How to keep a consistent forehand topspin ??

[Khang09]

Hello guys,

In the past I struggled keeping my forehand topspins consistent.
After the 3rd ball attack I can just do like 2-3 loops more and then I just hit the ball so that my opponent can attack.
I feel like I dont have any power to do more topspins.
Do you have any advice how to keep a consistent loop ?
Or do you think that if I continue to practise the problem would just disapper ??

Thank you in advance

 

[MindTrip]

I get that way sometimes. For me, it's just me getting lazy by not wanting to move back in to the table after my opponents soft block or not taking the game seriously. I have to remind myself to stay light on my feet and keep my center of gravity low. Other times it's more of a conditioning problem.

 

[Khang09]

I get that way sometimes. For me, it's just me getting lazy by not wanting to move back in to the table after my opponents soft block or not taking the game seriously. I have to remind myself to stay light on my feet and keep my center of gravity low. Other times it's more of a conditioning problem.

Ah thanks for the quick response
I will keep that in mind for my next training session !

 

[Der_Echte]

I will be the odd crazy joker who says finishing on balance, getting into position, and striking the next loop in your effective strike zone goes a long way towards consistency. Having a good short area whip is the next level... pun intended.

 

[NextLevel]

Without video, the problem is impossible to answer.

 

[Der_Echte]

NL missed the pun... must have posted at the same time or was gluing on rubbers to his 2nd/3rd Kim Jung Hoon blade.

 

[Der_Echte]

Khang... when Bavarians meet you do they say "Du bist kein Hesse." ???

 

[gekogark1212]

I'd say turn your body, ensure proper rotation on contact. But tbh after the first 3 or so well placed loops you should be able to smash for a winner (that's how I play anyway)

 

[Ilia Minkin]

Yeah, just film yourself doing forehand to forehand loops for a minute or the drill the gives you trouble. A smartphone with a camera is enough for that.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Yep. Without footage to see what you are actually doing, there is no real way to answer.

Things off the top of my head are:

--It could be your reset is too slow so, after 1 or 2 you are getting caught off balance and not set. You can't hit the ball well if you are not set.

--It could be that your stroke is too big.

--It could be that you are using too much upper arm/shoulder and not enough snap from FH.

--It could be that you have funny mechanics and so, after the 1st or 2nd loop you have wasted too much effort already.

Should I go on. Answers without seeing what you are doing are simply blind guesses. And we don't even know the scenario of when this happens to you.

--Is it in match play?

--Is it during game simulation drills?

--Is it when you are trying to loop against someone blocking for you?

--Is it in footwork drills?

--Is it in random element drills?

You did say it is after a third ball attack. But what comes after? Is it a drill or match play? You could swing too big or reset slowly after the third ball attack and that may lead to a snowball effect of you reseting later and later.

 

[fais]

Yep. Without footage to see what you are actually doing, there is no real way to answer.

Things off the top of my head are:

--It could be your reset is too slow so, after 1 or 2 you are getting caught off balance and not set. You can't hit the ball well if you are not set.

--It could be that your stroke is too big.

--It could be that you are using too much upper arm/shoulder and not enough snap from FH.

--It could be that you have funny mechanics and so, after the 1st or 2nd loop you have wasted too much effort already.

Should I go on. Answers without seeing what you are doing are simply blind guesses. And we don't even know the scenario of when this happens to you.

--Is it in match play?

--Is it during game simulation drills?

--Is it when you are trying to loop against someone blocking for you?

--Is it in footwork drills?

--Is it in random element drills?

You did say it is after a third ball attack. But what comes after? Is it a drill or match play? You could swing too big or reset slowly after the third ball attack and that may lead to a snowball effect of you reseting later and later.

This comment is money right here. I find this is the the most significant difference between casual pongers and TT players. To play TT at a higher level, you really have to understand stroke mechanics and timings, and you need to be in good condition to execute them correctly because the right way is so much harder, unnatural and downright non intuitive than the casual way.

