Crossover
Table Tennis Footwork
Last updated 10 years ago
Sean Maynard Asked 10 years ago
This is kind of a follow on question to the recent question about lunging. I have noticed I too lunge for the wide shots. I was recently at TTC and a gentleman was nice enough to introduce me to the terms Crossovers and Wheeling. As I understand they an extremely fast footwork maneuver to get you into position for a forehand shot and stay in the "cone of fire." My question is do you or would you be able to make a video on the proper footwork technique for these maneuvers and when is the right timing for these steps additionally what would be a good way to really practice these steps in a confined space?
Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago
Hi Sean,
We have a lesson on the crossover in our Premium lesson on Moving Out Wide in our Master Classes. It requires a bit of coordination. It is basically a running footwork where you cross your left leg over past your right leg to be able to move faster. The downside is that it is harder to recover for the next ball. The side on movement allows better recovery back to the central position.
I am not familiar with the term Wheeling. Can you describe it for me.
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Sean Maynard Posted 10 years ago
The way wheeling was described to me it's almost exactly like the crossover only in reverse from what I understand it is a way to move out of backhand position to your forehand to surprise your opponent and change up the shot unexpectedly. Basically (right handed mind you)what I was shown was your set up for a back hand but instead you start to wind up for your forehand at the same time your right foot crosses behind your left weight shifts to the right and then you shift your weight to the left as you bring your left foot back over and swing your bat through the ball and it leaves you balanced and in position for the next shot (if there is one ;) ) The coordination involved in both of these moves is incredibly difficult to do. Right now my routine for these have been: set up the robot to shoot cross table to my forehand side.. so I crossover to the first shot stay there for a backhand then wheel around for a second forehand down the line. It's easy to do this when it's deliberate but to get myself to do it in a game is a whoooole nother issue and I really have no one to practice with at the moment. Hopefully I was detailed enough in that explanation of the "wheeling" technique. I can't really think of any examples on youtube or anything it's rare you get a good focused shot of the footwork lol and again thanks for the time to teach all of us from half a world away
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
Hi Sean,
This is just a step backwards as far as I can tell. It isn't the best technique but it can work in a one off situation.
Jiang Jialiang the 1985 and 1987 world champion used to do it every now and then.
Sean Maynard Posted 10 years ago
Alright I think what I'll do is keep the step in reserves for now and see where it might be useful but concentrate on the more basic of steps...I notice in practice when I try to do it my accuracy goes down by a bit
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 10 years ago
Yes keeping the basic movement is really important to start with. As you focus on something like your movement your strokes may deteriorate temporarily. Keep switching between focusing on your feet and your strokes and you will slowly improve both.