Footwork trying to improve
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Topic: Footwork trying to improve
Posted By: PhilippVttc
Subject: Footwork trying to improve
Date Posted: 10/15/2020 at 2:49pm
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Hey guys, Im currently training my footwork and stroke mechanism and i took two videos of me playing a footwork exersice. It woulf be very nice if you could give me some feedback Videos: https://youtu.be/liBRLklx89s" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/liBRLklx89s https://youtu.be/iGg6YrWCZRA" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/iGg6YrWCZRA Thanks Philipp
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Replies:
Posted By: mjamja
Date Posted: 10/15/2020 at 3:03pm
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Try to get your practice partner to feed multi-ball instead of blocking ( if they can). You get better placement so you can focus on one simple move instead of a move and then an adjustment move when the ball is significantly off target. Also you get more repetitions in a row since there are no blocking misses. Note: Some players are worse at feeding multiball than they are blocking so use whatever they are best at doing. Mark - Still waiting for the rule change that requires your feet to stay in the same location for the entire point. That is my only hope of being competitive.
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Posted By: blahness
Date Posted: 10/15/2020 at 6:45pm
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You're not loading enough on the topspin which is why your shots are so low margin. Focus more on spin generation.... I think you have a lot more work to do on just your stroke before you move to footwork training.... ------------- ------- Viscaria FH: Hurricane 8-80 BH: D05 Back to normal shape bats :( |
Posted By: DarkerMyLove
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 2:36am
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I'd agree that 2 or 3pt footwork drills
might not be the right 'next' step.
I would stick to stationary looping and when the
ball comes back in a spot that you need to move a half-step or full-step--->
work on that simple footwork.
On your FH, you should be working on developing
good 'spacing' between you and the ball. And you should be striking the ball in the same
'hitting zone" (slightly in front of your body, to the side) every-single-time. If the ball is *not* blocked back right 'on
target'...don't just stretch out your arm to get the ball back (or lean back and
use T-Rex arm to loop back). Recognize the direction of the ball
early...anticipate where you "should be" for a good full stroke...and get your
feet planted there first.
Once you have your feet 'planted' this is where
you are loading up weight on your 'right foot' (maybe 70% on your right food if just doing regular
loops against block). I think you need to work on consciously pushing down on
your right foot as you load and allow that push off to start your forward motion
and by the time you contact the ball your weight distribution should be at least
50%, but ideally you want to feel that you have really transferred to 60-65% on
your left foot. I think you are not getting enough forward acceleration through
the ball. You may need to shorten your stroke a bit until you get more
consistent spin / speed / placement.
It should be noted that 'planting' your feet does
not mean being 'flat-footed / dead feet'. You still can be light on your feet
when you "must" move, but you need a good foot foundation to be consistent with
your shots and quality of spin.
@mjama's idea about doing multiball is a
good idea. Although that might be a 'learning curve' for you and your partner.
PS.
I know 2020 is a dumpster fire of a year, but a
vertical shot video? Unless it's because your camera guy/gal is trolling us
(it worked on me) or your blocking partner doesn't want to be shown (understandable) please do horizontal videos. Be a part of the solution
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Posted By: Lightspin
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 3:39am
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Practice, practice and practice some more. Everyone's footwork is going to be slightly different so try to develop what works for you. With that being said, when you go and make the shot at the forehand corner, that is ok make the shot in the middle, that is ok make the shot at the backhand corner, what changes from the other two shots? this needs to be fixed slightly. What looks different from the 1st two shots? Remember there is footwork getting to the ball. There is also footwork when making the shot. Keep practicing. I think you are on the right path, you just need to work on it more.
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Posted By: Valiantsin
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 7:32am
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1 multiball or robot. 2 first cross should have wider angle to start with 3 back cross easier so for.now.would not focus on it 4 try doing the same on right foot only. About point 2 mean that the ball should cross the side line of a table. IMHO looks better than your previous videos.
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Posted By: bes
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 11:32am
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You got some really good advice! I agree that this drill done with a block is pretty tough for you right now. There are a lot of things you need to get just right (or pretty close) for each ball, and it is difficult when the blocks come fairly quickly and with a fair bit of randomness (height and location mostly). With that being said, I think you can still get a lot out of it and improve with the drill. The big points you need to focus on have all (except maybe a couple details) been mentioned. 1) You need to really focus on the direction of the block and on getting into a position where the ball is in your comfortable hitting zone. I call this the strike zone (baseball term). Try to minimize reaching and "T-Rex-ing" (hitting with your elbow jammed against your body). 2) Balance, Weight Transfer, Balance. Keeping yourself balanced is super important, and when you looked mostly balanced, you did better. As mentioned by DarkerMyLove, you need to use your legs (primarily right one) better. Shifting a good bit of your weight to your right leg on your backswing will get you in a much more powerfull position. From there you can use it to push forward and up during your swing. You should finish with more weight on your left leg, then immediately get balanced and moving again. 3) Timing - make sure you don't start your forward movement too early. I saw quite a few times (especially on the widest FH ball) that you started early and ended up having to really slow down the stroke to hit it near the blocker. Try to wait (balance is critical) a bit, then go forward with everything - push with right leg, rotate hips, then shoulder, then come through with arm and blade. 