How do I get feeling in the Reverse Pendulum Serve?
Table Tennis Serving
Last updated 8 years ago
Felipe Osorio Asked 12 years ago
Dear Pingskills,
I've been working on my pendulum and reverse pendulum serves a lot lately but can't seem to get nearly the same feeling and contact (ergo control and spin) on the reverse motion versus the regular one. I guess I'm just looking for hints that will help me take my reverse pendulum serve to a level where I could reliably play it in a game situation demanding a switch-up service. It seems like a really tricky one to master.
Cheers,
-Felipe
Simon Gerada Answered 12 years ago
Hi Felipe,
This is a common question. What I recommend is that you break down your practice of the reverse pendulum into a few parts. Firstly just ensure that you have the basic action right. Then work on coming under the ball and trying to get the second bounce as close to the net as possible. The key to doing this successfully is repetition. Practice this serve 1,000 times. It sounds a lot but you could do this by hitting 100 serves each session for 10 sessions. Once you've developed some control then you can start really ripping into the serve and trying to generate some more spin.
Thoughts on this question
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Arnon Thaicharoen Posted 12 years ago
Erriza Shalahuddin Posted 11 years ago
I think high elbow is the key. When I do reverse pendulum serve, I put my elbow near the shoulder level, and it works for me.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Yes, that is good too. The high elbow helps you to reach over the top of the ball and hit it on the other side.
kenneth park Posted 10 years ago
thank you
D K Posted 8 years ago
Where should be the best contact point with bat and a ball?
(I mean where towards the body)
Is it too at the farther hip?
I have a problem that the ball flies very paralelly with the net always.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 8 years ago
Yes back hip is easiest.
D K Posted 8 years ago
Ok....And what about the backhand serves and tomahawks?
Currently,long top/side tomahawk serve is my spinniest one,but seems to be very easy to kill although it is quite low
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Tomahawk: right above and slightly in front of your right shoulder, if you're a rightie, I'd say. Optimally, you should have enough room to tilt your back the other way with more or less the same motion for a reverse tomahawk.
Backhand: I wanna know this too! It's one of my worst serves :-)
D K Posted 8 years ago
Thanks Johan
And what about the BH tomahawk?
Is it the same?
I rarely manage this serve,but if I manage it then it is worth it.
As for the backhand serve,it is my fastest serve,but easily predictable :/
My backhand has a little touch only so I cannot get a backspin or keep ball short yet.
Johan B Posted 8 years ago
Yes, ideally, you just change the timing and use the motion for the opposite spin: your topspin reverse has the same motion as your backspin normal tomahawk; your backspin reverse has the same motion as your topspin normal tomahawk - the only difference is which side of the paddle you hit the ball with
..That's how I visualise it when I do it anyway - if I pull it off is another matter.
D K Posted 8 years ago
I understand you.
I just am an untalented fool who can probably never master it.
Ican do quite well "side-topspin" tomahawk serve,but in fact it is spinless,partially due to the age of my inverted rubber,but mostly due to my own uselessness.
Fayad Rahman Posted 8 years ago
Hello Pingskills,
Lately I have observed that you can get more of the spin effect with the reverse pendulum serves on complete swing of the ball. But on stopping the swing right after the contact seems like it has a very little effect on the ball movement due to the spin after the ball bounced first on the server's side and even after crossing the net to the receiver's side of the table. Does this really make a difference?
With regards,
Fayad.
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 8 years ago
Hi Fayad,
The faster the bat moves on contact the more spin you can get. So by swinging through faster you will not stop immediately on contact.
Fayad Rahman Posted 8 years ago
Thank you sir. I totally agree with you on that point. I just love the devastating spins we can get on the pendulum and reverse pendulum serves.