Daily Table Tennis Chit Chat

[Der_Echte]

Hi @gordonluvsu

You are talking about what should be discussed much more frequently.

I also believe that one must see the impact of opponent and in the first .2 meter of ball travel discern what happened, where/what/how/when ball is going and what you will do about it.

This happens at subconscious level and is almost instant.

I believe you are correct if you say that if we as TT players try to consciously think any part of this, and worse, ALL of this, that we would utterly fail and not make a timely response.

There are MANY considerations for shot selection and execution and you have BEGUN to speak of them. This stuff should get a LOT more discussion and thought by TT players.

Maybe it is that many jokers on forums only want to see sexy H3 boosted rubber pics and not learn any actual skill of TT. many sure act like that and appear to be utterly uninterested in discussion the nuances of TT that contribute to development.

 

[Der_Echte]

Yes, my problem with my FH is that I had either a weak af counter, or a very strong loopkill with no gears in between. I've recently been trying to change that - to have a stronger short stroke FH quick counter as a middle gear to deal with faster balls. Tbh I really dig how Timo Boll does it, I think he has one of the best close table FH counter.

Give a shot at raising bat, allow ball to come to strike zone, use a shorter swing with 20 percent less power and a LOOSE grip at impact... but still accelerate the lower arm and wrist through the ball at impact.

You will be surprised at what happens... and if you do this for a while, you will be surprised at how well you can see the ball to impact zone and your powerful shots using more backswing and more body torque become more consistent.

 

[dingyibvs]

Hi @dingyibvs , you are relatively young and you see this with you... I am approaching 60 with 30 yrs military wear and tear on joints and body and i feel it too.

It isn't an excuse, it is reality and how body and mind works.

One can only go so far on endorphins and adrenaline. You can ask Carl and Next level how somehow I always manage to defy physics and perform when I visit NYC... by all rights I should be so totally flat and slow and crappy.

What you have shared is true. After a day or three of hard exertion, one simply cannot continue at the same intensity. Just isn't gunna happen. The mind works differently too. You just do not respond to the same stimuli the same way, often nowhere near as effectively. It is simply reality.

You have the same fighting spirit and attitude as me, I wanna win even in checkers. I set high standards and feel i MUST achieve them and am very critical of myself when I do not... it is a form of self accountability, but it should be balanced with reality and a longer developmental perspective.

You will have many see-saw periods... what you look for is how you respond and perform compared to months and years ago... how your quality and decisions improve... those translate later to points, games, and matches won.

I'm a big believer of you play the way you practice, so I get dismayed when I'm unable to maintain footwork or proper stance during practice. My legs were just too tired yesterday, so I was reaching here and there, and not getting low enough or move in enough for some shots. That was a bit frustrating.

Part of it is just the schedule is a bit off this week. I usually play at the club on Tues, Fri, and Sat, and practice at home Wed +/- Mon. I adjust my intensity of practice usually, take frequent breaks if needed, so it's not necessarily too strenuous so long as I have the necessary intensity when I do practice. This week I worked late on Wed so instead of practicing on Wed and resting on Thurs before my consecutive club days I rested on Wed and practiced on Thurs. Due to the rest day, I felt good on Thurs and was excited about the new lower body usage technique and the start of some FH training so got a little carried away with practice.

 

[NextLevel]

Hi @gordonluvsu

You are talking about what should be discussed much more frequently.

I also believe that one must see the impact of opponent and in the first .2 meter of ball travel discern what happened, where/what/how/when ball is going and what you will do about it.

This happens at subconscious level and is almost instant.

I believe you are correct if you say that if we as TT players try to consciously think any part of this, and worse, ALL of this, that we would utterly fail and not make a timely response.

There are MANY considerations for shot selection and execution and you have BEGUN to speak of them. This stuff should get a LOT more discussion and thought by TT players.

Maybe it is that many jokers on forums only want to see sexy H3 boosted rubber pics and not learn any actual skill of TT. many sure act like that and appear to be utterly uninterested in discussion the nuances of TT that contribute to development.

I believe the biggest reason my game has been locked is that my knees make me resist movement and therefore I am struggling to dynamically adapt my playing distance to see the game as it gets faster and players hit with more power. Hard to accept and I will continue to look for solutions but it is what it is. It is hard to read the play when you can't move instinctively to adapt to it.