4) Watch your backswing height. You did ok when the blocker kept the ball fairly low, but really struggled when the blocks went higher. For higher balls, your backswing should finish higher. (for lower balls, lower...) A lot of newer player get in the habit of using a virtually identical backswing for all ball heights - which causes a lot of problems. Specific drill tips... For the wide forehand ball, try to get a touch closer to the ball (than perfectly centered in your strike zone). You don't want to be "T-Rex-ing", but having the ball just a touch closer can help you finish a bit closer to the table center (not much) and with your balance slightly more to the left. This makes the move to the left a bit easier. This shot can be done fine with the ball anywhere in the strike zone if you can avoid ending up with your weight to the right. But it is slightly easier with the ball a bit on the inside of the strike zone. For the down the line (BH Corner) ball the opposite is true - and much more important. Most players do a lot better when they move more (farther to the left) and put the ball in the outer part of the strike zone. This leads to them finishing slightly more towards the middle of the table and (most importantly) with their weight "more ready to move right". Many newer players try doing this drill by moving to the left as little as they can (or think they can) get away with. This is wrong for most - almost all not named Jean-Philippe Gatien! When you move to the left less(for righties), you end up hitting the ball while leaning or "pulling" back. With your weight trying to go left, getting to the wide ball to the FH is REALLY tough. When you move more initially and almost have to reach for the ball, your finish will leave you heading towards the right automatically. It really helps, but don't overdo it or a second ball to the wide bachand (in a match or random drill) might give you trouble. Keep practicing! bes
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Posted By: mjamja
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 11:44am
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Coming back from stepping around the Bh corner to a ball even near the Fh corner actually uses different technique than the other moves. For right now I would suggest doing the same drill, but using a Bh instead of stepping around on that ball for a Fh. So its Fh, move left and hit Fh from middle, stay and hit Bh (adjusting move little left or right depending on ball placement), move right to hit Fh from just inside Fh corner. You could also add a 4th ball in the drill so it would go Fh, Fh from middle, pivot Fh, then another Fh from middle before starting again with Fh. These drills use the smaller simple 2 step footwork where all the moves are done the same way and about the same distance. There are 2 different theories on how to move after pivoting around the Bh corner. Generally called the Chinese and the European. There is a good you YouTube video series called Chinese Footwork that explains the difference. Basically the Chinese system has you remain outside the Bh corner after the pivot and use the cross-over step technique to be able to get back for a ball to the Fh side of the table. The European system uses a slightly different weight transfer in hitting the pivot Fh so that as part of your follow through and recovery you actually move back to/or slightly inside the Bh corner. If you do that you can use normal 2 step footwork to get to the next ball to the Fh since you are much closer. Note: Most really high level players whether Chinese or European use the Chinese system since it allows you to hit multiple Fh from balls to the Bh corner. With the European system a second ball in a row to the Bh corner must be played with the Bh. Samsonov still uses the Euro system in a lot of cases. Mark
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Posted By: yogi_bear
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 11:52am
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shorten your swings first and then do it near the table. ------------- Independent online TT Product reviewer of XIOM, STIGA, JOOLA, SANWEI, GEWO, AIR, ITC, APEX, YASAKA and ABROS ITTF Level 1 Coaching Course Conductor, ITTF Level 1 Coach |
Posted By: BRS
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 1:35pm
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three-point fh is too hard. You are doing fh -middle-bh-fh which is the hardest way to do it. You could do fh-middle-bh-middle-fh, but it doesn't look like your blocker is up to that. That is harder for the blocker to be precise. Can you loop twenty times in a row to his block from the same position? How about 30 times, or 50? If you can't pretty often make twenty loops in a row then don't worry about footwork yet. I mean 20-30-50 without you missing, if the blocker misses keep counting from the next ball. If you can loop twenty times from one spot, then go to two-point fh. He blocks to fh side and bh side, close to the center of that half of the table. When you start making twenty of those, then have him block one or two balls to fh, and one or two balls to bh. When you make twenty of those, then try the three-point fh-middle-bh-middle-fh. But by then you could probably have him block random anywhere which is a lot better preparation for real games. You stroke looks fine to me. But you may be thinking a lot about your feet and not paying so much attention to the ball. Watch the ball very closely and try to let the movement to it be natural. Like somebody said earlier you need to anticipate where the ball will go, which is only possible if you really concentrate on the ball.
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Posted By: blahness
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 8:29pm
Tbh I think stepping around is quite impractical for amateur players - I personally don't do it unless there's an opportunity ball. You really need to kill with the pivot - if it's blocked to your wide FH you're gonna lose your position and most likely the point. Much more pragmatic to develop a good BH especially if you're a shakehander. ------------- ------- Viscaria FH: Hurricane 8-80 BH: D05 Back to normal shape bats :( |
mjamja wrote:Posted By: mjamja
Date Posted: 10/16/2020 at 9:28pm
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Tbh I think stepping around is quite impractical for amateur players - I personally don't do it unless there's an opportunity ball. You really need to kill with the pivot - if it's blocked to your wide FH you're gonna lose your position and most likely the point. Much more pragmatic to develop a good BH especially if you're a shakehander. [/QUOTE]
I agree. Rather than working on the pivot around the Bh corner he might want to work on using the Fh to deal with a ball to the elbow when you are already on the Bh side. The 2Bh/1Fh drill works this move. The 2 Bhs are balls hit to just inside the Bh corner. The Fh ball is hit at the physical elbow so the player has to step left to play a Fh. The next ball is the first of 2 Bhs just inside the Bh corner. To execute the drill the player has to move left to hit the Fh and then even before the block he moves back to original position to be able to play the Bh without any additional movement. You can also do this as an easier version of the Falkenburg. Instead of pivoting around a ball to the Bh corner you step around a ball to the elbow. Then the next ball is to the middle of the Fh side. Since you did not pivot all the way around the Bh corner it is much easier to reach the ball to the middle of the Fh side. Mark
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