How low/wide should the stance be?

[iamsancezz]

Hi guys,
currently i try out some different Variation of low/high and wide/super wide stances.

Most of the time i played a super wide and just minimally bended knees and overall balance forward.

While this is great for topspin kind of strokes, for recieve and looping underspin it is more beneficial for me to be more bended. Sadly my movements are losing the smoothness.

Looking at the pros they have a super wide stance which I also prefer but then again I don't feel they also don't bend their knees that much.

Well I'm curious to hear your opinions about it. Kind regards. San

 

[blahness]

What I learnt recently is that you can bend from the hips more for both FH and BH to get lower to loop underspin. I used to bend a lot from the knees, but really the hip bending method saves a lot of energy because then you don't need to bend at the knees so much and your centre of gravity can stay more vertically stable. Ma Long often goes to 45 deg leans or more for eg... while Fan Zhendong and Timo Boll bend less on the hips and more on the knees.

 

[dingyibvs]

Legs mostly play a support role, not in direct power generation for most shots. The advantage of bent knees is quicker movement. You don't need to bend them further to kick sideways to move in position for a shot when they're already bent.

 

[Kolev]

Bending my knees is my pill, but I usually forget to take it. When playing with lower stance my spin reading improves dramatically and certainly my offensive shots. Blocking becomes trickier though..😏
I try to keep my feet at the shoulder width or maybe a tiny bit more. Too open feet kind a blocks my movements

 

[NDH]

This entirely depends on your height.

The taller you are, the wider your stance should be to give you a balanced footing when getting low.

Generally speaking, the lower you are, the better (within reason!)

But if you struggle to recover from a low position, I would find the lowest position you can be in where you feel most comfortable.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

the widest and lowest you can as long as you can still move fast.

requires training. the more you do basic drills, the stronger your body will become so you can have a better stance. any training / fitness outside the gym is also beneficial

 

[ricospin]

Funny enough, almost all of my coaches (2 from provincial team, 1 iran nat team) have said that you don't have to worry too much about it. Obviously don't stand straight up, but try and keep somewhat low and be comfortable.

I remember asking them since FZD gets super low at times, and the more important thing is being comfortable. That being said, I find that you can go lower by standing wider instead of bending your knees more. This way you can get low without having to work too hard.

 

[mihalichtheone]

Funny enough, almost all of my coaches (2 from provincial team, 1 iran nat team) have said that you don't have to worry too much about it. Obviously don't stand straight up, but try and keep somewhat low and be comfortable.

I remember asking them since FZD gets super low at times, and the more important thing is being comfortable. That being said, I find that you can go lower by standing wider instead of bending your knees more. This way you can get low without having to work too hard.

I think there should be some science behind 'being comfortable'. I (rarely) experience this feeling when I make one shot and then another and then another and the stance just feels right and comforable to do however many top spins I need to win the point.

However, it's not always the case and still a mystery for me to solve on how to have proper posture when playing. Experimenting and feeling own body is the way, I think. For those who train from the early age I think it comes naturally. Also for those talented people who just feel their bodies well.

 

[ricospin]

I think there should be some science behind 'being comfortable'. I (rarely) experience this feeling when I make one shot and then another and then another and the stance just feels right and comforable to do however many top spins I need to win the point.

However, it's not always the case and still a mystery for me to solve on how to have proper posture when playing. Experimenting and feeling own body is the way, I think. For those who train from the early age I think it comes naturally. Also for those talented people who just feel their bodies well.

Interesting. Introspection and plenty of reflection and experimenting with technique and body mechanics is key to improving in my opinion.

I think sometimes we tend to over complicate things. I feel like sometimes when the rally gets more intense or there is a weird ball, our natural response to this weirdness is ok given the situation(leaning back, not doing proper weight transfer, etc.). I think sometimes we get too critical about xyz that we ignore our natural impulse/biomechanics.

I feel like I’m a way, posture/getting low is something that should be like breathing. You shouldn’t have to think too much about it. I think that allowing yourself to just flow and be relaxed is important. A coach of mine said that having an idea of something is sometimes more than enough in terms of doing it.

In the heat of the moment, we unconsciously get lower, we react quicker and somehow we adjust quicker to the incoming ball. I

 

[Dominikk85]

I think it depends a lot on your age, weight, fitness and health.

Sure standing low like FZD or timo is great but if it makes you cramped and tired after 10 minutes it won't do you much good and probably hurt you more than it helps you.

 

[dingyibvs]

Interesting. Introspection and plenty of reflection and experimenting with technique and body mechanics is key to improving in my opinion.

I think sometimes we tend to over complicate things. I feel like sometimes when the rally gets more intense or there is a weird ball, our natural response to this weirdness is ok given the situation(leaning back, not doing proper weight transfer, etc.). I think sometimes we get too critical about xyz that we ignore our natural impulse/biomechanics.

I feel like I’m a way, posture/getting low is something that should be like breathing. You shouldn’t have to think too much about it. I think that allowing yourself to just flow and be relaxed is important. A coach of mine said that having an idea of something is sometimes more than enough in terms of doing it.

In the heat of the moment, we unconsciously get lower, we react quicker and somehow we adjust quicker to the incoming ball. I

I feel the same way. When I'm playing a real match I subconsciously get lower and move quicker, but in training I need to keep reminding myself to get lower unless the training pace is very fast, then I again subconsciously get lower. It's not like my legs are getting too tired, it's like my body just defaults to being lazy.

 

[hclnnkhg]

Put your racket holding forearm-elbow on the table, and then find a stance that is comfortable and stable for that. That is usually a good stance to hit the ball at around net height I.e. most of the shots.