Forehand shots
Strokes
Shaji Alavi Asked 13 years ago
Hi Jeff and Alois
First of all thank you for providing so many tips and techniques which are helping me improve the game i used to play in my school life, only this time i am being technically correct in my shots for which a lot of credit goes to the PingSkills team.
Recently i found out that i am confused in playing the forehand shots as the action is pretty similar. only difference i notice is that during forehand topspin the focus is more on brushing the ball and while in the forehand counter hit the bat comes flat. We know that if the arm action is not smooth then the shots wont be continuous and wont be in control. Same is the problem with me, i tend to lose the smoothness of the arm action and give jerks while trying to hit the ball flat.
IF possible kindly post a response video playing the forehand shots both topspin and flat consecutively.
P.S. Dont forget to add your magical slow motion effects.
Simon Gerada Answered 13 years ago
Hi Shaji,
The forehand topspin is really just an extension of the forehand counterhit. With the counterhit you hit the ball flat and with the topspin you brush on the top of the ball to generate the topspin.
To get the motion smoother you can practice the stroke over and over. In fact you can do this even when you are away from the table using shadow play. You simply execute the stroke pretending to hit a ball. It is a great way to groove your shot. Really focus on your start and finish position as these are critical to getting the shot right.
Recommended Video
Playing a Faster Forehand Topspin
Now that you have the forehand topspin going well, it is time to get some more speed on it.
Watch NowThoughts on this question
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Shaji Alavi Posted 13 years ago
Hi PingSkills Team,
Yes the picture is more clear to me now. atleast now i know which part i am not doing it right. Its the forehand topspin. instead of concentrating on brushing the ball i used to focus more on generating the top spin from the lightning quick arm action. thats when the jerks come into play(somebody pointed out that i stiff my shoulder and try to generate more speed using shoulder)
Correct me if i am still wrong, its the brushing contact that top spins the ball rather than the quick arm action. If so then from now on i am going to practice more on brushing the ball and less on the speed of the arm. I think i should use the colorful disc technique and shadow practice as Simon suggested.
Definitely a lifesaver response. i hope i dont get frustrated if i dont get it right. :)
Hi Shaji,
Generating the topspin is actually a combination of the brushing contact and the speed of your contact. If you brush the ball but your bat is moving really slowly, you won't generate much spin.
I think that having your focus on the brushing contact is a good place to start though. Once you get more comfortable then you can start to increase the speed of the shot by getting your bat moving faster. To get your bat moving faster you can use your legs, your waist, your shoulder, your arm and wrist all in combination. We talk about this in some of our premium lessons.
Keep practicing hard!