Feedback on backhand topspin

[GhostBackhand]

Also find it hard to know how much wrist to have. To much wrist and I think it becomes unsafe but probably good for spin. And I think more risk with penhold that it get to much wrist.

During practice, I find that the more I twist my wrist, the more spin I can generate and the easier it is to clear the net. However, my coach told me that in real matches, the speed is very fast, and I won’t have enough time to prepare and use that much wrist. Simply pointing the tip of the racket toward my left waist is enough, and I should focus on accelerating as quickly as possible.

 

[blahness]

I sometimes toy around with penhold too. Think this looks more like a shakehand BH than a penhold BH? Usually penholders have the racket tip more "dropped" ie pointing more towards the ground (a bit like how you had your penhold FH). I think the angle you have it lends itself to quite a lot of brushing and not enough "hit" in it?

The other thing probably is that your left arm looks like it's not helping you enough. Usually you can use it to measure the height of the incoming ball and moves to the left during the stroke to balance the body (otherwise it is very easy to be a bit unbalanced after the stroke which affects your stability and recovery). Most of the good BH players have very active left hands.

But your feeling on spin creation is really good. There's probably some issues in the middle area (which I also think is way easier dealt with shakehand BH than RPB, i feel like RPB in the middle area feels unnatural af so maybe i dont know enough) as well as BH-FH transitions but nothing that more training wouldnt fix - you look like you have good fundamentals.

 

[Lula]

During practice, I find that the more I twist my wrist, the more spin I can generate and the easier it is to clear the net. However, my coach told me that in real matches, the speed is very fast, and I won’t have enough time to prepare and use that much wrist. Simply pointing the tip of the racket toward my left waist is enough, and I should focus on accelerating as quickly as possible.

I feel that the risk is higher that the shot get a bit wobbly and not so safe. I agree it probably comes natural with the wrist if racket head point inward. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Lula]

I sometimes toy around with penhold too. Think this looks more like a shakehand BH than a penhold BH? Usually penholders have the racket tip more "dropped" ie pointing more towards the ground (a bit like how you had your penhold FH). I think the angle you have it lends itself to quite a lot of brushing and not enough "hit" in it?

The other thing probably is that your left arm looks like it's not helping you enough. Usually you can use it to measure the height of the incoming ball and moves to the left during the stroke to balance the body (otherwise it is very easy to be a bit unbalanced after the stroke which affects your stability and recovery). Most of the good BH players have very active left hands.

But your feeling on spin creation is really good. There's probably some issues in the middle area (which I also think is way easier dealt with shakehand BH than RPB, i feel like RPB in the middle area feels unnatural af so maybe i dont know enough) as well as BH-FH transitions but nothing that more training wouldnt fix - you look like you have good fundamentals.

I think racket head is like this since I try to hit the right side of the ball. Probably better to have relaxed and dropped. I’m just afraid that I will get to much angle so I hit the left side of the ball, think this makes it hard to hit forward. I always felt like I am good at hitting ”thick” and since I have short pimple forehand with less marginals for error I try to learn to brush more. I assume I could have something in the middle? It’s brush and hit.
I think I really try to focus here on hitting the right side of ball and go back and forth so maybe less motion in the rest of video due to that. But I also think I probably do not move the rest of the body so much and I become aware of this after filming. I think left arm is moving because people push from the legs and belly which I think create a lot of power. Maybe that also solve the previous issue. I can brush with arm but get power with body?

I also noticed that while blocking/brushing back I think my arm is way to much forward. Are fast in fh-bh like this but hard to get power and no control when the arm get so isolated from the body. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Lula]

Bad update: been coaching part time for at least 10+ years at this club. Usually do not bring my racket but brought it today. Usually leave bag in the ”coach room”. Yesterday someone stole my bag, left my bag but my racket case was gone. So need to get new rackets before training again.
A bit of pity, just got 6 new rubbers since I weaned three similar rackets which I could sand a bit differently. But fun to buy new blades! Any suggestions.
Previously blade was stiga carbo(7.6?) wrb. I think there are some carbon in this. Have used Yasaka goiabo and stiga clipper before. Interested in trying these and maybe yasaka extra offensive. Maybe carbon blade but I think maybe to fast? Some players I train have stiga inspira which I think have a nice feel.

 

[TenPercentWinRate]

Yes I do sand my penhold blade wings quite a bit. This is very subjective for many. I have seen some that file a while lot off both wings so much that the handle becomes narrower that you can have your thumb and index finger touching each other easily. Some almost none just shaving off the sharp edges off both sides and everything else in between. Low level and even elite player of way over 2000 levels.

For me, i only sand the edges off the thumb area. But I tried sanding deeply close to the index wing edge so that the index finger can grip the handle smoothly and easily to a more rounded from edge to edge on the index wing size so that its smooth and comfortable with less pressure on the index when gripping lightly. I personally prefer it the latter way.

