Tentativeness

Table Tennis Training and Drills

Last updated 13 years ago

Taj Gonzales

Taj Gonzales Asked 13 years ago

Hi

I'm someone who's playing the game again after 11 years. I used to be a one sided penhold hitter mainly using my traditional backhand for pushing and blocking. I've recently discovered how to use RPB and have been practicing it a lot, thanks to your videos!

 My question now is that, I find myself tentative and being unable to guess where the ball is going to land. As a result, I'm at times "not squared" for an offensive stroke. This usually happens during an opponent's serve or when my loop/drive-loop is returned/blocked. I can't seem to correct this.

 I'm actually excited to join a tournament again now that I'm slowly becoming a two-winged looper/hitter but won't do so until I figure out how to correct my footwork.

 Thanks in advance!


Jeff Plumb

Jeff Plumb Answered 13 years ago

Hi Taj,

First of all welcome back to the sport. It is great to hear you've started playing again. Secondly I'd suggest that you jump right in on start playing tournaments regardless of how you feel you are going. I know that can be a scary thought and we all want to do the best we can. But if you are waiting to get some part of your game right first, you may never make it to a tournament. Even if you do fix up one part of your game it is easy to say, now I just need to fix up x, y and z and then I'll start playing. So my advice is to jump right in. Once you start you will certainly find other areas of your game to work on and you might even find that your footwork is not as bad as you thought. Either way a tournament is a great experience.

It is good that you have identified a part of your game that needs improvement. Now the key is to design a drill that will help you fix that part of your game. You mention that after you play an attacking stroke you seem to be out of position. Try to get a practice partner and then do a drill where you serve the ball and ask them to push the ball back to your forehand, you will attack the stroke to their forehand and then play the rally out. Repeat this exercise for 10 to 15 minutes and then add execute this drill every time you practice with your focus being on recovering after your first forehand attack. It is easy to vary this drill by attacking to different positions or having your practice partner push the ball to your backhand instead. It's all about practicing the right things to improve your game.

One thing that will help you to improve your recovery is to ensure that you are in the correct position for playing Table Tennis. Take a look at our lesson on Basic Footwork and notice the position that Alois gets into. You need to have your feet wide apart and be down nice and low. This helps you stay very stable and balanced. If you are very stable and balanced it is easier to be ready for you next stroke. 

Try out these suggestions and let me know if they help. 


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