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The stroke is fine, in reality no one plays one good stroke, most people have a variety of techniques they adapt to balls and this shot is not out of place. I tell people all the time the secret to a high level backhand is getting more and more used to the wrist pointing towards your target at the end of the backswing, it is unnatural when you start but easier as you get better and gives you room to swing into the ball if your elbow leads the stroke as well.Hi all, it’s been a while but I’ve been working hard on my game. I am hoping for some advice or thoughts on a challenge I am facing with my BH loop. i recorded the video below as part of another thread on the double bounce footwork, but in watching it back it struck me that I don’t much like the look of my BH…
Im playing it more often, with more confidence, and landing at a higher % - but it looks jagged and snatchy to me and not smooth and free flowing like the top players I admire and try to emulate. I know at least some of the reason is that I have followed advice from multiple sources (Ti Long for example) who emphasise the need for a sharp end and return to ready - like a martial arts punch. This doesnt seem to gel with smooth and flowing for me…
I’d welcome any objective thoughts, observations or pointers as to what you are seeing (on either wing) to help me towards a better looking and smoother stroke..
The drill itself makes me wonder, I am not sure whether both balls are backspin balls and if they are, other than maybe making you stay low, there is low probability of you using this precise shot sequence and combination in a match. Even vs a chopper you are more likely to open with a backhand and then play a forehand, very rare that you would open with a forehand and then play an inside out backhand.
Carl made a lot of great comments and I would recommend you take them to heart. I spent a lot of time trying to make a stroke of mine fit a model a coach had given me and it actually made the stroke worse partly because ii didn't get the quality in the ball with the new stroke that I had with the old stroke. If you get good spin and speed with a shot, let the quality and consistency of the shot under taxing conditions be your main guide, table tennis is not a sport where you score points for beautiful shots though if you want to focus on playing them since they make you happy, you have a right to do that for sure. As my late coach used to tell me, the best stroke for you is the stroke that puts the ball on the table when you need it to, not Ma Long's stroke. As Carl pointed out, it would be nice to see how Ma Long evolved his forehead, focusing on the finished product can be very misleading when looking at the result of a long evolutionary process, which is what much TT technique development is.
Finally, without going crazy about the footwork drill you are working on, the key in TT is to be able to activate your backswing very quickly put of whatever stance you are in. This might require you to jump onto the backswing or to look for finishing positions where your balance allows you to play the next shot faster. Using this idea to understand footwork drills will make it easier for you to optimize these drills for you. Trying to optimize the footwork in the abstract can be highly inefficient to be honest. I got more efficient over time even with bad knees by optimizing my movements and sequences against desired patterns of responses. This is what I would recommend but you can follow other routes for sure.