 

[sanavasaraja]

Here's a video talking about forehand technique. The guy is 19xx TTR and is struggling somewhat with his forehand topspin trying the find the optimum for him between chinese and european elements. He is talking about being consistent, energy efficient while still creating more spin. Since it's in german I thought this could be interesting for you

 

[Rajah*]

How strong/workacholic is your legs when you play?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[yoass]

Hello guys,

In the past I struggled keeping my forehand topspins consistent.
After the 3rd ball attack I can just do like 2-3 loops more and then I just hit the ball so that my opponent can attack.
I feel like I dont have any power to do more topspins.
Do you have any advice how to keep a consistent loop ?
Or do you think that if I continue to practise the problem would just disapper ??

I sometimes get that too. It happens when I'm tensing up, get overfocused, harden my core and hit with power — while somehow forgetting to breathe. The key is to get that relaxed more, I think, and lots of practice (to automate things) and and automation to get the feel and timing just right for "whip mechanics" to do their thing rather than making that stroke by force is the way to go. Easier said than done, I know.

 

[Khang09]

First of all, thank you guys for response
My next training session is on Monday and I will make some footage for you guys so that you can help me out.

 

[Khang09]

Khang... when Bavarians meet you do they say "Du bist kein Hesse." ???

Hahahaha, I never met an Bavarian saying that to me

 

[Der_Echte]

Khang, I simply HAD to say that once I sa2 your location. I claim a hometown in your capital of Hessen.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Forte]

Many good thoughts here. One thing that I notice with myself is that I tend to forget to breathe. This gives me the exact same problems as you describe: 1, 2, 3 loops are fine, then things start getting messy as I loose my breathe. I didn't notice it myself until my coach mentioned it. The solution for me is to breathe out on every hit. Takes a while to get used to but the results are great once I start doing it.

 

[Khang09]

So here is the footage of my training session. (Im the taller asian guy)
In this session I didn´t feel like im having those Topspin issues.
I felt like I´m loosing control while playing as you might see in this footage.
Btw. pls dont judge me The first time I see myself playing

If you see something I´m doing wrong or something I can improve on feel free to tell me

Thank you in Advance

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

So here is the footage of my training session. (Im the taller asian guy)
In this session I didn´t feel like im having those Topspin issues.
I felt like I´m loosing control while playing as you might see in this footage.
Btw. pls dont judge me The first time I see myself playing

If you see something I´m doing wrong or something I can improve on feel free to tell me

Thank you in Advance

First thing I am going to say is, one thing you are doing right is that most of the time you get pretty nice spin. When you fix the followthrough on your FH, that will increase. But your touch is good.

Two things you can work on to improve very easily:

1) Return of serve.
2) FH followthrough.

1) For practicing return of serve there is something simple that will help you. You are naturally gifted and learn fast. If you are only playing for 9 months, you really are playing quite well.

Just have a few different people serve to you over and over again. Play out the points. But focus on the return of serve. Have them serve as though they are trying to win the point whether that means the serve wins the point or that they set you up for their third ball. Practice that drill for a decent amount of time. It will help your level improve.

2) Your FH followthrough is inconsistent. The good news is that this is because you are trying to adjust to each separate ball. The bad news is, the followthrough really should still be consistent. Ultimately, you should adjust to each separate ball and the stroke and followthrough should still be consistent.

One thing that could help: Shadow Strokes. If I was you, I would do these in front of a mirror so you can see and hopefully correct your form so the followthrough is complete, and the reset is fast.

You should do a decent amount of FH shadow strokes and BH shadow strokes. FH may be more important for you right now. But both will be useful.

If you did about 3000 FH (approx 30 min) and 3000 BH (approx 30 min) shadow strokes 3-4 times between now and next Monday, my money says your stroke will improve a certain amount without any other instruction. If you got a decent TT coach to show you what that shadow stroke should look like, beforehand, it will improve a noticeable amount more. But you may not need that part.

With the shadow strokes, just simple, loop, loop, loop, loop....as though someone very precise keeps blocking back to the same location for you.

After you have done that 3-4 times, you could start adding footwork to it to make it more fun.

Here is footage of shadow stroke + footwork:

Sorry. I don't have footage of just the stroke without the footwork. But both will help.

After that. A little time with a coach could really help. If you get the mechanics of a good stroke into muscle memory first and then take 2-4 lessons, your level will jump.

If your receive of serve improves, you will Jump even more. But you are doing the most important thing well. You have good touch and contact for spinning the ball.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy