NATURAL FOREHAND

The upper body (arms, shoulders) has to be somewhat relaxed when you play or you will be losing  power.  But if not in good position relaxation is the first thing a lot of people lose (they have to maintain balance, so tense up).  Some people tighten up when they get nervous.  Some people have never been taught to relax.  Some people hold their breath during a point and tense up.  Knowing how to be relaxed in some parts of your body (shoulders, arms) and solid in others (legs and abdominal muscles) is really hard and something people don't pay enough attention to. This is all part of the zen of the sport.  One former US national champion would sometimes tell me to relax may face when I played because it would cause the rest of the body to relax.


Edit added:  Relaxed upper body does not mean flacid like a noodle.

zeio wrote: Baal wrote: ...One former US national champion would sometimes tell me to relax may face when I played because it would cause the rest of the body to relax. Like that?

cherC wrote: After a few tournaments, watching players hit i think i have found 2 types of forehands. The 1st one is the tense forehand that i see almost every person does. And the 2nd one which is the no tension on your arm or hand.  Not a lot of people would think about this. They would talk about CHN Forehand or ERP Forehand and whats the difference, but this topic is not about that.  So the question is, which is better?

Good point and good question.
I think of kasumi ishikawa for relaxed fh then Li Xiao Xia also FTW
in the men maybe FZD or even ZJK though people talk about his bh more

Edited by pingpongpaddy - 01/29/2014 at 12:35pm

Picture video of a perfect relaxed stroke.

There are many parts of being relaxed that are key bit the biggest two IMO are
1. Never swing with 100% conscious effort. Practice your timing and during a match, just let your body do what it has practiced without complaining about mistakes (which are part of the game). This gives you emotional stability and consistency.

2. Avoid using equipment that makes you scared to swing at the ball. If you are scared to loop a ball coming at you or your blocks are consistently long, consider using slower equipment.

You know, you can still play a very aggressive game w/o tightening your muscles, so I don't think it really helps you a lot.  Being too relax is not a good thing either.  What you want to concentrate on is think if you are using every part of your body.  Think about your lower body, upper body, balance, etc.  Also, table tennis is not about forehand only.  You need to transition well between all strokes.  

Edited by O! Ju Qian - 01/29/2014 at 3:14pm

Yep.  A classic book. Totally applicable to TT.

zeio wrote: Baal wrote: ...One former US national champion would sometimes tell me to relax may face when I played because it would cause the rest of the body to relax. Like that?