I have also a range of people and coaches tell me that you have to have less pressure on the index to other saying there must be more pressure on the index. So I believe penhold grip is very personal. Even on the back three fingers.

For me I have a slight curl on the back 3 fingers. Closer to Dang Qui/Wang Hao grip and Wong Chun Ting and Felix who both have a very curled grip. Xu Xin has almost straight back 3 fingers and is very forehand oriented. Having straight back 3 fingers results in a more powerful forehand but very stiff backhand strokes. Painful for me even. You can try adjust this to suit your game/technique and grip comfort. I believe the grip that enables you to be more relax and loose if the one to go for. Its always the whip rather then the stiff power that wins out

The index is used to adjust angles and grip or ensure the blade does not fly out. But I ultimately went with a loose grip on the index. When the index is used alot to put pressure on the blade, it ultimately results in a very closed angle for the backhand. Ultimately for me, relying on the thumb and back 3 fingers resulted in a closer angle on the forehand and the more open angle on the backhand which suits me more. Curling the back three fingers more for a more backhand oriented game like WCT and Felix and does open the angle of the forehand more as well. See Felix forehand vs Dang Qiu and you will see what I mean. Felix has a very open blade angle for his forehand while Dang qiu has varied ones but can and does close his foreand angle more in loops and counter loops. I found that my power in both my forehand and backhand improved when I concentrated on using my thumb more and being more relaxed on the index. Again, Wang Hao in his tutorial does say that the index is the most important esp in the backhand loops and must be used to put pressure on the blade and who am I to argue with him. So ultimately, Penhold has more variations on grip then shakehand as everyone hands is different. Even the shape of the handles from STiga and Butterfly and Donic and Xiom are all different. Note that butterfly has 2 different size of penhold grips on their blades as well. Their Viscaria and Viscaria SALC are all on the smaller and thinner side by a lot compared to the rest of their penhold models. So if you want a bigger handle for ALC, go with FZD ALC or Timo Boll ALC. For SALC, go with FZD SALC.

Oh another area that people have sanded is the back of the handle where the webbing between your thumb and index seats on. This thins the blade and adjust the neutral angle of the blade as well. It also relives pressure on the index and thumb somewhat. Perhaps you can try it on a spare cheap blade to see if that works for you.

Hope you find out what works for you!

If your arms hurt, blame your technique.
If your fingers hurt, THEN blame the racket.

A good rule of thumb is to sand when you go on a losing rampage. After you sand to a point, you end up winning satisfactory amounts of your games, or just completely delete the handle.

 

[TenPercentWinRate]

Oh yeah, for your backhand topspin , I agree with the people that said your racket angle is too closed.

It’s actually kinda unnoticeable at first, but to open your racket face you could simply rotate your lower arm rather than just completely relying on thumb pressure.

 

[Lula]

Oh yeah, for your backhand topspin , I agree with the people that said your racket angle is too closed.

It’s actually kinda unnoticeable at first, but to open your racket face you could simply rotate your lower arm rather than just completely relying on thumb pressure.

Yes, I believe more in moving wrist and arm then press with thumb to much. Yeah risky business to sand the handle I feel. I was hoping to have several blades to try it on. Too bad I got two stolen now.

 

[BackhandSteve]

Hello friend! Stopped reading after i read "second time playing after a long break".

You haven't played for a while. So it's normal to feel like something is "off".
I saw your video: Nice arm movement. Im no penholder but I see that you have a good backhand stroke.

Conclusion: When you don't play for a while you lose the sense of timing in terms of stroke and body movements. But this will naturally return.
You have also recently switched to glasses! I have done this too. And I know exactly how it feels, and this can affect your overall "feeling" of the game. But I got used to it, and now i don't even think about it. And so will you!

Give it some time. Play some games and have fun. Everything will sort itself out

If your health allows, then work on your footwork. Look at Felix Lebrun, like a rabbit on caffeine xD
Looks like you might have your weight placed on your heels a bit. And the reason probably is that you havent played for a while.

Så fortsätt bara spela så löser det sig

All the best

 

[Lula]

Nice to hear that you are so positive! Also great self confidence haha, HandsomeSteve. Yeah, i think i will get better if i start training more. Before i practiced 4-5 a week aswell, now 1-2. Will try to practice a bit more.

Cool that you glasses works for you! do you have some kind of rubber on them at the nose or ears? they are slipping off a bit.

Yes, i have also been eating more and done a bit of strenght training so probably heavier in general. Need the basic strokes but i really do think it is a misconception to practice to much just basic at one spot but you can not move well, do bh-fh change and put it together with serve return. Useless to have a strong backhand if you can not use it.

