Forehand smash technique
Strokes and Technique
Andrew Pape Asked 12 years ago
Hi Alois,
Years ago, a coach saw my huge f/hand back-swing and told me to use minimal back-swing. It took me a long time to eliminate this back-swing. Now I can hit f/hand drives consistently and another coach said my f/hand is very natural. I still had the problem of back-swing when top-spinning, which seemed odd to me, perhaps indicating that the counter-hit and the top-spin are 2 entirely separate shots. I've reduced the looping swing now, and am doing better. But my f/hand smash is terrible. I go to the trouble to get the ball set up and then I miss the "easy" put-away. My practice partner tells me that I'm taking a back-swing when I shouldn't. Overall, this seems to imply that the drive, loop, and smash are essentially different shots, as when I master one, I still have to master the others. I think the smash may take longer to fix because smashes are few and far between.
I have practiced against my partner, but I'm not getting enough repetition. The robot is no good, as it can't lob. I'm wondering about multi-ball: would it be better if my partner tossed up ball after ball so that I get higher frequency hitting? I'm told to start the bat higher, have no back-swing, and aim downwards so the ball doesn't go off the end. At the moment, I'm playing the smash forwards too much, and they're going off the table. My practice partner says my smash looks like a loop gone wrong, even though I think I'm getting a flat contact.
Any ideas?
Cheers,
Andrew.
Alois Rosario Answered 12 years ago
Hi Andrew,
Firstly, I would do some multi- ball practice first to get the reularity of the smash and get the feel of it. It may be that you are hitting it more like a topspin than a smash. Starting higher is an important factor but also hitting the ball flatter to get the speed and the ball to go straight onto the table.
Often the problem is not that you can't smash but you may find it difficult to transition from the topspin to the smash. They are a different starting position. I find with a lot of players that they tighten up in the shoulder when they go to smash compared to the topspin because it is on a different height level.
So as a next step to your ulti-ball training also do one ball lower that you topspin and the next ball high which you smash. Keep alternating between the two.
The final step would be to do a few low balls and then randomly one ball high that you need to change and smash. This will get you to practice the transitioning between the two.
Give it a try and let me know if it improves.
Thoughts on this question
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Oliver Posted 12 years ago
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Andrew Pape Posted 12 years ago
Hi Alois,
I have had a couple of hits with my practice partner where I have doing a hitting and looping exercise. The idea is for me to decide which shot to play. I've soon been doing the right shot.
But in the last two nights of comp, I have reverted to my old self. I've played well enough to get a pop-up, but haven't anticipated that I'd get an easy to smash. Unfortunately, I tried to half-loop, half-hit it, and lost control, belting the ball into the net. I lost 4 sets in 2 nights from doing this.
It seems that:
1) I haven't had spent enough time to get the old shot out of my system, and
2) I have only played well in practice because I know what's coming, and
3) I haven't had enough matchplay and
4) I should have been doing multi-ball, as you suggested
I think it'd be better if I got my practice partner to give me multi-ball, rather than play rallies. If I play a rally and look for the shot, no worries, but maybe if I could get him to toss up each ball at random heights and at a high frequency, I might do better. Sorry for not following your advice properly. I think that to smash the ball properly, it's important to start with the bat high and elbow well below. I think my elbow is starting too high.
Just wondering what to practise and maybe some technique and mental tips. I will keep practicing this against my practice partner.
Cheers,
Andrew
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Hi Andrew,
Don't stress too much. Change takes time. Just keep focusing on it in training. It also sounds like you need to do a little more with random play. So get your partner to hit one high after a few shots and then try to make the conversion from topspin to smash. Get the bat up high.
Andrew Pape Posted 12 years ago
Hi Alois,
I just saw a couple of players missing "easy" smashes. They were A2 players, up a sub-grade from me but both playing poorly. The rallies had lots of lobbing and smashing. Both players had several easy smashes and both missed every one. I didn't feel too bad about my own problems after that.
The smashes were missed because the high balls weren't anticipated. When I played comp last I nearly lost a set by missing smashes. I was doing my old half-loop attempt and the ball went into the net. In the warm up, I must have used my wrist when trying to smash, as my wrist got sore.
I was getting the loop-kills on but not proper smashes. A Chinese coach said that people miss smashes because flat-hitting is more prone to error than spinning. So he suggested that 30%-40% of the shot should be topspin, the rest flat. He said you should also lower your body. I thought that by lowering the body, I get less of a downward angle and more of a forward follow through, which I reckon is more likely to make me hit the ball off. He also said not to use wrist.
When I connected with the lobs, I put a lot of topspin on the ball, but I had better timing. The shots were controlled. I don't know what I was doing differently.
Maybe I should refine the stroke until it has a good spin/speed balance. Appelgren said he based his whole game on topspin because it's much more consistent than flat-hitting. I've never seen him belt the ball.
After I do connect, I'm exhausted. I've never been fit, and after winning some hard hitting rallies, I've lost coordination and then played worse for the remaining sets, perhaps even giving them away from fatigue. Maybe I should try a 3/4 pace smash with speed & spin, and position, and try to be consistent,like Appel?
Cheers,
Andrew.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 12 years ago
Andrew Pape Posted 12 years ago
Hi Alois,
Thanks again. I have played a few weeks of comp, and gradually ironed out the smashing errors. As you say, no use worrying. When I've played my practice partner, I have had some smash practice, and have gradually got better. Even when getting a surprise lob, I'm able to smash flatly and get the ball on. I'm sure I'll improve more.
One opponent who is currently beating me could be classified as a hitter, as he wants to belt 11 winners a game. I can't stop him from hitting or getting the first attack, so I try to mix up the spins. He's winning though based on stats. He's not exactly a hitter, however, as he does part hit, part loop, on every ball, getting just the right amount of spin and speed. I wonder how he does that because I get muddled by the two shots, whereas he combines them. Any ideas how this is done?
Cheers,
Andrew.