (loop) and 快拉 (quick loop), where the former is the base form with a full stroke (straight arm) for higher quality when killing loose balls, having more time etc., and the latter is the refined form with a mini stroke (chicken wing) for faster timing and recovery when close to the table, being jammed or out of position etc.

Using Ma Lin @0:46 from dingyibvs's post, the 4th ball of the point is the loop and the 6th ball is the quick loop.
https://youtu.be/zshPmu5pFGc?t=43

拉与快拉的区别和应用 #何教练说乒乓#乒乓球训练 #乒乓球教学 (The difference between and the application of the loop and quick loop #CoachHeOnTableTennis #TableTennisTraining #TableTennisTutorial)
https://www.douyin.com/video/7592518132330356731