Welcome back again to those few that might be following this blog! I know, I have been absent for a long time but last half of 2016 and first half of 2017 have been exhausting and did not provide me too much opportunity to write in this blog.
Previous 2016-2017 season was pretty irregular, from a table tennis standpoint, but, at the same time, very special as my last son was born. All in all, pretty scarce time to invest on training and developing my little knowledge on table tennis over the year. Nevertheless, I got the opportunity to train a little bit and got a few interesting matches with pretty good players where I tried to learn as much as possible. The positive side was that, after the season, I identified and start practicing on a few areas that, I believe, will make me (and my potential pupils in the future) to improve my game, here I go!:
1. Racket’s handling: Yes, I know, I come over again and again on this point. It seems to be an obsession but, believe me, it is key to make progress the overall technique. A correct racket’s handling makes possible to execute whatever stroke in the optimal way (easy power and short timing). In my previous entries I showed a racket’s handling little bit based on the technique used by some Chinese players with the thumb finger flagged on the racket. In spite of the good results that this handling has provided to me, I have to confess that it was a bit unorthodox and forced so, I decided to make the following changes: a) Close the thumb in ‘mountain shape’ over the square surface of the handle (see pictures next) b) Turn left the handling in order to get a more neutral and balanced handling on both sides (the index finger gets more stuck to the rubbers in this way).
2. Lower the racket’s angle at the impact point in top-spin strokes: Playing with one of the kid’s trainers at my club, I realized that she was closing the racket’s angle, at the ball’s contact point, of her spin related strokes, much more than I was used to. If you reflect a little bit, it is somehow obvious, when you do things this way, you manage to increase the tangential pressure of the rubber on the ball, maximizing the spin that is generated. In my case this angle was too opened and this fact obliged me to make extra efforts and close my top spin strokes in a very unusual (and inefficient) way. Moreover, let me nuance this tip as the racket’s angle needs to be adapted to your position and type of ball. As the ball flies higher you have to close more the racket’s angle, on the contrary, as the ball flies lower you have to open it up. Also, it depends on the diagonal you play (please, notice that the following statement is made from a right handed player perspective), if you play the right diagonal, naturally you have less choice to let the ball sink as there is less space between you and the ball, therefore you will have to close more the racket’s angle. On the left diagonal is the opposite, as you have more space between you and the ball, the ball will be usually stroked a bit lower which translates in a more opened angle. (Some schemas below).
3. Work on your weight’s transfer: Not new but something I noticed, when teaching my beloved ones, that is really essential to get easily long and powerful shots. The extra tip that I discovered, to teach and keep in mind, is that weight’s transfer starts at the feet. I use to say to my pupil: “move both feet at every stroke”. And I have to confess that this works also for slightly more advanced amateur players, and not just for beginners, as it prevents to get an static position in the court and make your whole body to participate in the stroke execution (feet, hip, upper body, shoulder, elbow and even wrist).
So there is it! Hope you have enjoyed this entry. Please, do not hesitate to share your comments below, things that you do not agree or that you think are missing points, whatever constructive input will be enriching.
Wise Table Tennis 