Forehand figure of 8 recovery vs stopping the stoke
Table Tennis Strokes and Technique
Last updated 9 years ago
maurice tate Asked 9 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 9 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 9 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.