 

[Emin]

I would honestly like to teach more and help people structurally and effectively improve and learn, not only in table tennis.
I am trying to help the younger players at my club but I dont have all the time in the world and I try to utilize every chance I can get to train myself as I rarely get to train with good or better players.
Maybe I will open a thread dedicated to this, covering every area that I can think of to learn, improve, structurally with a plan and maximum effectiveness
For that time being, Ill do what I can here and there.

About your knees.

my knees make me resist movement

I have also struggled with knee and generally lower body problems, largely due to my severely flat feet, causing many issues.
First of all, bracing your core and engaging more of your body tissues into movements that usually put load on your knee helps.
I can recommend lunges, and a variety of basic plyometrics that dont feel overwhelming at the start to get used to it: jumping left to right, front to back, on 1 leg, both legs, lifting heel, putting body-weight load on knees ankles and calves in different ways,
try to do it regularly in the evenings, mornings, while brushing your teeth. etc...,
some few basic things.

If anyone is interested in improving, learning and that sort of stuff, i am there to help.
Videos are very valuable for learning as well btw. ,
"A picture is worth a thousand words"

 

[ben1229]

Foot work is more important I agree that, 7 on foot 3 on hand. That's what my coach told me when I in middle school team. But when getting older and older, the only thing I can keep play good is use my brain .

 

[NextLevel]

I would honestly like to teach more and help people structurally and effectively improve and learn, not only in table tennis.
I am trying to help the younger players at my club but I dont have all the time in the world and I try to utilize every chance I can get to train myself as I rarely get to train with good or better players.
Maybe I will open a thread dedicated to this, covering every area that I can think of to learn, improve, structurally with a plan and maximum effectiveness
For that time being, Ill do what I can here and there.

About your knees.

I have also struggled with knee and generally lower body problems, largely due to my severely flat feet, causing many issues.
First of all, bracing your core and engaging more of your body tissues into movements that usually put load on your knee helps.
I can recommend lunges, and a variety of basic plyometrics that dont feel overwhelming at the start to get used to it: jumping left to right, front to back, on 1 leg, both legs, lifting heel, putting body-weight load on knees ankles and calves in different ways,
try to do it regularly in the evenings, mornings, while brushing your teeth. etc...,
some few basic things.

If anyone is interested in improving, learning and that sort of stuff, i am there to help.
Videos are very valuable for learning as well btw. ,
"A picture is worth a thousand words"

I have arthritis and lots of lost tendons and ligaments in various joints due to autoimmune arthritis so it isnt that straightforward. But yes, I am trying to push the limits of exercise but as with all things, the results are mixed. But the only way out is through so I keep going.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

I had my first tournament yesterday with my new faster racket (ZJK T5000 + Dignics). It was a group of 15 players with round robin format (5 rounds) and no elimination. in terms of (unofficial) rankings i was seeded 13th out of 15th

it was the big rollercoaster for me. between matches. also within a match.

Match 1 against a chopper , c.200 points above. with a lot of grit i unexpectedly won the first 2 games at deuce, including a incredible block on the wide BH that lands on the nearest opposite corner on game point.
but its downhill from there, a mix of everything and i end up losing. He kept on serving straight line with his BH to my FH and I had trouble with that till the end. (2-3 10 11 -8 -5 -7)

Match 2 against PH push blocker with LP. c100 above. Its perhaps the style I'm struggling most against. down 0-2 very hard. my biggest mistake was that LP dropshot to my FH where i tried to loop while on the move. I decide just to take the ball later and put it back gently on the table to see what happens... and the whole match changes. Score reverses in G3 G4. G5 i had a bad start 3-6 but win it 11-9. at 8-8 he missed his serve, I knew I would win. 3-2 (-5 -7 6 5 9)

Match 3 against a young classic attacker (c.30 below). Should be the easiest matchup for me. But im totally outplayed. He's playing boldly and attacking everything before me. I miss all my blocks in G1 G2. G3 i block very well and win this one but hes still the one with initiative most of the time. G4 he gives pushes and i make too many mistakes plus i block over again. I think biggest problem in this match is I couldn't keep serves short. Also, wasn't well prepared and then suffered from pressure. 1-3 (-8 -6 11 -6). He played as ** I ** should have played.

