Forehand figure of 8 recovery vs stopping the stoke
Strokes and Technique
maurice tate Asked 10 years ago
You make a point not to come past the eyes on the forehand return. However, I see many Chinese use a more flowing figure of 9 recovery stroke going past the eyes without stopping the stroke hand like you teach. This seems to be a faster way of returning to a neutral position than a stop the stoke method. It also feels better with less strain. I tried this on my ball machine set very fast and I think I could do a 10% faster recovery in the stroke than the normal stop stroke. Is stopping the stroke becoming too slow for the modern game?
Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago
Hi Maurice,
When you are playing a faster stroke, I think it is OK to go past that mid point, especially when pivoting. When learning the strokes I think it is important to keep the stroke simple. If you go past the mid point, it is easy to make the stroke finish too low.
Thoughts on this question
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maurice tate Posted 10 years ago
Yes i agree it is easy to go too low if you go past the centerline. But if recovery is 10% faster in the flowing stroke than learning to stop the stroke and recover then your method is building memory of a slower total stroke time overall??? Unlearning this habit of stopping and starting the stroke would be difficult. I know in tennis they try to teach the stokes the pros are doing rather than a simple method.