Let's talk about Backhand...

[Gozo Zyreruna]

First of all I dont speak Chinese but this is what I have heard and I can be corrected.

IMHO, the Chinese are usually the best at such things with respect to technical detail, where in English we have this generic term of backhand topspin which is applied to all backhand strokes, just about every single technique in China has a name that.mskes it distinct and specific for its content of application. So when you se Fan Zhendong doing a stroke, when he does it off the bounce, or Harimoto fors it off rhe bouncer, there is a different name and contrxt for that technique vs when Fan Zhendong is off the table. And even close to the table, there are ways of approaching the ball that harimoto does very aggressively that other players don't do quite like him. All these techniques eill get called "backhand topspin" in English but in China, there will be different names for all these techniques.

In amateur table tennis, it is better to learn stuff and keep doing what works to score points. And.since as @songdavid98 pointed out, when you develop a lot of swings, they start to come together to give you an instinctive idea of how to approach different balls based on the incoming spin and energy and the ball you want to send out. In my head I feel like I use one backhand stroke, but i can't be attacking over the table, opening vs backspin, blocking, counterlooping and topspinning against blocking all with one stroke. I must be adapting somehow but it all.feels the same after you have practiced adapting a lot. The one thing that is easy to miss with backhand is that very often you don't have time to do anything big against aggressive players and borrowing power is critical. Therefore taking big swings against players who can control your ball is a recipe for instant disaster if you cannot recover after a quick counter. I used to wonder why I was under pressuee in backhsnd rallies against younger players until I realized I needed to control the exchange to play at a seed that I could manage and not just try to overpower them and get surprised by the block. Obviously the more quality you can get into shorter strokes the better, but this is a balancing act that comes eith practicing and trying to get more efficient over time with one-inch punches and tight whips. Because if your opponent can block your max quality, you need to find quality that you can use to maintain and control the point, not hit outright winners. Any outright winners on backhand are just gravy.

NL, I recalled a fellow club mate of mine shared some chinese douyin video of a China based coach showing off the various type of BH and I counted like more than ten, probably like 15 or 18 types of BH.

I was like WTF! In the Euroverse, it is just drive, punch, loop, strawberry and chiquita which is also why I tend to gravitate towards the Euroverse as I find it less complicated and easier for Gozo's simpleton mind.

Oh, just to humble brag a little, I have develop or developing a more compact BH not by design but by necessity as my play mates can return fast BH too. So, now I have to develop fast BH to pressure and pin opponent at the BH corner and punish them when they give a loose or weaker return with a FH bomba. It is not by design but by necessity.

 

[NextLevel]

NL, I recalled a fellow club mate of mine shared some chinese douyin video of a China based coach showing off the various type of BH and I counted like more than ten, probably like 15 or 18 types of BH.

I was like WTF! In the Euroverse, it is just drive, punch, loop, strawberry and chiquita which is also why I tend to gravitate towards the Euroverse as I find it less complicated and easier for Gozo's simpleton mind.

Oh, just to humble brag a little, I have develop or developing a more compact BH not by design but by necessity as my play mates can return fast BH too. So, now I have to develop fast BH to pressure and pin opponent at the BH corner and punish them when they give a loose or weaker return with a FH bomba. It is not by design but by necessity.

The two approaches have merit but as you get more advanced, you will find that the Chinese are not just trying to confuse you woth thr 18 techniques. You don't learn them all on day 1 and the way you use your body to approach most of them and the spins you apply them to are different. After a while, they start to form a unified system of techniques because there are similarities but the differences are also important. For example, Harimoto's preferences backhand exchange techniques (which is similar to Ma Long) but deployed much more aggressicely) isnt to me how you describe jt but you can see that when people loop the ball to him, he has maximum confidence to take the ball off the bounce and counter topspin without hesitation, something that just about no one else does quite the same way. Thr amount of time you see Harimoto's father and other coaches feeding him topspin to practice taking it off the bounce with his preferred stroke is what developed that technique to he level he deploys it now. You are not going to get that kind if backhand by just sayinf you want a good backhand topspin. Because lots of players have good backhsnds and can't play that shot the way Harimoto does. They would find the risk not worth it but that doesn't make them bad players, many like Lin Yun Ju or Kanak have great backhands as well they juat uae a different approach.

So I woukd say that for the amateur, you look at what is causing you problems in matches and develop countermeasures. That way you don't spend forever on techniques tou never deploy in matches but feel confident that when you get a certain ball you can do more than juat keep it on the table of you can anticipate and control it. In my framework, I like to develop secure rally and control shots before bringing in powerful offense. But all of it is tied to training so that in the matches, it is all ball reading and accepting the results.