Match 4 against a girl. She's an excellent player, actually she was best 8 at the national over30 masters tournament 2 years ago and I've seen her win a lot of tournaments as we play at the same place. in G1 she took the early lead as i netted a few of her underspin serves but i will adapt.
She plays with SP in BH, able to attack quickly on the bounce. I know she would win 90% of BH rallies and fast rallies so my tactic is to give her slow balls to her BH (short pushes or long loops) and force her to attack with fast backspin pushes to wide FH. and it works !! . I won G1 with grit. G2 thanks to a headstart thanks to surprise serves. G3 was very close but lost as near the end she showed me her special Ding Ning tomahawk serves.
G4 outplayed and G5 was leading 10-8 but she played well to make it 10-10 and somehow I managed to close the game winning a spectacular rally at 10-10 and also the next rally. I was also able to return well the tomahawk she used again in the last moments.
My best match in ages. a "landmark" win for me 3-2 (11 7 -11 -4 10). To her credit, she almost never practices with men so she was in a very unfamiliar situation. It was also her first such tournament, and wasn't in "killer" mode. she was smiling or laughing after a good point from either side.

Match 5 against a veteran with SP on both sides (c.150 above). I'm totally outplayed 0-3 loss. too much interval between M4 and M5. Only in G3 i play better as i manage to refocus + i go back one half step to receive. but at 8-10 i serve in the net. what a stupid way to lose the last match of the day. 0-3 (-3 -5 -8)

---
all in all i'm rather happy and its been a long time i've not enjoyed myself that much in a tournament. I'm a screamer and when I'm loud its a good sign. I was rather silent the whole of last year.

Regarding the new racket, even in the short game or receive i was happy today. I think the biggest problem was being unable to keep serves short else i thought i was playing well with it. The other mistakes I would have done with the other racket as well.

 

[dingyibvs]

I had my first tournament yesterday with my new faster racket (ZJK T5000 + Dignics). It was a group of 15 players with round robin format (5 rounds) and no elimination. in terms of (unofficial) rankings i was seeded 13th out of 15th

it was the big rollercoaster for me. between matches. also within a match.

Match 1 against a chopper , c.200 points above. with a lot of grit i unexpectedly won the first 2 games at deuce, including a incredible block on the wide BH that lands on the nearest opposite corner on game point.
but its downhill from there, a mix of everything and i end up losing. He kept on serving straight line with his BH to my FH and I had trouble with that till the end. (2-3 10 11 -8 -5 -7)

Match 2 against PH push blocker with LP. c100 above. Its perhaps the style I'm struggling most against. down 0-2 very hard. my biggest mistake was that LP dropshot to my FH where i tried to loop while on the move. I decide just to take the ball later and put it back gently on the table to see what happens... and the whole match changes. Score reverses in G3 G4. G5 i had a bad start 3-6 but win it 11-9. at 8-8 he missed his serve, I knew I would win. 3-2 (-5 -7 6 5 9)

Match 3 against a young classic attacker (c.30 below). Should be the easiest matchup for me. But im totally outplayed. He's playing boldly and attacking everything before me. I miss all my blocks in G1 G2. G3 i block very well and win this one but hes still the one with initiative most of the time. G4 he gives pushes and i make too many mistakes plus i block over again. I think biggest problem in this match is I couldn't keep serves short. Also, wasn't well prepared and then suffered from pressure. 1-3 (-8 -6 11 -6). He played as ** I ** should have played.

Match 4 against a girl. She's an excellent player, actually she was best 8 at the national over30 masters tournament 2 years ago and I've seen her win a lot of tournaments as we play at the same place. in G1 she took the early lead as i netted a few of her underspin serves but i will adapt.
She plays with SP in BH, able to attack quickly on the bounce. I know she would win 90% of BH rallies and fast rallies so my tactic is to give her slow balls to her BH (short pushes or long loops) and force her to attack with fast backspin pushes to wide FH. and it works !! . I won G1 with grit. G2 thanks to a headstart thanks to surprise serves. G3 was very close but lost as near the end she showed me her special Ding Ning tomahawk serves.
G4 outplayed and G5 was leading 10-8 but she played well to make it 10-10 and somehow I managed to close the game winning a spectacular rally at 10-10 and also the next rally. I was also able to return well the tomahawk she used again in the last moments.
My best match in ages. a "landmark" win for me 3-2 (11 7 -11 -4 10). To her credit, she almost never practices with men so she was in a very unfamiliar situation. It was also her first such tournament, and wasn't in "killer" mode. she was smiling or laughing after a good point from either side.

Match 5 against a veteran with SP on both sides (c.150 above). I'm totally outplayed 0-3 loss. too much interval between M4 and M5. Only in G3 i play better as i manage to refocus + i go back one half step to receive. but at 8-10 i serve in the net. what a stupid way to lose the last match of the day. 0-3 (-3 -5 -8)

---
all in all i'm rather happy and its been a long time i've not enjoyed myself that much in a tournament. I'm a screamer and when I'm loud its a good sign. I was rather silent the whole of last year.

Regarding the new racket, even in the short game or receive i was happy today. I think the biggest problem was being unable to keep serves short else i thought i was playing well with it. The other mistakes I would have done with the other racket as well.

Glad to hear you're having so much fun! I'm hoping I can play in a tournament later in the year as well. I don't have much such experience and I'm rather poor at adapting to new players, so I'll need to go to more clubs around me to get more experience and exposure before that.

I had a pretty fun day myself at the club today. Started off with a few doubles matches. I gotta say, doubles feels so different for me on the BH side. I can't seem to hit jack shiz. It's fine for the FH, but the running around and looping really wreaks havoc for my BH.

After that I played against the looper Thomas again. We only started practicing against each other 2 weeks ago, and when he asked what I wanted to practice I told him some BHs since I don't feel very confident about it (especially after the doubles). He was very surprised and told me that he thought I was better on the BH side. He said it was powerful and consistent. He thought my FH was more powerful but not as accurate.

I actually wasn't sure how to feel about that On the one hand I was happy that he thinks highly of my BH, but OTOH I guess I really need to start working on my FH again! We ended the session with an impromptu fast no spin serve to his BH practice. He needed it because as a mostly TPB player his receive has been passive, too easy for a two-win looper like me to take advantage of. I needed it because I used to always look to pivot and have been burned a lot on down the line returns, so I needed to develop a new system of two-side attacks. It went really well. He got better at using RPB to return it with spin, and I got comfortable at using my BH to attack the return.

 

[latej]

I got into discussion with my team players about timeout, while driving. I was convinced we can have 1 timeout per game, they told me we can have 1 timeout per match. I was ready to bet 400E on it ;-) but I guess it's good the bet was not realized. So now I think that in TT we have 1 timeout per match, but in ITTF events the players can have 1 timeout per game - and because I watch mostly those I thought it is so for everybody. Anybody can confirm? I don't want to start a thread for it. Cheers.

 

[dingyibvs]

I got into discussion with my team players about timeout, while driving. I was convinced we can have 1 timeout per game, they told me we can have 1 timeout per match. I was ready to bet 400E on it ;-) but I guess it's good the bet was not realized. So now I think that in TT we have 1 timeout per match, but in ITTF events the players can have 1 timeout per game - and because I watch mostly those I thought it is so for everybody. Anybody can confirm? I don't want to start a thread for it. Cheers.

Definitely 1 per match for ITTF events lol. Maybe you're thinking of the break between games?

 

[latej]

Definitely 1 per match for ITTF events lol. Maybe you're thinking of the break between games?

No I really was 100% sure 1 per set/game ;-) oh my...

Thanks, dingyibvs.

 

[blahness]

I had my first tournament yesterday with my new faster racket (ZJK T5000 + Dignics). It was a group of 15 players with round robin format (5 rounds) and no elimination. in terms of (unofficial) rankings i was seeded 13th out of 15th

it was the big rollercoaster for me. between matches. also within a match.

Match 1 against a chopper , c.200 points above. with a lot of grit i unexpectedly won the first 2 games at deuce, including a incredible block on the wide BH that lands on the nearest opposite corner on game point.
but its downhill from there, a mix of everything and i end up losing. He kept on serving straight line with his BH to my FH and I had trouble with that till the end. (2-3 10 11 -8 -5 -7)

Match 2 against PH push blocker with LP. c100 above. Its perhaps the style I'm struggling most against. down 0-2 very hard. my biggest mistake was that LP dropshot to my FH where i tried to loop while on the move. I decide just to take the ball later and put it back gently on the table to see what happens... and the whole match changes. Score reverses in G3 G4. G5 i had a bad start 3-6 but win it 11-9. at 8-8 he missed his serve, I knew I would win. 3-2 (-5 -7 6 5 9)

Match 3 against a young classic attacker (c.30 below). Should be the easiest matchup for me. But im totally outplayed. He's playing boldly and attacking everything before me. I miss all my blocks in G1 G2. G3 i block very well and win this one but hes still the one with initiative most of the time. G4 he gives pushes and i make too many mistakes plus i block over again. I think biggest problem in this match is I couldn't keep serves short. Also, wasn't well prepared and then suffered from pressure. 1-3 (-8 -6 11 -6). He played as ** I ** should have played.

Match 4 against a girl. She's an excellent player, actually she was best 8 at the national over30 masters tournament 2 years ago and I've seen her win a lot of tournaments as we play at the same place. in G1 she took the early lead as i netted a few of her underspin serves but i will adapt.
She plays with SP in BH, able to attack quickly on the bounce. I know she would win 90% of BH rallies and fast rallies so my tactic is to give her slow balls to her BH (short pushes or long loops) and force her to attack with fast backspin pushes to wide FH. and it works !! . I won G1 with grit. G2 thanks to a headstart thanks to surprise serves. G3 was very close but lost as near the end she showed me her special Ding Ning tomahawk serves.
G4 outplayed and G5 was leading 10-8 but she played well to make it 10-10 and somehow I managed to close the game winning a spectacular rally at 10-10 and also the next rally. I was also able to return well the tomahawk she used again in the last moments.
My best match in ages. a "landmark" win for me 3-2 (11 7 -11 -4 10). To her credit, she almost never practices with men so she was in a very unfamiliar situation. It was also her first such tournament, and wasn't in "killer" mode. she was smiling or laughing after a good point from either side.

Match 5 against a veteran with SP on both sides (c.150 above). I'm totally outplayed 0-3 loss. too much interval between M4 and M5. Only in G3 i play better as i manage to refocus + i go back one half step to receive. but at 8-10 i serve in the net. what a stupid way to lose the last match of the day. 0-3 (-3 -5 -8)

---
all in all i'm rather happy and its been a long time i've not enjoyed myself that much in a tournament. I'm a screamer and when I'm loud its a good sign. I was rather silent the whole of last year.

Regarding the new racket, even in the short game or receive i was happy today. I think the biggest problem was being unable to keep serves short else i thought i was playing well with it. The other mistakes I would have done with the other racket as well.

It seems like you're in fact playing better with the new racket haha. Yes with a fast setup you need to use more body and direct the force more side and upwards when serving short - the setup is so bouncy that you cannot afford to have too much forward movement. For me I go side and upwards when serving short - and only forwards when I wanna serve long. It was a bit of an adjustment for me too. You really have to think about "robbing momentum" from the ball rather than imparting force whenever you're trying to slow the ball down to control it when using a fast setup.

I think I play better with my fast setup too. I just feel like I can force my aggressive attacking game on even the players who don't want to play such a game and really force lazier opponents to move. The attacks off spinny balls become a lot easier because the nontacky rubbers are just not so reactive to spin. Whereas in the past playing with tackier rubbers I had to respect the incoming spin a lot more and play with a lot more control and care.

 

[Gozo Aruna]

Don't call me a flat-hitter anymore. I can now topspin... two years later. Better late than never.

p/s countless hours at the rebounding board, drilling my FH topspin over and over again. At last I can topspin in a real game.

 

[blahness]

I can't believe there has not been any discussion on the Europe Top 16 2024 tournament - I found the matches highly entertaining, especially the Truls matchups, and the rematch of the Lebruns (that match is a crazy match with such high octane speeds that I thought I was watching Wang Chuqin vs Lin Shidong lol)

 

[IB66]

I had my first tournament yesterday with my new faster racket (ZJK T5000 + Dignics). It was a group of 15 players with round robin format (5 rounds) and no elimination. in terms of (unofficial) rankings i was seeded 13th out of 15th

it was the big rollercoaster for me. between matches. also within a match.

Match 1 against a chopper , c.200 points above. with a lot of grit i unexpectedly won the first 2 games at deuce, including a incredible block on the wide BH that lands on the nearest opposite corner on game point.
but its downhill from there, a mix of everything and i end up losing. He kept on serving straight line with his BH to my FH and I had trouble with that till the end. (2-3 10 11 -8 -5 -7)

Match 2 against PH push blocker with LP. c100 above. Its perhaps the style I'm struggling most against. down 0-2 very hard. my biggest mistake was that LP dropshot to my FH where i tried to loop while on the move. I decide just to take the ball later and put it back gently on the table to see what happens... and the whole match changes. Score reverses in G3 G4. G5 i had a bad start 3-6 but win it 11-9. at 8-8 he missed his serve, I knew I would win. 3-2 (-5 -7 6 5 9)

Match 3 against a young classic attacker (c.30 below). Should be the easiest matchup for me. But im totally outplayed. He's playing boldly and attacking everything before me. I miss all my blocks in G1 G2. G3 i block very well and win this one but hes still the one with initiative most of the time. G4 he gives pushes and i make too many mistakes plus i block over again. I think biggest problem in this match is I couldn't keep serves short. Also, wasn't well prepared and then suffered from pressure. 1-3 (-8 -6 11 -6). He played as ** I ** should have played.

Match 4 against a girl. She's an excellent player, actually she was best 8 at the national over30 masters tournament 2 years ago and I've seen her win a lot of tournaments as we play at the same place. in G1 she took the early lead as i netted a few of her underspin serves but i will adapt.
She plays with SP in BH, able to attack quickly on the bounce. I know she would win 90% of BH rallies and fast rallies so my tactic is to give her slow balls to her BH (short pushes or long loops) and force her to attack with fast backspin pushes to wide FH. and it works !! . I won G1 with grit. G2 thanks to a headstart thanks to surprise serves. G3 was very close but lost as near the end she showed me her special Ding Ning tomahawk serves.
G4 outplayed and G5 was leading 10-8 but she played well to make it 10-10 and somehow I managed to close the game winning a spectacular rally at 10-10 and also the next rally. I was also able to return well the tomahawk she used again in the last moments.
My best match in ages. a "landmark" win for me 3-2 (11 7 -11 -4 10). To her credit, she almost never practices with men so she was in a very unfamiliar situation. It was also her first such tournament, and wasn't in "killer" mode. she was smiling or laughing after a good point from either side.

Match 5 against a veteran with SP on both sides (c.150 above). I'm totally outplayed 0-3 loss. too much interval between M4 and M5. Only in G3 i play better as i manage to refocus + i go back one half step to receive. but at 8-10 i serve in the net. what a stupid way to lose the last match of the day. 0-3 (-3 -5 -8)

---
all in all i'm rather happy and its been a long time i've not enjoyed myself that much in a tournament. I'm a screamer and when I'm loud its a good sign. I was rather silent the whole of last year.

Regarding the new racket, even in the short game or receive i was happy today. I think the biggest problem was being unable to keep serves short else i thought i was playing well with it. The other mistakes I would have done with the other racket as well.

Hey Takkyu, I remember you posting that you were having a hard time last year, great to see that you're somewhat happier and have got you enthusiasm back!!

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I can't believe there has not been any discussion on the Europe Top 16 2024 tournament - I found the matches highly entertaining, especially the Truls matchups, and the rematch of the Lebruns (that match is a crazy match with such high octane speeds that I thought I was watching Wang Chuqin vs Lin Shidong lol)

There is already a thread for ET16. Go away and leave us noobs talk about noobie stuff here... like how cheap I can get Dignica from Lazada etc

 

[dingyibvs]

Today at the club I specifically looked to play against some unconventional players. My BH feels quite comfortable now playing against your typically two-wing bloopers, but it still gets all out of sorts when a lot of variations are thrown at it. Today my opponent most of the time was a BH anti guy.

I can usually beat him pretty easily with a simple push to his BH and attack the returning shot strategy, but today I wanted to attack everything with my BH. Last time I tried that I lost to him 3-2. This time he only won 2 sets in 12 tries, so definitely an improvement. However, I found two weak areas that I need to work on.

First is the short no spin service. To attack that, I use the banana flick, but I had a lot of trouble getting the feeling of holding the ball to spin it. It seems to just bounce off my racket right away, and the result is a rather weak topspin which he can sometimes counter pretty well against. I found that adding body rotation helps, but it still didn't feel great. I need to practice a bit against it to find the best way to flick it.

The second is that I lower my racket too much when I loop backspins with my BH. Sometimes when the ball comes fast I even hit my own thigh. It also makes for an unnecessary upward movement before I go forward, which reduces consistency and power. I need to develop the habit of making the backswing toward my hip instead of my thigh. I've already known that my legs provide enough lift, so there's no need to lift with my arm, and during my forward swing I'm already going much more forward than upward than before. However, this bad habit on the backswing still hasn't been fixed yet.

 

[Wrighty67]

Today at the club I specifically looked to play against some unconventional players. My BH feels quite comfortable now playing against your typically two-wing bloopers, but it still gets all out of sorts when a lot of variations are thrown at it. Today my opponent most of the time was a BH anti guy.

I can usually beat him pretty easily with a simple push to his BH and attack the returning shot strategy, but today I wanted to attack everything with my BH. Last time I tried that I lost to him 3-2. This time he only won 2 sets in 12 tries, so definitely an improvement. However, I found two weak areas that I need to work on.

First is the short no spin service. To attack that, I use the banana flick, but I had a lot of trouble getting the feeling of holding the ball to spin it. It seems to just bounce off my racket right away, and the result is a rather weak topspin which he can sometimes counter pretty well against. I found that adding body rotation helps, but it still didn't feel great. I need to practice a bit against it to find the best way to flick it.

The second is that I lower my racket too much when I loop backspins with my BH. Sometimes when the ball comes fast I even hit my own thigh. It also makes for an unnecessary upward movement before I go forward, which reduces consistency and power. I need to develop the habit of making the backswing toward my hip instead of my thigh. I've already known that my legs provide enough lift, so there's no need to lift with my arm, and during my forward swing I'm already going much more forward than upward than before. However, this bad habit on the backswing still hasn't been fixed yet.

"The second is that I lower my racket too much when I loop backspins with my BH. Sometimes when the ball comes fast I even hit my own thigh. It also makes for an unnecessary upward movement before I go forward, which reduces consistency and power. I need to develop the habit of making the backswing toward my hip instead of my thigh. I've already known that my legs provide enough lift, so there's no need to lift with my arm, and during my forward swing I'm already going much more forward than upward than before. However, this bad habit on the backswing still hasn't been fixed yet."

I can relate to this completely - I also tend to drop my bat and my movement is often too upwards before forwards which unless it is a very heave deep backspin ball, is not helpful and precludes a decent loop drive. I also have this tendency on FH, but not as marked. It's a tough habit to break and can also impact my returns/counters vs topspin when I also drop my bat too low at times.

 

[dingyibvs]

"The second is that I lower my racket too much when I loop backspins with my BH. Sometimes when the ball comes fast I even hit my own thigh. It also makes for an unnecessary upward movement before I go forward, which reduces consistency and power. I need to develop the habit of making the backswing toward my hip instead of my thigh. I've already known that my legs provide enough lift, so there's no need to lift with my arm, and during my forward swing I'm already going much more forward than upward than before. However, this bad habit on the backswing still hasn't been fixed yet."

I can relate to this completely - I also tend to drop my bat and my movement is often too upwards before forwards which unless it is a very heave deep backspin ball, is not helpful and precludes a decent loop drive. I also have this tendency on FH, but not as marked. It's a tough habit to break and can also impact my returns/counters vs topspin when I also drop my bat too low at times.

FH is not as big of an issue as your racket is a good couple of feet further back at the end of the backswing compared to the BH. There's time to bring it up and go properly forward. On the BH side though you'd end up with an awkwardly exaggerated up then forward arc. If you look at a lot of pros if they take the ball off the bounce the backswing doesn't even fully go below the table, so pulling it down to the thigh definitely is unnecessary and needs to be fixed!