Kul med flera svenskar här! Tack för stödet. Kör hårt du med Ha en fin helg

 

[BackhandSteve]

Nice to hear that you are so positive! Also great self confidence haha, HandsomeSteve. Yeah, i think i will get better if i start training more. Before i practiced 4-5 a week aswell, now 1-2. Will try to practice a bit more.

Cool that you glasses works for you! do you have some kind of rubber on them at the nose or ears? they are slipping off a bit.

Yes, i have also been eating more and done a bit of strenght training so probably heavier in general. Need the basic strokes but i really do think it is a misconception to practice to much just basic at one spot but you can not move well, do bh-fh change and put it together with serve return. Useless to have a strong backhand if you can not use it.

Kul med flera svenskar här! Tack för stödet. Kör hårt du med Ha en fin helg

Yes😁

I do not have anything extra on my glasses. But if you go to optikern they can böja dem åt dig så att dem sitter bättre på näsan och vid öronen. Då kommer dem inte trilla av. That is the way to go👌

Have also played with linser men det var dyrt och i slutändan orkar man inte ta på dem och av. 😂

Vilken klubb spelar du i?
jag spelar i Halmstad

 

[Lula]

Är det okej att jag skriver på engelsk? Tror de kan bli sura här annars 🙂
they are already bent at the ears, but still moves when I get wet.
I train and coach in BTK Safir. Long time ago since I was active. Okey, good tabletennis in Halmstad. Was coaching at the summer camp there one year some years ago. One of my old players went there for school. Have also been in same training group as Fabian before. Must be much nicer in the summer. Can imagine it is really cold and windy in the winter haha 🙂

 

[BackhandSteve]

Är det okej att jag skriver på engelsk? Tror de kan bli sura här annars 🙂
they are already bent at the ears, but still moves when I get wet.
I train and coach in BTK Safir. Long time ago since I was active. Okey, good tabletennis in Halmstad. Was coaching at the summer camp there one year some years ago. One of my old players went there for school. Have also been in same training group as Fabian before. Must be much nicer in the summer. Can imagine it is really cold and windy in the winter haha 🙂

Absolut.

Yes Fabian is my coach 😂

I have been to summercamp here many times. Maybe you have been my coach. How long ago was it? I was there around 2018

 

[Lula]

Absolut.

Yes Fabian is my coach 😂

I have been to summercamp here many times. Maybe you have been my coach. How long ago was it? I was there around 2018

I think i was there 2021. Ended up basically sleeping alone with all the kids in the school haha but it was a fun experiment. But i do think the camp is to big. Same with Falkenberg. Still good camps, but hard to really keep up the quality when it is so many players.

 

[Lula]

Tried to focus a bit more on getting racket towards belly and relax. I think it was a bit better in the beginning of the training. This is the end, lost it a bit there. Also trying to do the motion slow, so i do more correct. Using Fastarc G1 here, almost a bit soft some times.

Think i could try to think more that i should hug a big pilates ball so maybe i can get elbow and shoulder a bit more in front. Feels like i still do not have so much space or room to move the forearm. As long as the racket angle is still okey and i can hit forward.
No sound, trying to respect my training partner.

Also tried some TPB just for fun. Probably more relevant to do some chopblocks with that side.

New video · Saturday, Mar 28 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Lula]

If someone is still interested haha.
Trying to put elbow more in front of and get racket a bit more towards belly. Still feel a bit stiff and I still think I should hit the right side of the ball a bit more. Could probably use a bit of body aswell.

New video · Wednesday, Apr 1 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[NextLevel]

If someone is still interested haha.
Trying to put elbow more in front of and get racket a bit more towards belly. Still feel a bit stiff and I still think I should hit the right side of the ball a bit more. Could probably use a bit of body aswell.

New video · Wednesday, Apr 1 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

Natural RPB tends to have more sidespin (racket pointing a bit more downwards) and a bit more upper arm, your stroke is too clean lol and mildly artificial.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

View attachment 4a16b9aa-1b16-4536-8afd-033b27ad713d.mp4
Real bh!
All modern awesome bh starts with a mini squat. Power is from the ground up.

 

[Lula]

Haha my plan is to try to create good spin and be good at kicking against loop then learn to do sidespin chopblock/push with tpb so it gets a little nasty.

I do not understand the video?

 

[Bran]

If someone is still interested haha.
Trying to put elbow more in front of and get racket a bit more towards belly. Still feel a bit stiff and I still think I should hit the right side of the ball a bit more. Could probably use a bit of body aswell.

New video · Wednesday, Apr 1 🎬

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

Same as @NextLevel. It's better but don't think about the amount of side vs top spin. RPB naturally has a stronger inclination, which makes banana flicking easier, by the way.