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On request from Dan, I have reposted this technique compilation of Zhang Jike on Tabletennisdaily.co.uk.
I have always been a big fan of Zhang Jike, and am always trying to copy his style.This thread is for ZJK fans who want more detailed analysis of his technique. The materials are all from the fantastic Youtube channels and some from the Bokett forums.
Fundamentals(BH, FH)
His basic counter-hit. This surprisingly helped me a lot, to get a lot of the body mechanics of his BH and FH loops.
Zhang Jike BH-FH from mid-distance. He has a kinda sidespinny FH like Kong Linghui, especially when dealing with balls to the extreme FH. This helps a lot in curling the ball back to the table.
Zhang Jike warmup with Xu Xin 2, mainly BH and FH training. Zhang Jike has a very short backswing, and very powerful shots with lots of control. Notice how his wrist doesn’t move much in the backswing unlike other players, and his wrist kinda only moves after he finishes contacts the ball.
Zhang Jike warmup with Wang Hao This video can really give us a clear picture of his fundamentals. He doesn’t like to jump from his feet a lot, having a stable centre of gravity. This helps him to keep his balance really well. His side-jumps are really incredible, probably owing to his enormous leg strength. Also, notice his elbow position when he is playing BH, it’s a bit further to the right than when he is playing his compact FH.
Controlled loops against underspin
Zhang Jike Reportage!
An awesome reportage of his story, and also there’s gold here! The section from 1:20 – 1:50min, there is a rather close-view of Zhang Jike’s controlled BH loop against underspin. Notice the bat position, the change in bat angle, how he uses his whole body in the shot.
His controlled FH against underspin. Look at how well he uses his leg strength to pull the ball up against heavy underspin from Joo Se Hyuk.
1st 3 balls(pushes, serve, receive)
Zhang Jike warmup with Xu Xin 1, mainly serve and receive. Very useful in studying their footwork to do with serve and receive, and distance from the table.
More 3rd balling exercises with Liu Guoliang.
Match with Steger(side-view)- This video shows a lot of very useful information on his ready position, pushes and serves.
Zhang Jike warmup with Xu Xin 1, mainly serve and receive. Very useful in studying their footwork to do with serve and receive, and distance from the table.
The best tutorial of how to do the reverse serve like Zhang Jike.(by Lovett9x)
Close-up video of ZJK's serves (includes the pendulum, the heavy underspin/no-spin and the reverse) , thanks to WeiTTTube
His BH over-the-table loop off short balls.
This is his specialty, and one of the hardest shots to master in table tennis. It’s very demanding on the wrist, and upper body strength(especially the core and back muscles).
http://www.bokett.com/tt/dispbbs.asp?boardid=584&Id=258833
There are more explanation in the pictures, but it’s in Chinese. Main points:
1) Don’t contact the ball on the side but rather on the back of the ball. This will give you much better speed and spin on the ball. Also this would give you more topspin which will make it hard for the opponent to make a strong return off your loop.
2) Don’t step into the table with your right foot too much, otherwise you will be jammed due to the speed of the short serve.
3) Use your left hand to judge how high the ball bounces.
4) Upper body must bend forward to give room for backswing.
5) During backswing, move your wrist as far back as possible, so that the bat points towards your stomach.
, thanks to DiegoTTTube
Personal tips:
1) Think of using the back and core muscles in this shot. The “unarching” of the back can provide surprising amounts of power.
2) When learning, learn it on easy balls first(high and slow short balls with less spin) to get the feeling of contacting the ball, don’t try it on faster, low short serves otherwise you’ll probably hit your bat on the table. Then, increase the difficulty more and more(lower, faster and more spin)
I still find it really difficult to master this shot and once hurt my wrist due to practising this shot for few hours.
Updated with close-up videos of his serve and BH over-the-table loop.
I have always been a big fan of Zhang Jike, and am always trying to copy his style.This thread is for ZJK fans who want more detailed analysis of his technique. The materials are all from the fantastic Youtube channels and some from the Bokett forums.
Fundamentals(BH, FH)
His basic counter-hit. This surprisingly helped me a lot, to get a lot of the body mechanics of his BH and FH loops.
Zhang Jike BH-FH from mid-distance. He has a kinda sidespinny FH like Kong Linghui, especially when dealing with balls to the extreme FH. This helps a lot in curling the ball back to the table.
Zhang Jike warmup with Xu Xin 2, mainly BH and FH training. Zhang Jike has a very short backswing, and very powerful shots with lots of control. Notice how his wrist doesn’t move much in the backswing unlike other players, and his wrist kinda only moves after he finishes contacts the ball.
Zhang Jike warmup with Wang Hao This video can really give us a clear picture of his fundamentals. He doesn’t like to jump from his feet a lot, having a stable centre of gravity. This helps him to keep his balance really well. His side-jumps are really incredible, probably owing to his enormous leg strength. Also, notice his elbow position when he is playing BH, it’s a bit further to the right than when he is playing his compact FH.
Controlled loops against underspin
Zhang Jike Reportage!
An awesome reportage of his story, and also there’s gold here! The section from 1:20 – 1:50min, there is a rather close-view of Zhang Jike’s controlled BH loop against underspin. Notice the bat position, the change in bat angle, how he uses his whole body in the shot.
His controlled FH against underspin. Look at how well he uses his leg strength to pull the ball up against heavy underspin from Joo Se Hyuk.
1st 3 balls(pushes, serve, receive)
Zhang Jike warmup with Xu Xin 1, mainly serve and receive. Very useful in studying their footwork to do with serve and receive, and distance from the table.
More 3rd balling exercises with Liu Guoliang.
Match with Steger(side-view)- This video shows a lot of very useful information on his ready position, pushes and serves.
Zhang Jike warmup with Xu Xin 1, mainly serve and receive. Very useful in studying their footwork to do with serve and receive, and distance from the table.
The best tutorial of how to do the reverse serve like Zhang Jike.(by Lovett9x)
His BH over-the-table loop off short balls.
This is his specialty, and one of the hardest shots to master in table tennis. It’s very demanding on the wrist, and upper body strength(especially the core and back muscles).
http://www.bokett.com/tt/dispbbs.asp?boardid=584&Id=258833
There are more explanation in the pictures, but it’s in Chinese. Main points:
1) Don’t contact the ball on the side but rather on the back of the ball. This will give you much better speed and spin on the ball. Also this would give you more topspin which will make it hard for the opponent to make a strong return off your loop.
2) Don’t step into the table with your right foot too much, otherwise you will be jammed due to the speed of the short serve.
3) Use your left hand to judge how high the ball bounces.
4) Upper body must bend forward to give room for backswing.
5) During backswing, move your wrist as far back as possible, so that the bat points towards your stomach.
Personal tips:
1) Think of using the back and core muscles in this shot. The “unarching” of the back can provide surprising amounts of power.
2) When learning, learn it on easy balls first(high and slow short balls with less spin) to get the feeling of contacting the ball, don’t try it on faster, low short serves otherwise you’ll probably hit your bat on the table. Then, increase the difficulty more and more(lower, faster and more spin)
I still find it really difficult to master this shot and once hurt my wrist due to practising this shot for few hours.
Updated with close-up videos of his serve and BH over-the-table loop.
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